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stranger
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I met a woman who, upon taking delivery of her new car at the dealership, asked how much she was going to be paid for advertising. The dealer had no clue what she was talking about. She was insistent - if her car was going to carry the logo of the dealership on it, she wanted reimbursement. I think they finally painted it over. The wearer is paying the company to promote its name, rather than vice versa. For the privilege of being a walking billboard, the purchaser may have paid many times the normal price of that product.
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It's a well-guarded fact that you can ask to have the dealer's decal or medallion removed as part of the purchase agreement.
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stranger
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Isn't it probably true that a goodly number of people who are willing to pay exorbitant prices are ones who are happy to show off or confirm that they can afford to wear these items (or are smart enough to find them discounted and can appear to afford them)? There are plenty of high quality and predictably expensive items that don't reveal the maker with their logos; people who don't want to advertise but want quality can find it, I contend.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pertinent to a supposed singular difference between La-La Land and the Midwest. Back there apparently nobody objects when the dealer drills two holes in the trunk of your new car in order to affix his logo; the very idea of which is said to horrify us down here--in other climes labeled as crazies
dalehileman
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I always ask the dealership not to add their decal or logo to my car. It is done at the dealership when a car is sold since they sometimes trade cars amongst dealerships.
They invariably chuckle when I ask, but when I insist they write it in the contract, with a clause that the contract will be null and void if the decal or logo appears anywhere on or in my car, they get all serious. Several have tried to impress the fact on me that they would make sure the decal was not put on, that it really didn't need to be written down, but I'm adamant - no decal cancellation clause, no sale!
One dealership put the decal on anyway, and snarky-smiled at me, saying "Oh well, we're sorry, it's glued on now. We can't very well remove it." I promptly walked into the office to cancel the purchase based on the conditions stipulated in our contract; you never saw a decal being removed so quickly.
Car dealerships are everywhere, I don't need to be snarked at.
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Pooh-Bah
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A car dealership is part of the Establishment, whose overriding purpose is the exploitation of the hoi polloi (me)
dalehileman
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you can ask to have the dealer's decal or medallion removed as part of the purchase agreement. Cool! I'm gonna remember that!
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Pooh-Bah
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Well done Belle! I'll remember that.
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The car dealership logo is certainly always the first thing I notice when looking at a car driving by. I always know immediately where the dealership is and how to reach them for the next time I want to buy a car that's spewing exhaust fumes into the air.
If y'all were serious, you'd ask them to remove all indications of the make and model of the car, too. Surely that's even more blatant free advertising.
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addict
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If y'all were serious, you'd ask them to remove all indications of the make and model of the car, too. Surely that's even more blatant free advertising. I have a friend who can tell you the make/model and approximate year of a car from very tiny details (sort of like Marisa Tomei's character in My Cousin Vinny) so you should just drive it immediately to the junk yard and have it squished into a cube. Make sure you don't leave any tire tracks on the way.
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if you want to own (for instance) a delorean, you're going to buy a delorean, and in the words of those most able to afford a delorean, it is what it is -- that doesn't mean you have to like the scamster you buy it from, or that you should be forced to carry his logo.
as a more approachable example, if you want a pair of Nikes, you shouldn't expect to have to wear a Macy's logo as well, if that's where you buy them.
We all have to make choices and compromises; wisdom comes in knowing which battles can be reasonably waged.
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Pooh-Bah
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I was thinking in even more general terms.
They made an agreement with Belle then completely ignored it and expected their customer to accept this; moreover they lied and said it couldn't be fixed. Whether an issue is minor or vital the dealership should stick to the agreement they have agreed to.
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veteran
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We all have to make choices and compromises; wisdom comes in knowing which battles can be reasonably waged. Wrongo, tsuwm. Wisdom comes with distinguishing which battles must be fought in order to continue allegiance with reality. What? You want to compromise basic principals for base pragmatism ?
Last edited by themilum; 01/30/2008 4:36 AM.
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I was thinking in even more general terms.
They made an agreement with Belle then completely ignored it and expected their customer to accept this; moreover they lied and said it couldn't be fixed. Whether an issue is minor or vital the dealership should stick to the agreement they have agreed to.
