As some of you all know, I recently started selling auto and home insurance for Ford.  They have set up an insurance program for their customers.  We send out inserts in their bills from Ford Motor credit with an 800 number and the customers call us up for a quote.

So, 6 times this week I have saved a bunch of older customers anywhere from $250 to $400 a year on their auto insurance.  Sounds great, right?

Well, they won't switch!  They say things like "Well, I've been with this agent for 40 years and I want to remain loyal to him."  I can appreciate loyalty, but DAMN - that's like $14,000 extra you've been paying in insurance over the last 40 years.  And you get, what, a pretty Christmas card from him every year?  That's one damn expensive card.  Why the "F" did you call me in the first place, eh?  Got nothing better to do with your spare time than waste 30 minutes of mine and yours?

So now, I ask right up front "How loyal are you to your current insurance company?  If I save you a couple hundred dollars, will that be enough to make you want to switch?"  That way I find out right up front what I'm dealing with.

And then, of course, there are the people who I save money and want the policy, but when I ask them for a credit card number for the downpayment they balk.  Hell, I just got their DL and SSN numbers, their phone, email, and address, and their VIN - but they won't cough up the credit card number.  That's when I ask them what they use their cc for - and then tell them that I am getting less info from them than the waiter at the restaurant gets - hell, I can't even see their signature or get their special number from the back of the card.


Grrrrrrrrrrr - sorry, just had to rant.  I can't stand seeing people paying more than they should - and it pisses me off when they continue to do so even after I show them a huge savings.

Are you pissed off because you can't save them money or because you won't get your commission?

You win some and you lose some.

edited to add: Try getting them to give a credit card out over the Internet... Now that is impossible.

I know what you mean about not wanting to give their credit card numbers. Many years ago, I worked for Sears Parts. People would call us from all over the country to order repair parts for the stuff they got at Sears. Many times I'd get an old person that I'd spend a long time figuring out what they wanted and finally taking their shipping information. Then I would ask them if they would be paying with their credit card. "Yes I will" they'd say. So I'd as for the number and they'd give a response like, "Oh, I'm not supposed to give out my credit card number over the phone." For Christ's sake, how I'm I supposed to place the order? Well, they'd get confused and frustrated and hang up on me. I think old folks are told not to give their credit card number for incoming calls (which is a good idea) but they think it means never give their credit card number even if they are placing the call and know for a fact that the person on the other end is a genuine rep for the company they're calling.

Not just picking on old folks though. That job showed my young self that stupid people come from all ages, races, regions, etc.

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You're an insurance salesman, and other people annoy you??? Now there's a switch.

LOL.  Selling over over the phone isn't fun or easy, is it?

Maybe their current agent is a nicer person than you? Less condescending? Less of an asshole?

Mandatory reading:

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When I worked at Blockbuster, we had this deal. The following is how I remember it. The details are probably wrong, but it was similar to this. Buy a Vanilla Coke, and any other Coke, and you would get a free movie. Two Cokes cost less than a movie. Someone would come up with a Coke and a movie. I would say, "If you go over there and pick up a Vanilla Coke, you'll save two dollars more than if you don't." Some people thought that that was just the coolest thing. HOWEVER, some people would refuse. I guess either they don't pay attention, don't do math, or are just plain lazy and/or want to waste money. Some of them would say that they didn't [i]want[/i] a Vanilla Coke. (Ignoring the fact that if they bought it and then subsequently POURED IT OUT IN THE STREET they're [b]STILL[/b] $2 richer than if they didn't buy it at all...

I doubt you would understand this but it might be worth the effort in trying to convey. I for one am an old phart, it is a small matter if some hot shot salesman (salesperson for you pc-ers) can save me 50% on my insurance. I deal with people I know and most importantly, people I trust. Sometimes there are reasons why we stick with businesses for twenty, thirty or more years. The brokers and or agents with which we deal may very well be a hunting buddy, a bridge partner or a neighbour that watches out for our home when we are away in 'Gods waiting room' (Florida) on vacation. They are the type of person that when in the neighbourhood drop by and see how we are doing and the premiums are not even due. They give a phone call and ask if the storm that blew through did any damage and if they are needed.
It seems to me that today's generation is more concerned about a dollar than they are about service, for me, I will pay the extra for service.

You will understand when you get older!

Trust me...I will save you money....
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[b]You're an insurance salesman, and other people annoy you??? Now there's a switch.[/b]

omigawd! that was funny!!!


greywolf is a friend of mine and a great guy. he asked me (and i guess many would consider me to be "old") about switching.

i just explained to him that i have been with the same agent/agency/company for 34 years and get a good price because this agent insures everything i own and my life. that was it...end of discussion. no pressure or sales pitch.

i guess i'm also loyal to those that took care of me over the years. money isn't everything.

