Consumer Behavior, and the Buying Process

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1) I will provide a very recent example of what happened to me that made me not buy for a salesperson.

We recently put in a new kitchen, complete with new tiles, cabinets, sink... We decided on getting a granite countertop. Have researched a bit the prices, we knew that they range from $50 to $100 a square foot. We needed in total 14 square feet. So our estimated budget was $700 to $1400. We also put in an extra $500 for the person to come measure our space, cut the granite from the large slab, deliver it and install it.

I found a granite store that we decided to go to. I walk in with my husband, and 17 month old son. The store was empty, there were no customers. The sales person was behind the cash, on the phone. Husband and I decided to start looking at the granite samples that were displayed. There were about 15 to choose from.

We had taken with us a sample of our cabinet doors, as well as the tile we were using in the kitchen, and we were attempting to find a granite countertop that would match well with our choices. We found 2 possible options.

We were very curious to prices, since there was nothing written in terms of prices next to each sample of stone. We were confident that the counter would be in our price range, we were just wondering at which end of the range it would fall.

10 minutes later, and the sales person has yet to greet us, let alone acknowledge our presence. My toddler is starting to get antsy, and I don't blame him.

Another 5 minutes pass (15 in total), and finally I approach the guy who is still on the phone, and ask him for assistance. He looks at me like I am interrupting him, and that I am a hassle to him.

I was about to start to put my son's coat on, when he finally got off the phone and greeted us.

We showed him the stones we wanted. He said that those were fine choices, but very expensive, and we probably would not be able to afford it.

That was strike 2 against the sales man. How does he know his budget. How does he know what we consider to be cheap or expensive?

We give him our sketch of our kitchen, and he starts to calculate the price of the granite. He informs us that the price (including the services mentioned above, but not including tax) was $4800, and $5200 each. I told him that it was above our budget. He then told me "I told you so".

Strike 3. How rude could this guy be?

Since there were no prices on the wall, my husband wanted to know the price per square foot. One was 85$ and one was 90$.

Doing the math, we knew that at 14 square feet, the price should have been $1190, and $1260 plus the extras. I called him on it. He looked at me, looked at his papers and "claimed" he made a calculation error, and would be back.

Strike 4. Was he trying to rip us off by quoting a crazy value? Did he think that we would accept his initial quote with no hesitation?

He comes back with a new quote of $1900 and $2300. I look at my husband that something very funny is going on here - all of the sudden his quote dropped almost $3000?

I pulled my husband aside and told him that I did not like this guy, the way he treats customers and the way he conducts business. I was concerned with the quality of his product.

We told him " thank you for your time, we will think about it", and started to put our coats on.

Now the tables had turned, and he was trying to get us to purchase the granite. He started to offer us free delivery. The opportunity to pay only half the tax if we pay for cash, he will throw in a bonus item...

Strike 5. He was trying to bait us into buying the granite, ...