Absolutely right. Often, with big corporations, they'll think you don't know any better, or play on the fact that people don't like to be confrontational. Does anybody remember the movie FARGO in which car salesman Lundegaard (William H. Macy) has sprayed "Tru-coat" on a car and the couple buying the car wind up paying for it, even if they refused it in the first place. They're all exasperated, but they pay for it anyway. This happens too many times in real life. Mind you, I think it throws them off when somebody is confrontational, but with a good humoured smile; they're never quite sure how to handle that.
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It does indeed baffle them. My husband is usually the one to answer the phone, so he handles most of the telemarketers. In the not so distant past, an agency wanting to 're-shape' our debt called, and cajoled him to sign up to have them lower the interest rates on our cards. When my husband refused, the telemarketer asked "Do you like having debt" to which he responded "I'm just fine with it, yes." The telemarketer stammered a bit and then said "Have a good evening with your debt, sir" and hung up. 
tempus edax rerum
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[drifting e] My husband has always wanted to try what he heard on a radio program: when a carpet/drape cleaning service calls, say, "Oh, yes, there's blood everywhere, all over the carpet and even halfway up the drapes; can you come right now?" Ooh! I Googled and found this site--no ads. It includes I don't have a phone, why would I need long distance? I did not peruse much beyond this, so can't say that there isn't anything offensive on there.
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the problem with telemarketers is the caller is just a person that needs a job. there are a lot of other jobs I wish people wouldn't do.
if people would stop buying and giving out info over the phone, telemarketing would stop.
formerly known as etaoin...
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Aye, but the words, "I'm just doing my job" does not absolve them of anything. These people go into this job knowing that they are universally thought of as unpleasant (hated by some), so they shouldn't be surprised by the emotions they evoke.
My old roomie used to be a telemarketer; successful enough at it to pay his share of the rent and utilities. The ploys they use to hook people are underhanded at best, illegal and mean at worst.
One of the first things they are taught is to keep a person talking, to keep the line open. It is the polite people, who don't know how to hang up, that get hooked into buying things.
The second I find out it is a telemarketer, I say, "I'm not interested" and hang up...unless the call comes in after 9:00 p.m., then I'm rather harsh in telling them that disturbing people after 9:00 is rude and inconsiderate and hang up.
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> Aye, but the words, "I'm just doing my job" does not absolve them of anything.
hence my second sentence.
formerly known as etaoin...
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I got that Eta, but you should see these sales techniques; it is amazing how they finagle a yes out of a no.
If people knew how to say no, if they were stronger, if the uneducated knew their rights more, if there weren't too many elderly who were easily taken advantage of, if there weren't too many desperate people...
There are too many ifs to excuse the techniques used by shifty sales people and not enough laws to protect those people they take advantage of. You can't blame a gullible person for being gullible, but you can certainly blame somebody for taking advantage of them.
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There are too many ifs to excuse the techniques used by shifty sales people and not enough laws to protect those people they take advantage of. You can't blame a gullible person for being gullible, but you can certainly blame somebody for taking advantage of them. agreed. I guess I'm saying we can't always blame the caller who's just trying to put food on the table. it's a sucky job, and it's a shame that anyone needs to do it.
formerly known as etaoin...
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I think there's enough blame to go around.
While I agree that it's sad people get swindled, I don't want more laws restricting behavior and activities. At some point in time, these laws cease to protect people and simply absolve them from responsibility for their own actions.
Last edited by Maven; 01/31/2008 4:22 PM.
tempus edax rerum
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At some point in time, these laws cease to protect people and simply absolve them from responsibility for their own actions. Whoa! Interesting idea. Can you give any examples, real or theoretical?
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I think the law is not able to protect people from anything in the first place. It can set things right if it is sensibly and succesfully applied or enforced. And in going on to do so it may be a foothold and guideline to human social conduct.
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I think of the idea of justice being blind. If justice is blind, then the juggernaut of bureaucracy is going to leave behind a trail of citizens who are not truly criminals but are being punished as such. But if justice is not blind, then is any human being capable of deciding when to make exceptions?
I think of a woman in an abusive relationship who has exhausted all legal means of protecting herself and her children and out of self-defense murders her husband, and then is tried and convicted (her gender will work against her; misogyny is rampant in the justice system) and sentenced to life in prison. It's not fair, but she did commit a crime.
Sorry, I know this is not word related, but it's such an interesting topic!
