"WYWO" Dealing with Sales Pitches...

Okay, so I've officially killed the "While You Were Out" Thread - but the Home Improvement saga is ongoing...

When we last left our hero(ine), she had cunningly convinced Dear Hubbie that "Home Improvements" didn't have to be OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive and that, perhaps, MORE could be done to bring the place "Up To Snuff."

And, of course, she was SOOOOO cunning, it came out as "Hubbie's Most-Brilliant Idea!" (That's the Beauty of "Cunning!")

(The "Wisdom" part kicks in when you just shut-up and let DH believe it's HIS idea!).

So, DH charged DW with gathering bids for the Kitchen Re-facing Project, right?

And Cunning DW (aka "Moi!") dutifully surfed the internet and signed onto various sites offering "Kitchen Remodeling/Refacing" Services.

Now, in the meantime, I've already gathered photos, off the internet, to illustrate to DH exactly what I'd like to achieve. And ("Strike while the iron's hot!") I'd sent them to him the day after he came up with the brilliant idea to do *something* with the cabinets.

Nothing Super-High-End. We're talking plain ol' Maple (or Beechwood) "Shaker" style cabinets w/"natural" (colorless) wood-stain. Much lighter, brighter and "cleaner" than the ugly, Life-Force-Sucking dark oak cabinets we've got now...

So, I got some responses to my inquiries. The first place, Kitchen Tune-Up in Fremont, is the front-runner. I'd already gotten "partway" thru their sales process a couple-three years ago. They *did* respond to my email, this time around, and gave me a "sight-unseen" estimate of appx $4,200.00 (after I'd provided measurements and requirements).

I have been to their showroom (the "Showroom" appt happens before the in-home measuring/"Final" estimate), and - from what I've seen - I really like how they conduct business (No "Hard-Sell" Tactics). I also checked 'em out on BBB.org and haven't found any complaints. All good indicators... So I've put 'em "Last" on my list, for now b/c they're the Front-Runner (Odd logic, I know. But I need to get "other" bids before I drag Rog into it)

I'd also gotten a bid from Sears. Sears only offers Rigid Thermofoil cabinet-refacing (Not wood - basically cheesy apartment-grade crap, IMHO). That was a couple of yrs ago, and since it wasn't real wood, I tossed the estimate...

I'd ALSO gotten a bid from Home Depot - which was "high" as I recall. But they were hesitant to deal w/me without my husband present (Not a good business tactic - IMHO). I tried to get a "fresher" bid, but they were a No-Show...

Today, I met with a (cough-cough) "Kitchen Designer" from Kitchenw****. Again, when I'd originally contacted them, they wanted to insist on having Spouse or Significant Other present for the - umm - "Presentation." Again, I expressed that this was not only unnecessary, but potentially detrimental to their business.

"Well, we just want to make certain that he'll like whatever is selected."

"Trust me, he'll like it! He has no choice!"

Anyway, Salesdroid showed up this afternoon. Boy, talk about a Sales Pitch! He'd started out, earlier, on the phone by indicating that he normally requires about four hours to "design" a kitchen (What are you kidding me?!!). "Well, I was figuring on more like an hour - I already have a pretty good idea of what I want."

So, when he arrives, he starts with the Schmoozing routine right away, right? "Wow - Your living room's been recently painted - it looks GREAT! Looks like about a $2,500.00 job!"

I'm too nice to roll my eyes visibly, of course...

"Yeah well, Hubbie travels a lot and when he's out of town, I like to redecorate..."

So then he comes in, sets down his briefcase and starts his spiel, right? "I'm supposed to spend half an hour telling you about how wonderful our company is... How we were voted Most Yada-Yada by Such-and-Such, blah-blah-blah"

"Yeah, well. You can skip that part. Hubbie will be home soon and I'd like to get the estimate" :::Big Smile:::

"Well," he begins "Had you considered...?" as he starts with the suggestions....

"Actually, I already have a good idea of what my Dream Kitchen looks like - but I can't have that. So I ALSO have an idea of what I'd *like* to do to make THIS kitchen less of a nightmare, as inexpensively as possible."

"Oh, well PLEASE tell me about your Dream Kitchen"

Okay, fine. I actually have pictures that *look* like "Before and Afters." A neighbor of ours, in the exact same house, re-did his kitchen and I had the Good Fortune of being able to snap photos of it. And I put it in a Powerpoint Presentation which I showed to said Salesdroid...

