Skip to main content

Lance J., the Anti-Sales Guy

I now see all these friends and family who get entrapped in a salesperson's bullshit.  I'm tired of it.

I'm fine with people selling products.  I'm fine with people over-paying for a product because that product is great, convenient, or well-supported.

Unfortunately, the majority of corporations ask their salespeople to sell product using lies, distortion, and manipulation.  It's bullshit, it's wrong, and I'm gonna stop it.

I hear it all the time:
  • Auto Repair Industry:  Your brakes are down to 2 mm, so driving could be dangerous.  We can't be responsible. (Using Fear)
  • Mobile Telephone Industry: You should get a bigger mobile data plan because you use more than simple email. (Using Fake Advice)
  • Cable TV Industry: If you sign up for Cable TV, Internet, and Telephone, your monthly bill will actually be a little lower than if you just signed up for two of them. (Using a Fake Bargain)
  • Electronics Retailer: The $30 gold plated HDMI cable will give you a better picture then the $5 HDMI cable, (Touting Fake Quality)
All these sales pitches are nothing but lies.  These sales pitches use fear and manipulation to encourage people to hand over money.  Instead of being honest and providing good service and advising their customers, these corporations attempt to entrap people and sell them useless garbage.
"Oh, we don't KNOW what people need and want!" Bullshit.

These salesmen never EVER provide quality service or advice.  They never say:
  • "You have 2mm of good brake pad left.  They are 100% safe.  You should get your pads replaced after your brakes start to squeal, as that's the indicator of needing your pads replaced".
  • "You likely only need a 2 GB data plan; the unlimited plan may be a total waste". 
  • "This Triple-play package will lock you into a multi-year contract that will likely cost you".
  • "Get the $5 HDMI cable.  It's digital.  The picture will be identical to what you'll see with the $30 cable".
Have you heard lies like these before?  Or something like them?   Please share.

Popular posts from this blog

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, part 1: Disassembly Guide

I've had my SodaStream Jet for years, and once in a while something has gone wrong. Disassembly is the first step to repair.  Start with this article to see how to disassemble the SodaStream, and then once you have that down, scroll through my other articles to see how I repaired specfic SodaStream problems. SodaStream Jet Disassembly Guide Tools Required Flat head screwdriver Phillips head screwdriver 1. Remove the Carbonator.  Duh. 2. Remove the black panel lever The front big black tilt lever needs to be removed first. Removing this panel is tricky, but it isn't impossible. Looking up at the bottom of the black panel, there are two tabs, one on the left and one on the right. These tabs fully secure the panel in place. The trick is to use a flat-head screwdriver under the plastic to gently lever the tabs out of the way.  Note in the pictures how I approach these tabs with my screwdriver.  I usually release the left side first, and then I release ...
Read more

Canon SD890 Review

My Canon PowerShot SD890IS Review Wahoo! I just received my new Canon PowerShot SD890IS . Here's my review of the new SD890IS. Updated! (20-April-2008)! I like taking good photos. And I hate lugging around big cameras and equipment. And so I concluded that I needed to buy myself an awesome point-n-shoot camera. I often take pictures in difficult conditions, such as a museum where a flash camera is prohibited. Or a concert, where I can't use a flash, the lighting is low, and the people on stage are in motion. Or with the zoom cranked up and focused on a distant subject. Taking good photos in these conditions, with a small lens camera and without a tripod is a challenge at best. In comes the SD890. I was particularly excited about the SD890 because it is pocketable, yet it has awesome specifications: Image stabilization ; a 5x zoom lens, and 10 megapixel resolution. When I bought the camera, I imagined that these features would help me take much better pictures in the...
Read more

Apple TV HD - The Best Streaming box ever

I purchased my Apple TV on its release day, in October 2015.  It continues to serve me perfectly, after nearly 10 years of active use. Although it is decidedly not the newest model of Apple TV, it does 100% of the things I want it to do without any issues.  Sure, I'd love a more modern SoC, gigabit Ethernet, Thread support, 4k video support, etc, but honestly I am not missing any of those features, so "upgrading" it today would be a waste of money.  I did sell the original Siri remote in 2023 and upgrade to the 3rd generation (USB-C) Siri remote. The original Siri remote was working great, but I figured after 7.5 years of use, it was time to get a new remote with a new battery.  I will likely upgrade my Apple TV in the future, but I can't predict when that will be.   Due to a quirk of its release strategy, this Apple TV was discontinued in late 2022, and so it is likely to be supported for several more years. A new device would have to be a leap ahead, because m...
Read more

Macintosh: Upgrading an eMac

It's been a long time since I wrote this article, but the fact remains: The good old eMac can still be useful if you take the simple steps to keep it as good as it can be.  All can run Tiger, and most can run Leopard - great operating systems for their day with a bit of useful life.  This article describes the procedure I used to upgrade my old eMac, including: Replacing the internal hard disk with a large capacity drive. Increasing the memory for performance Upgrading the operating system Here I'm upgrading a 700 MHz eMac, but the procedure and tasks for upgrading other eMac models should be almost identical. Upgrading versus Replacing My sister's eMac is of the 700 mhz variety, with 256 MB of memory. The machine seemed to be getting "slower", and the original 40 GB disk was becoming jammed packed with photos and iTunes, and within a few months she'd be out of disk space. There were two options to address the problems: upgrade the eMac, or go o...
Read more

Connecting your MIDI keyboard to your Mac

MIDI and the Mac.  It's easy, fun, and shockingly inexpensive! I enjoy fooling around with musical instruments, and so when Garageband originally came out several years ago, I was very excited to start using it with my cheap little Casio keyboard. Initially it seemed expensive and complicated to get the right parts together to connect the Mac to my keyboard via MIDI. I didn't want to spend a ton of money in professional-class electronics. I wanted to fool around. Happily, I discovered that it's inexpensive and easy.  If you know where to look, a Mac-compliant MIDI adapter can be purchased for under $10! That's right, for less than $10 I connected my Mac to my MIDI keyboard and by MIDI drum kit. I bought an MIDI-to-USB interface, in particular, one like this really inexpensive USB MIDI Cable available through Amazon . The adapter is a simple device that has a MIDI "in"/"out" connectors on one end, and a USB connector on the other.  The adapt...
Read more

E-waste portfolio grows, thanks to the losers managing Ring.

 I just installed a Ring doorbell the other day, and in perusing the website I read this gem: "security updates until at least four years after the device is last available for purchase"  Four years is all Ring promises for a brand new device?  This isn't 2007.  It's a mass market doorbell and a camera, something expected to be safely used for years, if not decades.  Even my home router has a longer promised life, and that's saying something. Ring management must be embarrassed by their ineptness.  They're idiots, and clearly the only way they know how to make a buck is not through great ideas and great implementations, but through planned obsolescence and customer abuse.  
Read more

Other Posts

Show more