Twice now I've been contacted by a corporation I actually do business with to inform me my name has been selected in a celebration of something or other and that I've won a free trip to one of five "phenomenal" destinations.
I wasn't interested in any of the 20 locations (each list of destinations had back-up destinations)... Geez! Who would think I could be such a party pooper?!? What is wrong with me??? I don't want to go to Disney World or Disneyland or Las Vegas or Branson or somewhere in Mexico or even Great Smoky Mountains National Park???
As I told one salesperson (yes, a salesperson tries to sell the idea of a "free" vacation), nothing against Tennesee at all and I actually would like to visit North Carolina one day, but I live right near Rocky Mountain National Park and have been to Olympic, Mount Rainier, North Cascades, Crater Lake, Sequoia, Yosemite, Yellowstone and Tetons, not to mention every national park in Utah. The mountains of Tennesee aren't a tremendous temptation, especially if the "free" vacation could be spent in a different national park I'd rather visit... such as Glacier National Park, one of the top ten destinations on my bucket list.
The salespeople might actually be able to win me over if they were ever to offer me a destination I like, but that's not the point of today's rant.
Each time, after berating me for not wanting to take advantage of any of these "luxurious and high-demand" locations, the salesperson hangs up on me.
No big loss; trust me. But there is this nagging temptation to contact the corporation to cue them in to a little secret: The sales pitch and the salespeople are not earning them any brownie points. I'd even like to tell them one of the reasons I'm not doing as much business with them is because I have a sour taste in my mouth after chewing on such "special offers."
To be completely candid, I have not accepted any "free" vacations from this corporation, so I can't verify the offers are scams. They just feel like scams to me. And the etiquette of the employees attempting to bully me into something I don't really want doesn't speak highly of the corporation's ethics.
I tried researching to discover whether these "offers" are worth the heartache. I didn't find anything yet regarding the specific corporation hounding me, but I found some fun comments on an exposé about the "free" timeshare vacations that aren't actually free...
"South Park's 'Asspen' episode was a good portrayal of the nightmare that a timeshare presentation can become." - Guest
"Sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Can I get in on that?! -- if I send my SS number, bank info, birth certificate, marriage certificate, tax returns? Is it too late?" - SKS
"Probably even more people fall for this than for the Money-from-Nigeria scam, so this report is kind of a public service for the gullible." - Laughing Buddah
"What do you mean 'Money-from-Nigeria scam'? I'm waiting for my check to come in the mail! I had an unknown relative who died and left a ton of money over there. I am going to be rich!" - Skip
"There's no such thing as a free lunch (or dinner, or vacation, or anything else for that matter)." - DarqueSideOfTheMoon
"Yes there is, when it's made as part of a friendly sports wager." - Guest
"I got a call saying my name had been drawn. Drawn? By whom? Where? I asked, 'Where was this ballot submitted? I'm a victim of identity theft. The impostor has likely conned you into thinking he's me.' CLICK!!!" - derbradster
"Whenever these people call me, I tell them to leave their name and number and I will forward them to my lawyer. Most of the time I hear click and they hang up. Once - only once, the person asked me why I wanted to get a lawyer involved. Hahahaha." - Tom
"I own part of Prince Ibo Mugabuto's oil well in Nigeria now, all I had to send was $500 to show I was serious, and as soon as Exxon sends his check, he is going to send me $1 million. That was seven years ago, but these things sometimes take time." - Guest
"Never go to free giveaways. It's either crooks like this or cops trying to get you on an outstanding warrant." - DNice
"Won't argue your first point or ask how you know about the second." - Guest
"You guys are just having bad luck. I've been sending my money to a Nigerian prince who says he has a royal family inheritance he will share with me. I'm so lucky!" - Moops
"What?!? You, too???" - snowdogg
"Back in the 80s I got a 'free' set of steak knives. After traveling a 150-mile round trip and spending an afternoon listening to BS. I later found the same knife set at Walmart for $5.95." - Dave
"I just got a call on my cell telling me I won a cruise for two! Can't wait to get on that boat! Getting my $100 fee in the mail to them tomorrow! LOL." - Chris
"Most major corporations use third-party companies so they're not held responsible." - chris32280
"Lots of good lawyers would take this on in a heartbeat--if the company has any assets." - Mike
And then, a few days later, I finally found a review of the very same offer presented to me, and I am SO happy the "salespeople" hung up on me!!!
"A scary notion: Bamboozlement as a sales qualifying tool." - Sebastian Marshall
Good to avoid those scams altogether. Free trips and such are almost always so. And yeah, like you say, why do you want to go somewhere that has what you already have. Why beaches and water trips never appeal to me. It's 5 mins down the road and free. Pffft to spending $1000 to go somewhere with it.
ReplyDeleteI'm pffft to spending even $10 or $20 on a place I don't long to see! Too many places I do want to see to waste even a few minutes surviving scammers or traveling to places I don't really care about.
DeleteI don't think about those offers twice. It's not worth it. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, Babajeza! Took me too long to figure out those offers are for the birds!
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