So, my partner (female) has been speaking to three different companies recently to come out and quote us a new front door and to check our widows to help resolve some issues with draught and to make things a bit more secure. They’ve all agreed to come measure up and quote, however all three companies have asked that I be there as well.
Is this normal? Is there a specific reason they would want/need me there as well as my partner? Or is it just blatant misogyny?
To be honest, my partner has got a far better idea about this sort of thing (I’m more computers/electronics), so I don’t really see what value I’ll be adding by being there. The only non-misogynist reason I can think of is that they’re going to lay on some high-pressure sales and get us to agree to the job on the spot or something, but it all seems a bit odd.
Keen to see if anyone else has come across this, or has any insight on why they’d need both of us there.
34 comments
It’s normal, and IMHO it is not misogyny (could have been other way round), just prudence on the part of quoting company.
Windows and doors are expensive and can run into 5 figures easily if you do the whole house.
Company definitely wants both homeonwners there to accept the quote before they order the materials and the customers then change their minds, because one was absent from the meeting.
Inconceivable that Mrs tmstms and I would not do something as big as that together.
It’s mostly high pressure sales tactics because you can’t say “Oh, I need to check with my partner”
It does seem to be more common with windows and doors companies for some reason to go through the whole “oh, I spoke to my manager and we can give you a discount if you commit RIGHT NOW” – I did actually take the discount offer once but we ended up cancelling it and getting a full refund a week later because we slept on it and decided to sell the house instead.
They want to quote you on the day and pressure you into accepting.
Did they ask for you to both be there? Or specifically just you?
If it’s both, that’s entirely why. Just the caring about the quote getting heard by the right person.
If they asked for just you, that’s for the same reason, but also misogyny.
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I’d get them round to quote for just me, let them go through the entire ordeal, then tell them I’ll get back to them once I explain this all to the wife so she can decide, as I don’t deal with this stuff.
Then show them the door with a smug smile on my face 🙂
Amusingly, ours insisted my wife be present for quotes.
I had the same thing a few months ago, they insisted that we should both be home and it’s so that they can try and pressure people into buying on the day. They don’t want either of you to say “I’ll have to discuss with my other half”
Everyone saying sales tactics but could it just be for safety reasons? They’ve probably had a complaint in the past and are just making sure they don’t get accused of anything. Maybe?
It’s a pressure sales thing shitty companies do, just cancel the appointment now as they won’t be giving a quote that stands up to any competition and will probably be a chore to get rid of.
BTW, OP -there are now three answers (including mine) where the company has insisted that the WIFE be present.
Its nothing yo do with gender, when I (man) was organising my windows they insisted on my partner (woman) being there so we both agreed to it all.
They don’t want you dodging out of things saying “I’ll ask my parnter” or at the end of the day the partner not included not being happy as the main contact person didn’t describe it right.
On a side note, I’m not sure who you are going with but safestyle were right cunts when they came over doing the hard sell then on refusal I was offered 3 discounts totalling at least 20% off
Might be a liability thing, one or two complaints might have them covering themselves to be extra careful.
My advice buying windows and doors is avoid the big national companies, their sales tactics and products are often woeful.
Find a local independent company with good, genuine reviews.
We had ours measured up by the owner of the company, he was honest, did a better quote than the big boys and their fitters were direct employees not contractors.
I recommend them to everyone I see looking for windows locally.
I don’t know what companies you are going with but consider local recommended companies in your evaluation if you haven’t already. I’ve found them much better for straight talking and accepting that they are invited round to quote only. I am absolutely not down for a hard sell or pressure tactics and I found local companies to be much better at just providing a straightforward quote on request. I have previously had to forcefully order a glazing salesman to leave my property before when he did the hard sell and we were going round in circles with me insisting that no decision would be made that day and would be dependent on other quotes received. Needless to say that after that they would never have got my business but it’s clearly a tactic that works for them and this is almost certainly why they want both decision makers to be present.
I wonder if anyone has booked for quotations to happen at the same time. Invite them all round and only agree to speak to all at the same time. Give them 5 mins each to pitch their product and service and then go full live auction mode! I doubt it would work out but could be fun to turn the tables in your favour!
This is not normal.
I’ve been contacting and arranging for some windows to be looked at in a PA capacity. At no point have I been asked anything about having anyone else be there. Infact they want to deal with me rather than the person whose house it is. If you’re having these questions already about the company, I’d suggest ditching them.
I’ve worked in windows & doors for 2 weeks before I escaped the hell hole, and from what I could tell, everything’s just scripted & heavily outdated.
It’s all about sealing the sale. They’re there, and they won’t likely come back again if you “need time to think” or discuss things.
And my god, the amount of keywords you had to remember. I explicitly remember being told to mention ‘government requirements’ a few times, to try and scare customers into thinking they’re doing something wrong if they refuse as, it’s a government requirement, even though it was totally bullshit.
Some won’t quote if you refuse to both be there. It’s a shit tactic that they use to play you off each other.
Watch out for them ‘stepping out to ring the office’ whilst you discuss / they try and arrange more discount. Especially if they leave their folder lying around – it’s not uncommon for them to leave another phone in there and go outside to listen to your conversation on it. Slimy bastards.