Then I reminded him: "This isn't in the budget! I'd like a bid on what it would cost to re-face THESE cabinets - 'As-Is' - in a natural maple-shaker..."

Well, he immediately zoned in on the granite countertops in my neighbor's kitchen and ASSURED me he could get me an EXCELLENT price on that - "Less than Laminate!"

"Okay, fine. Go ahead and quote that, too - but SEPARATELY b/c I already *know* hubbie's not gonna go for that. Let's just concentrate on the cabinets for Phase I"

Then I get the whole "Well, if you're looking for inexpensive cabinets" (with a hint of derision, I might add) and he hands me the IKEA catalog.

I stopped shy of saying "Don't insult me" - instead I'd said "Yes, I'm familiar with their stuff. THAT'S why I'm talking to YOU." as I handed the catalog back (Puhhh-LEEEZ!)

(Not that IKEA is *bad* mind you. But I know that the "foundation" of our cabinets is actually pretty damned good solid-wood [as opposed to new IKEA cabinets which are made of veneers over MDF and/or particle board]. Re-facing is actually the BEST option for us)

Then I got the whole "Well, we're more expensive than some of the other ya-ya-yas, but we're worth it because blah-blah-blah, and some of the other companies do yada-yada-yada..." Ad nauseum.

Again, I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I'm just thinkin' "What's the price already?"

At some point, toward the end of the Sales Presentation, after I'd seen the doors (none of which really blew-my-socks-off, BTW), but BEFORE the final quote came in, DH drove up and Salesdroid had to move his car...

(And we broke The Cardinal Rule: Don't let contractors/handymen/anyone "bidding" for any household job see the contents of the garage [Classic Corvette and three Harleys!] lest we end up with a ridiculously high bid!)

So SD comes back in and pores over his Quote sheet and calculator... DH walks in and we gotta do the whole "Hi, I'm so-and-so, pleezdameetcha" bit...

DH wanders off to the bedroom, after announcing, to SalesDroid that *I* was "in charge of gathering bids."

SD finishes his calculating and scribbling and turns to me to announce the Final Tally...

Well, stupidly, he starts off by yakking about the granite countertops and suddenly DH appears in the kitchen saying "Granite?!!!"

NOW I'm rolling my eyes visibly and I mutter to SD: "Now you're getting me in trouble - I *told* you to quote that completely separately!!!!"

"Granite?!! Nobody said anything about GRANITE!"

I waved DH off, as SD starts back-pedaling and indicating that the granite doesn't have to be done right away - that can come later...

("Damn Skippy!")

"And we offer zero-percent financing - Same-as-Cash...." (Again, earlier on, I made it clear that THAT wasn't something we'd be willing to pursue either!) (Read I don't think I'm contributing to the Credit Crisis - which *is* relevant! See the "Scary Zero Percent" section. This falls under that category!!!)

Anyway - Bottom Line: Quote for *just* the cabinet-refacing came in at roughly $7,700.00 (Total tally - including granite - was over $10K! I prob'ly don't hafta tell you how Rog reacted to THAT!!!!)

Waaaaaaaay the hell more than the $4200 preliminary bid I'd gotten from KTU (Grant you, it IS "preliminary"). Actually, waaaaaaay the hell more than Home Depot, even.

In other words, I don't think that Kitchenw**** - despite their glowing "Most Yada-Yada Rating from Such-and-Such" is going to win the bid.

Particularly after such a glaring fubar on the part of the SalesDroid - yakking about the Granite Countertops that I didn't even request!!! (And, even though I AGREED to accept a bid for Granite, I made it pretty-damned-clear that that *wasn't* gonna fly w/DH).

Anyway.... I did get the "Official" bid. And now Rog is balking less at the original quote I'd fwded to him!

I do have an appt on Weds to get another Quote from another Refacer - so we'll see how that goes!

Stay tuned... Film at Eleven... Yada Yada!

I don't think I'm contributing to the Credit Crisis...

I'm contributing to the ECONOMY!!!

Actually, I'm one of those "Typical Americans" who's carrying too much Credit Card Debt. But there are a couple-three caveats:

1. I have *almost* enough money in the bank to zero it out at any time (I DID have enough money a week ago! No longer true after Dynah's surgery, unfortunately)
2. I "stay on top of" what I owe AT ALL TIMES
3. I play the 0% Game

True, the zero percent card promotions are fewer and farther between, these days. But I do have good enough credit that I still receive the occasional offer.