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I was thinking of laws that limit action in an attempt to 'save' citizens from themselves. Banning trans-fats from restaurants, for example, which implies that restaurants are to blame for the porcine rear-ends rather than the over-indulgant mouths feeding them. Lawsuits from heart attack victims are sure to follow, in my cynical opinion.
Another potential law that rings of a bail-out-turned-cop-out can be found in many of the proposed legal solutions to the current US housing market slump. So many lenders extended credit to poor risks, who in turn failed to grasp their legal liability in purchasing a house with an ARM or interest-only loan that now the housing market is on the verge of collapse. Many of the propostions being bantied about put the blame on the lenders, absolving from accountability those who signed their name on the dotted line. Three years ago as this crisis was dot on the horizon, there were complaints that lenders were taking advantage of home buyers who didn't understand the paperwork. In my less than complimentary opinion, that it not the fault of the lender! When I purchased my house, I was asked if I understood the contents for every single page I signed. If I said yes dishonestly, how could that be the fault of the lender? Laws passed to prevent this sort of thing will be unwieldy at best, and a poor service to the careful buyer.
Sorry--off topic ranting, as is my wont.
tempus edax rerum
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Ah, somehow missed this one. My sceptisism versus the law is more preoccupied with the ones that are not convicted, although they are clearly guilty as hell. Slick tricks and the right to remain silent and the fact that when you lie often enough to blurr all sight on the thruth can make you walk free.
Those always itch me.(OK, not word related)Seems like Justice has banned out her hearing as well.
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Three years ago as this crisis was dot on the horizon, there were complaints that lenders were taking advantage of home buyers who didn't understand the paperwork. In my less than complimentary opinion, that it not the fault of the lender! When I purchased my house, I was asked if I understood the contents for every single page I signed. If I said yes dishonestly, how could that be the fault of the lender? Laws passed to prevent this sort of thing will be unwieldy at best, and a poor service to the careful buyer.. I understand, but if I was asked to sign off on understanding the theory of relativity so I could own a house, I probably would. what I really mean is that the language used in those contracts, carefully chosen by the lender, is enough to obfuscate anyone.
formerly known as etaoin...
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"No I don't understand. Please explain it to me."
Repeat as needed. If the downsides of an ARM are beyond grasp, home ownership is likely not a good idea.
tempus edax rerum
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the language used in those contracts, carefully chosen by the lender, is enough to obfuscate anyone. not to turn this into a word thread, but does this use of 'obfuscate' bother anyone? - joe (it's probly just me) friday
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Yes!Me too! Mainly because I had to look it up and more so, it sounds funny.To obfuscate someone or anyone. I think it may not be right to use for a person. To obfuscate the truth or the shore may be obfuscated by an oncoming fog. Something . But obfuscate someone or anyone? That would mean the person would become cloudy, obscured or go up in smoke. Yes? Or no!
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prescrips!
y'all been obfuscatized....
formerly known as etaoin...
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y'all Ooh, you're gettin' closer to Kentucky all the time... [smack, smack] 
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y'all Ooh, you're gettin' closer to Kentucky all the time... [smack, smack] I'll bring you some snow.
formerly known as etaoin...
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DANG you're quick!  I sure would love some snow. We had 54º F this afternoon. 
Last edited by Jackie; 02/05/2008 2:18 AM.
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54°? zowie. mid-30's here. we got a lot of ice this weekend, so the roads are lousy. my son will have fun wth his driving test tomorrow!
formerly known as etaoin...
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Pooh-Bah
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But if he passes his test on icy roads you'll never have to worry about him driving in bad weather.
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But if he passes his test on icy roads you'll never have to worry about him driving in bad weather. a very good point! now to find him a parking lot so he can start cutting some cookies!
formerly known as etaoin...
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54°? zowie. mid-30's here. we got a lot of ice this weekend, so the roads are lousy. my son will have fun wth his driving test tomorrow! Whaddaya, ain't got no county trucks?
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54�? zowie. mid-30's here. we got a lot of ice this weekend, so the roads are lousy. my son will have fun wth his driving test tomorrow! Whaddaya, ain't got no county trucks? I think they were sleeping this weekend. I haven't seen the roads this messy, this long after a storm, for a long time. :¬ ( and, we rescheduled his appt for next week....
formerly known as etaoin...
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