Turn the Tables on Big Ticket Retailers

When you purchase something large on credit, the company extending you the credit wants to know a few things about you, right?  Of course.  Unless you're using a credit card, they'll want to know all kinds of things about you.  They'll run a credit check for sure and they'll know a lot about you based on what they are authorized by the government to pry into.  If you're like me, you don't like the one-sided nature of these transactions.  I'm purchasing something that costs a lot of money and my integrity as well as my credit record are spotless.  I'd be willing to bet that I am a better, more reliable and honest member of society than the organization I'm patronizing deserves.

The next time you buy something, ask the representative of the company you're buying from a lot of questions about the reliability and integrity of the company.  This works with locally owned businesses like car dealerships, home builders, real estate agencies, etc.  Don't go into Target asking the salesperson about the reliability of the company.  You'll just get blank stares and probably hold up the line.

If you're buying a car, ask for the names of every layer of management from the salesperson to the owner of the dealership.  Ask for their tax ID number.  Ask them if they have any unresolved complaints with the Better Business Bureau.  If they answer that they're a member of the local BBB, tell them that a sticker on a window doesn't constitute a complaint free business.  Of course you should already know the answer yourself.  If not, verify it before purchasing.  Your decision whether or not to deal with the company will make itself if they lie.  But that's the idea.  Asking questions gives them every opportunity to prove themselves as a worthy seller.

We, as consumers, as patrons of so many establishments should not let them control the transaction with questions that put us on the defensive, as if WE were the seller.  The buyer has the money and therefore the power.  Don't allow salespeople to gain the upper hand (and every single one of them will try), be the buyer who doesn't need what they're selling.  Don't deal with companies that are dishonest or unresponsive to you, the customer.

Ultimately, you shouldn't buy anything from a chain of any kind.  These places have almost completely taken the power away from the consumer.  This is especially true when the economy is good.  Have you ever felt powerless when dealing with a problem in a chain store or on a customer service line?  Don't you get the feeling that they don't care about you as an individual customer because you're more trouble than you're worth.  Have you ever felt just the slightest bit silly after threatening to take your business elsewhere and then realizing that the person you're speaking to could not care less, regardless of how many apologies they've plastered you with. The two most meaningless phrases in customer service are "thank you" and "I'm sorry".

We could completely turn our economy and our nation around by the simple act of refusing to buy from chain stores and franchises.  Buy local.  Deal locally.  Get to know the people you do business with.  But be an honest customer; don't take advantage of good people.

Large corporations want us to be homogenized so they can produce a limited number of products and sell them in large quantities to a population with very few choices.  Now you're saying, "But we have an incredible number of products and more choices than we know what to do with."  Think about this:  There used to be dozens of car manufacturers in this country making a real variety of automobiles.  Now look.  It would be difficult to make any real distinction between all the models available.  They're homogenized for mass appeal.

Don't buy them...