I know... I know... There are Financial Advisers out there who tell you "No! No! Stay away from that!" But, in some cases, it just makes sense.

HOWEVER, you absolutely *must* read the fine print and make sure you understand, and play by the rules exactly!

In my case, one of the offers I'd received - about a year ago - was 0% for 12 months on New Purchases AND Balance Transfers - with no little asterisks or plus-signs or teeny-tiny fine print indicating a 3% "Transaction Fee" or whatever would be applied (I shred those offers immediately!).

Anyway, at the time, I was still carrying about $8,000.00 on my Harley loan - at something like 10% interest (or thereabouts). I sat down and calculated what I would end up paying in interest. No easy feat, I might add! I built a monster-spreadsheet to handle the daily calculatons and estimated payment dates and accrual rates and yada yada (it ended up being pretty damned close to HD's calculations)...

Despite the fact that I was making *at least* double-payments every month, it was rather astonishing (certainly "illuminating!") to see how much - and how quickly - those dollars add up!

The next question was: Can I pay off 8,000.00 in less than one year? Bada-Bing, Bada-Boom, I created a (GASP!) Budget Spreadsheet and determined the answer was "Yes."

So I transferred the balance over to the zero percent card. I *also* made the mistake of actually USING the card for purchases as well. But I kept on top of my budget and was able to pay it off before the 0% ran out. Actually, the "final" payment posted about two days too late - so I ended up paying $15.16 in interest for the last statement cycle (on a balance of appx $1,000). But that's ONLY interest I paid (to anyone!) the ENTIRE YEAR.

Compare that to the interest I earned in my ever-growing Savings Acct (at a Credit Union - one that still pays halfway decent interest). Or the interest I would have paid to HD Credit, had I not moved the balance...

In the end, I am definitely "Ahead!"

So yes, the 0% game "can" work.

There's a Scary Zero Percent Game, however. One that I'm playing now. When Dynah went in for surgery, I dragged out a new Mastercard (one with "limited" zero percent interest and a whole bunch of wonky rules) (Oh, incidentally, all of my credit cards - except for the one or two that I actually use - are locked inside our safe). Anyway, it's a brandy-new card with a halfway decent limit. But the 'highball estimate' the vet's office provided exceeded that, unfortunately.

So they steer me to their 0% for 12 months "CareCredit" financing. What am I gonna do, right? I signed up for it - just so I could get her checked-in and lined up for surgery...

I read the "fine-print" later, of course. Here's the kicker: Interest starts accruing the minute you use the credit-line. They waive it if you pay it off within the promotional period. However... If you DON'T pay it off by the end of 12 months, ALL of the interest, going back to Day 1, gets tagged onto the bill. And the interest rate is some outrageous amt, like >22%.

"Aye Chihuahua!!!"

Needless to say, I will *not* be a day or two late with THAT final payment!

Credit Cards definitely can be scary. And yes, I'm one of those people who "got into trouble" with credit when I was younger (and dumber, and poorer!). It wasn't too terribly awful (it was well under $10K), and the 'Bank of Mom' bailed me out (and yes, she's since been repaid!). After that, I refused to even HAVE credit cards! If I didn't have the cash, I wouldn't make the purchase (which is actually the BEST way to be, I think!).

DH Roger was the one who convinced me I needed to rebuild my credit so, over time, I started opening charge accounts again. Now I like to think I have a much healthier attitude about credit and I'm "pretty good" about keeping my spending habits under control. Actually, that's not too difficult because I am an atypical female - I actually HATE to shop. (Well, except online!!!)

I've known quite a few people with very unhealthy spending habits ("Ooh! Shiny! I think I'll buy it!" - OR - "It's on sale, I think I'll buy three!") - and I don't want to be like them!

One good "Mantra" a friend of mine shared with me: Whenever she sees something she thinks she wants, she asks herself "Do I like this more than I like my money?" I really like that approach, and I've adopted it myself!

I'll admit, sometimes I make purchases that "sane" people would consider utterly ridiculous - but they all pass the "I like this more than I like my money" test (Like $300.00 to a scalper for ONE ticket to a Jimmy Buffett concert at the Fillmore - a venue so small I could actually see him sweat!) (Or "several thousand dollars" for back surgery for Dynah!)...

My short-term goal, right now, is to get the credit balances paid down 'til they're below the combined savings account balances! Right now, I'm running at a deficit, but I think I can turn that around in the next couple-three months.........

Okay, that's enough "rambling" for now. I gotta go get started on food prep for tonight's BBQ.