Our weekend in the Berkshires
Apr. 30th, 2009 12:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jim_pTam and I spent a few days at our timeshare in the Berkshires this past weekend. We desperately needed the getaway, and we planned to do pretty much NOTHING but relax. Sleep, cook, eat, enjoy the two-person tub, spend "quality time" together, etc. No touristy things, no side trips, just a break from it all.
How did we end up with a timeshare, you may ask? A friend of ours bought in a number of years ago thinking it would be a good "real estate investment" as well as a possible rendezvous-spot with their then-SO. For a variety of reasons she eventually got so disgusted that she said "First $50 takes it!". Since we'd spent some time there previously at her invitation and kinda liked it, I peeled off two 20s and a 10 and said "Sold".
This was the very entry-level type of membership, lowest-demand time ("Blue" for those in the know), every other year. A couple years later we upgraded to an every-year ownership for a few $K.
While we were there we took advantage of an offer to "discuss new membership options", which we KNEW would be a form of sales pitch, and we were right. We took a tour of one of the newest units, then met with a salesperson to discuss possible upgrades.
We had an interesting conversation, but when it came time to decide to buy I informed the salesperson that she caught us at a very bad time. The cost of the upgrade was about the same as we currently owe the IRS, so guess which comes first? At which point she got very short: "Okay, here's your $75 for doing the tour, you're all set, see you later". On the way IN we were escorted every step of the way and treated nice; afterwards we had to find our own way out.
They seemed to be pushing INCREDIBLY hard to sell while we were there. Our unit overlooked both the sales office and the model unit, and we saw a constant parade of sales tours during our time there. There was almost a "Glengarry Glen Ross" feel to the whole thing... I think our salesperson gave us the bum's rush because she needed to get on to the next prospect right quick. I think all the salespeople faced serious pressure from above. I wouldn't want to be in their shoes...
Over the past few years they had built a bunch of new high-end units and I think they were desperate to fill them. They were pushing existing owners to upgrade to the new "Presidential" units, and it looked like they were pushing new prospects to take the older units from those who upgraded.
Then it struck me: the unit we were currently in didn't seem as "nice" as when we first stayed there. The couch was a bit saggier, the carpets a bit more dingy, the bedspreads a bit more threadbare. My guess is that the way they operate is that once they build a unit that's it: it gets no updates, no renovation, nothing but absolutely necessary repairs. Everything they have goes into building NEW units and pushing people into them. It's almost like an internal Ponzi scheme: we need to keep getting people into NEW units in order to be able to service the existing ones...
How did we end up with a timeshare, you may ask? A friend of ours bought in a number of years ago thinking it would be a good "real estate investment" as well as a possible rendezvous-spot with their then-SO. For a variety of reasons she eventually got so disgusted that she said "First $50 takes it!". Since we'd spent some time there previously at her invitation and kinda liked it, I peeled off two 20s and a 10 and said "Sold".
This was the very entry-level type of membership, lowest-demand time ("Blue" for those in the know), every other year. A couple years later we upgraded to an every-year ownership for a few $K.
While we were there we took advantage of an offer to "discuss new membership options", which we KNEW would be a form of sales pitch, and we were right. We took a tour of one of the newest units, then met with a salesperson to discuss possible upgrades.
We had an interesting conversation, but when it came time to decide to buy I informed the salesperson that she caught us at a very bad time. The cost of the upgrade was about the same as we currently owe the IRS, so guess which comes first? At which point she got very short: "Okay, here's your $75 for doing the tour, you're all set, see you later". On the way IN we were escorted every step of the way and treated nice; afterwards we had to find our own way out.
They seemed to be pushing INCREDIBLY hard to sell while we were there. Our unit overlooked both the sales office and the model unit, and we saw a constant parade of sales tours during our time there. There was almost a "Glengarry Glen Ross" feel to the whole thing... I think our salesperson gave us the bum's rush because she needed to get on to the next prospect right quick. I think all the salespeople faced serious pressure from above. I wouldn't want to be in their shoes...
Over the past few years they had built a bunch of new high-end units and I think they were desperate to fill them. They were pushing existing owners to upgrade to the new "Presidential" units, and it looked like they were pushing new prospects to take the older units from those who upgraded.
Then it struck me: the unit we were currently in didn't seem as "nice" as when we first stayed there. The couch was a bit saggier, the carpets a bit more dingy, the bedspreads a bit more threadbare. My guess is that the way they operate is that once they build a unit that's it: it gets no updates, no renovation, nothing but absolutely necessary repairs. Everything they have goes into building NEW units and pushing people into them. It's almost like an internal Ponzi scheme: we need to keep getting people into NEW units in order to be able to service the existing ones...
