All we were looking for was the name of a good Italian restaurant.
We were in Charleston on Monday, and after walking around all afternoon, we decided that we were in the mood for italian food. Walking down the street, I spotted a sign over a walk-in store front that said "Tourist Information", or something. We walked up and asked the young tan guy about what we were looking for. He gave us a card labelled with the name of a particular establishment on one side and a miniature menu and a coupon on the other side. He gave us another flyer for the same restaurant containing another coupon, while praising said restaurant. We chatted for a few minutes about where we were from and how long we were in town, etc.
He then asked us if we'd be willing to go on a tour of a new Hotel in Charleston. It would take about 90 minutes of our time, and as a thank you gift for our time, they would give us 3 $25 gift certificates after the tour for any of many different venues, restaurants, & shops in the Charleston area. Reluctant to give up a significant chunk of our short time in town, we hemmed and hawed in ambivalence, and sought a polite way to exit the premises. Then he said that he would add a free 3 day/2 night vacation to any of about 10 locations, half of which were in Florida. At this we consented, and went merrily on our way to enjoy some good Italian food.
The next morning we went to this new hotel, sat in a sort of waiting room, listening to the reggae remakes of old Police songs playing over the PA system. A lady took us back, and sat us down at a small table among many and started chatting with us about ourselves and our vacationing tendencies. It was about then that I realized that we were in for more than just a tour. She carefully and deliberately explained how the Bluegreen Vacation Club worked. Basically, it is like a timeshare, except there are 30 locations to choose from, one can go at any time of the year. The vacation packages are sold just like real estate. We were inflicted with a sales pitch that took about 30 or 45 minutes, and then finally went on a tour of a few rooms at the hotel. When we returned, another guy came out to do the hard sell. He offered us two particular deals, but the least expensive one was about 50% over our vacation budget for the year. Reluctant to give up a significant chunk of our money, we hemmed and hawed in ambivalence, and wondered if there was a polite way to exit the premises.
He then turned over the piece of paper he was writing on and explained the sampler package. It was magically $5 under our annual vacation budget, and would give us a chance to try out the system before we made a big commitment. At this we consented, and went merrily on our way to fill out the paperwork. We walked out of the place wondering if we'd just been taken for a ride, but Rachel was fairly nonchalant about it, saying that if we were going to make a mistake it might as well be while we're young. Later, I looked it up on the internet and found a guy on eBay selling Bluegreen deeds at a fraction of the price that we were offered. I'm still not quite sure what to think of this. We'll see.
And all we were looking for was the name of a good Italian restaurant.