My other half once answered the door to a certain religious type to be told she was too young to speak to them and you are required to be 30 or over, they were sure there must be someone older in the house
It removes the excuse of “I’ll need to check with my partner before signing up for something expensive”
Its a simple, pressure sales tactic.
I liked my wife’s tactics with window companies who played this game, she invited 5 companies round to arrive at the same time.
She sat them down gave them tea and cake and told them the rules of the game.
In front of them was a specification, they had up to 45 mins to measure up and leave a quote in a supplied envelope. No BS special offers, calls to their manager or signing on the day would be happening, more tea and cake was available on request and they had to leave after the 45 minutes.
If they didn’t like the game they could leave, 1 of the reps from a huge national firm got up and left and the other 4 did as tasked.
Yes this happened to me, they kept asking that my partner be there and every time they did that I said I was no longer interested. That me and my husband had funnily enough discussed getting new windows and doors and given I was the one working from home I would only be available for quotes. I went with the company who didn’t question my partner being present and didn’t pressure us to pay a deposit that day.
I’ve had this before, but the opposite way around. I’m male and was asking for a quote and they refused to arrange an appointment unless my partner was there too. Binned them off in the end because it was nigh-on impossible to get time during office hours when we’re both available.
It’s normal. It’s so they can try to pressure the two of you into a sale on the spot. Gender doesn’t have anything to do with it.
Two other things to look out for that companies who use that first tactic will do:
Give you an absurd cost (for me it was 14k for a bathroom that I’ve since did for 3k, which should give an indication of the size of the job..), then give you some spiel about the manager authorising a special discount for customers who he thinks would benefit from it (this brought it down to 11k for us, still insane.) And then when you turn that down there’s a last ditch quote (for us it was 9k) and them saying that’s the best they can manage. They deliberately start at a stupid number they know you won’t accept to make the final number look like a good deal.
Second thing they try is after you’ve declined all of these, they’ll ring you a week later and say they’ve had a cancellation, and it’s more cost effective for them to keep the fitters busy than have them sit around, so they’ll do your job “for cost” but it needs to be in the next two weeks or whatever. This quote will be closer to an accurate price but for us was still ridiculous (7.8k). The time pressure is to make you make a decision quicker without evaluating it.
Hope this helps you avoid any potential rip offs.
Standard door/window hard-sell.
You close the couple together so they can’t leave it and “see what the Mrs says”.
A typical door/window hard-sales company also refuse to sit appointments with Asian surnames, because Asians “like to collect quotes”.
Never buy from a hard-sell (Source, used to do hard-selling)
Cancel the appointments. Speak to a well respected local joiner who does windows, he will get a better price, experience and end result.
I’ve had this, but the other way around (they insisted my wife was present too), so probably not sexism.
I feel really naive in one way that I assumed it was for the protection in the person coming to quote, so they weren’t alone with the wife and can’t be accused of anything. I thought this knowing from experience about national window companies, but as I avoid them by default I assumed OP did and it was a local company not a pressure sale prick.
My husband did an induction with Safestyle a few years ago before he sacked them off as shysters. They want both parties there because it’s not about the windows, it’s about the finance they can sell you to pay for windows and they don’t want you to cancel a couple of days later ‘after talking it over with your husband’.
Typical sexist attitude.
I like to pre-plan the rhetoric with my Mrs in these cases
Let them do their shit and every time they address you because you’re the male when it could be either person you turn you your missus and say it’s your call, you earn the money.
Then not one of these sexist companies get the business, because at the end, the mrs responds with due to the sexist nature of the company requiring the male to be present and addressing him while ignoring me, you’ve lost the sale, good bye, don’t pester us again.
We were told it was for legal reasons. Both home owners needed to be present before making such a big purchase etc.
If this is either Anglian or SafeStyle UK
Run. Run fast and Run far. Absolutely awful companies. Right from the surveying, pricing, fitting and aftercare when you no doubt need it for a hundred and one remedial visits
Go local to someone who takes pride in their work and relies on their local reputation
‘Measure Up and quote’ lmao.
Ye, they make it sound like it’s a quick quote – tape measure out, a few scribbles and a price, simple!
But no, the fuckers are there to hard sell, they’ll bring a box full of samples and tell you lots of jargon bullshit and try to get you to sign a deposit…….and they probably won’t even measure your windows.
In my experience, fuck these guys off, get a local tradesman to quote you.
Try getting a quote when you are single… one asked if my Dad would be present.
The one I ended up going with continued to call me several times a year for years after the install to try and sell me more windows! So annoying
Yeah I’d uninvite them and say sorry disappointed my your misogyny if you won’t work with my wife we aren’t working with you
I have a plumber mate who does this. Not because of sales tactics – (he quotes, leaves and call later to see if they’ve taken him up on it) but because he was accused of assault by a single woman in her own home. Fortunately his workmate was with him that day, in the van and could see them through the kitchen window, and could refute her claims. He now never works alone in a single woman’s home.
It’s entirely misogyny. They’ll cry themselves black and blue to say it isn’t, but it absolutely it. Even if you say, “I don’t know a single thing about windows, doors, diy, prices, or schedules. Please talk to my wife. ” When you open the door, They’ll STILL direct every single sentence to you. I’ve watched it happen. Try it yourself.