I know that this blog is mostly about golf. But it also has to do with travel and some of the odd happenings that I have been involved in during my life's journey. This one doesn't necessarily fit into the odd category, but I think that it still is an interesting story and one I would love to share. At this point, I would think that you would be wondering what detailing your car and buying a timeshare have to do with golf? Stay with me on this one.
Let's start at the beginning, shall we? Our 2014 Hyundai Elantra Hatchback was starting to look a bit worn. It needed a facelift and a good cleaning on the inside. The time had come to find a service that would bring back that "new car" look and feel to that great car that had served us so well. What shall we do and how do we find a car detailing service that would come out to our house and make the Elantra like new again.
We looked into four or five companies that did mobile car detailing. One of the companies offered a deal that if you had one of their service technicians come out and detail your car at your house they would throw in either a two nights stay in Reno at a top hotel or a three night stay in Las Vegas. Sign me up baby! There was a catch. Yes, the room in Las Vegas was deluxe, but you had to attend a two hour sales presentation for you guessed it-a timeshare.
Have you ever been to a timeshare presentation? Oh, come on now you can admit it. I have been to a lot of them and had yet to buy one. You all know the drill. You go in and they show you the resort and all its glory. They tell you the advantages of owning a time share. There is the obligatory tour of the resort and after that you are led to the slaughter room. This is where you are hammered and the salesman tries to get you to sign up where buying in costs an arm and a leg.. If you have been through this, you know what I am talking about so I'm not going to go into detail.
I was very confident that we would enjoy a few days in Las Vegas and I was sure we would pack in a round of golf which we did. The timeshare presentation was just going to be a nuisance that was all part of a pleasant trip and we may even get a free show or Las Vegas attraction out of the deal as well for a couple of hours of our time. By the way, I should say here that both Denise and I hate Las Vegas and Denise doesn't like to travel. The appointment time at the resort arrived and it was time to go. I was ready. I had practiced over and over my "saying no" skills and they were well honed. Off we went.
As we drove to the resort where we were to attend the presentation I was confident that there was no way I was ever going to get mixed up in or buy a timeshare. I know the drawbacks of a timeshare such as the limited availability of the resort when you want to go and spend your week or two weeks. You were lucky to get your weeks even if you book up to a year in advance. Not only that, its cheaper to just book an Embassy Suites room when you want to go somewhere than to buy into a timeshare. After you have bought the timeshare, you still have the dreaded maintenance fee. There is no way for this cowboy.
The presentation/sales lobby was on the 9th floor of the resort. We were the only couple in the lobby and patiently waited as to what was going to happen next. Out came this big guy and he said, "Mr. and Mrs. Rallis I'm Charles (the name has been changed to protect the innocent) and its good to meet you. Come on back." He was very pleasant, and inside to myself I was practicing-no, no, NO! I was comforted by the fact that I had been in this timeshare sales bullring before and I knew where this was going. Besides, my wife doesn't like to travel so we were safe.
We sat down with Charles and chatted. As a former salesman, I knew what he was doing. He was trying to build rapport with us so that he could build an easy going relationship between us. Yep, I could see right through him, but it was quite pleasant. He talked briefly about the program the company was offering and I liked it, but I knew I was not going to buy. This company offered a points based program where you had access to several resorts in some very desirable destinations. He took us into a video viewing area where we were watched the rah-rah video for the company, and as we filed into the video room, he told us, "I know you are not going to buy, but I have to show you this video. After the video we can sit down for a few minutes more and I have a few more things to show you and then I will let you go to enjoy the rest of your day in Las Vegas." So, in we went and watched the video. He was right, there was no way I was going to buy into this.
What he showed us was of course the numbers and what it was going to cost to buy into this. At first he showed us the cadillac plan that showed the premium membership. It was expensive and Charles knew we would not go for it because it was way out of our budget. He then came out with this, "For a limited time we have been authorized to show the plan that we offer to our employees." This plan was quite a bit less and was affordable, all things considered.
I knew that this was coming and I was totally prepared to say no. We were going to say no and the new opportunity was what Charles would try to close the deal with. I was ready. All that practice saying no and here it came.
Charles did an end run. He looked away from me and turned to Denise. "So, Denise how do you like this opportunity. Can we go ahead and write it up and get you into ownership today?" There was silence. And then my wife said, "Yes, that looks great. I like the idea. Let's go ahead and write it up."
Uh, what did you say Denise. I thought to myself what did you just do dear? Who is this woman sitting next to me and what did you do with my wife Denise? Needless to say I was quite taken aback. I was OK with the deal but was shocked that my wife said yes. The "Big One" almost came because of the shock. She did ask me after she said yes and after the long pause, "That's OK with me if you're OK with it." So, we now own a timeshare-congratulations-or at least that was what Charles said.
As I said before, Denise does not like to travel. In order for her to go anywhere it has to cost dearly as far as loosing money and paying for something she is not using. Let's face it folks, this timeshare is costing us an arm and a leg but it is worth every penny of it. We use our timeshare, and use it a lot. Yes, its never going to pay for itself financially but it has paid off in us travelling where we hadn't traveled before. We have chosen a resort we like to go to (Palm Springs) and that is where the golf comes in. Besides, we like Palm Springs and with our timeshare company we have other options as well. In fact, we just came back from a week in the San Diego area and what else-played golf. We love it.
I am still not a fan of the timeshare industry and idea. In fact, if you are at a resort and are offered a good deal on cheap attractions, be careful. Most likely you will have to go to a lengthy-they are never the one hour presentations that they say they are-timeshare presentation where they will hammer you to buy a timeshare. However, for us it has worked out and we just were hooked up with an opportunity that we can live with and enjoy. Oh and by the way, if anyone needs the name of a good car detailing company I have one for you.
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