Damn you guys are brutal.  Most of you posting here don't even know me, so where the fuck do you get off calling me condescending or an asshole?  These people are calling ME for a quote, I ask them "If I can save you money will you buy" - and they say "Yes".  Then when I save them money, they change their minds.  I just don't get it.

I realize that many of you have had bad experiences in the past with salespeople, and so of course you automatically lump all sales people in with the bad ones.  You are guilty of the same type of stereotyping that you are always pissing and moaning about when it comes to us gunowners all being called kooks and white supremacists and milita types.  Way to go, Sparky.

Oh, and just to let you know - I do NOT get a commission when I make a sale.  I have no incentive to make the sale other than trying to help out existing Ford customers save some money.

Thanks for the testimony, Campy.  Yeah, when Campy told me his situation I said "Great!  Stay with that agent - you're doing good."  And that's what I tell everyone on the phone when they aren't saving anything vs. us, or even if it is $100 or so.  But when people TELL me they are shopping around and WILL switch if we beat their price, then it annoys me when they go back on their word.

I just don't understand why these people even call up - if you aren't interested in switching, why waste your time calling?

Old people do suck.  You should try selling them a car!

Since most of us do indeed not know you, maybe we got the idea from your original post in this thread?



Well? So are you. "[b]Old people[/b] piss me off".



Yes, indeed.
Insurance people piss /me/ off. Especially whining ones.

It's rough getting a credit card number from an old person over the phone, they just don't trust it and is probably the deal breaker for many. I'm sure they would be much more open if you could send a bill instead of wanting the immediate payment on CC.

I swear, if you label something .10 each, 3 for .35 there will be a bunch of people that insist on buying three.

I drove cab for a short while years ago and one nasty old bag rang up a $4.10 fare and handed me a five. Not wanting to screw with small change, I handed her back a buck. She demanded her change, so I snatched the dollar out of her hand and coughed up ninty cents.

She felt pretty stupid, but there were a LOT of people that were just as stupid if not worse.

Yeah, Hellraiser - I wish we could.  Unfortunately that particular carrier requires it.  My next best carrier came back not saving the guy any money.  Well, I'll call him later today and see what I can do.  No skin off my ass - doesn't affect my paycheck any.  But I hate thinking that this guy whose been a loyal Ford customer for 45 years is paying that much more for insurance.

BTW - I helped a guy at GlockTalk yesterday save $255 on his insurance yesterday.  And BigBear is going to give us a shot and see what we can do for him.  And I'm hoping that ThomasJefferson (practically my neighbor who lives about 10 miles from me here) will be able to save some $$ too.  Then he'll owe me some ammo :)

ROFL, Piccolo!  That's a good one.

After telling my wife about all these people from FL, she said, "Do we REALLY want to move back there?"  Heh heh :)

Gunznshizzle - LOL, hey - try selling them a Timeshare!  Damn that job sucked.

OK, maybe I should qualify this statement.  Some old people are pretty cool, especially if they are retired New York transit workers living in Florida.  This guy is 85, driving a brand new 2003 Mercury Marauder, cusses like a sailor, and I just saved him $450 a year - schwing!

"Old people piss me off".

Heh, I resemble that remark.[ROFL2]

As to not giving a CC# over the phone, the Feds would then have it on tape.[nono]

You seem a little stressed and thin skinned. [baby]

Drink 2 beers and go to bed, no charge.[beer]

TWHaz - I plan on drinking a LOT tonight - damn, what a day.  Yeah, the thin skin was thick earlier this week, but after 12 calls from older people where we are saving them money and then they don't buy, it sort of gets to you.  Ah well - their loss :)

ROTFLMAOKS!
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I saw a guy at a gunshow that had a big bin of cheap pocketknives. They were priced at $3 each or 3 for $10. I grined and asked if he was selling a lot of "threes". He grinned back and said, "Yes, by the handful".

Probably the same people who want the Feds to help with their perscription drugs and whine and cry if the mailman doesn't deliver their Social Security check at exactly 1:33pm on the 5th of the month. Probably the same people that were confused by the Florida ballot, etc. etc. etc.

You know, after talking to my wife (arguably the most intelligent woman I ever met), she blames the media mostly.  Think about it.  These older people almost always watch the news (sometimes many times a day).  What do they see?  Stories about scams, especially on old people.  So they are already paranoid about it.  Then they call ME, after getting something from Ford, and after we go through everything and it sounds too good to be true, they balk.  I guess I can't blame them - they are simply products of their conditioning.  Kind of like the general non-gun owning public (and hell, even some hunters) when it comes to Evil Black Rifles.

Its the hard sell buy it now that turns some customers off. A 3 car policy Insurance was $40 cheaper a year from Progressive than it was from Farm Bureau, a company I have been doing business with for 22 years, and supports MY INTERESTS. Why should I change?
Lebrew