First the background. A little while back, Wal-Mart entered into contracts to sell services such as DirecTV, Vonnage, and different internet services. The problem: many people don’t want to get their services in a different package from Wal-Mart. These companies are starting to come down on Wal-Mart for not holding up their end of the contracts. But Wal-Mart has taken steps to change that.
I just found out that during a recent meeting, Wal-Mart has begun to force their employees to lie and use scare tactics to get you to sign up for services through them. They are banking on your ignorance to help them make their contracts. In an effort that rivals the Y2K scare, Wal-Mart is using the Analog Shut Off Date. February 17, 2009, the Federal Government has ordered all over-the-air broadcasts to be changed from analog to digital.
This is where they are hoping you are idiots. First of all, this will only be "over-the-air" broadcasts. In other words, if you have an antenna outside, or a pair of rabbit ears behind the TV, and that is the only way you get TV, then you will be affected. If you get TV by cable or satelite, this will not affect you. But they don’t want you to know this. Wal-Mart has now instructed their employees to tell you that cable services use analog signals, and they will be shut off February of next year. First thing, analog by cable is not going to be affected. This is not being broadcast over the air. The government wants to free up over the air frequencies to be able to sell them to high bidders for other reasons. If you have cable now, you will have it then. But Wal-Mart is forcing their employees to lie to you, so you will drop your cable company and sign up with them to get DirecTV.
Secondly, let’s use a little logic. I have a hard time thinking that a company making millions of dollars off of providing you television service is going to throw their hands up next February and say, sorry, can’t help you anymore. Quite frankly, some cable companies get their signals digitally, but change it to an analog signal, send it over the cable, for your convenience. So you are not forced to buy a new television by February. Cable companies are looking out for you. Do you think Wal-Mart is?
One catch, signing up with Wal-Mart requires you to pay a $285 downpayment. This just happens to be Wal-Mart’s commission. Now DirecTV will pay you back this downpayment, at a rate of $5 per month. So, in a short 5 years, you will get your money back. Before Wal-Mart got a contract, the downpayment was only $50. But total startup cost if you order directly from DirecTV? $0. Exactly, you can save $285 just by ordering direct. Something Wal-Mart doesn’t want you to know.
In our area, DirecTV does not offer local channels. So, when you buy your new high definition Television with digital tuner already installed, and they scare you out of your cable company for DirecTV, now they need to sell you a separate digital tuner and rabbit ears. Yes, they think your brand new, wall mounted LCD TV would look good with a box below it and some old fashion rabbit ears to really bring out just how high tech you are.
This is just an example. The lies they are also being forced to tell include, when you buy a computer or a Playstation 3, they need to talk you out of your internet service and get you on a Wal-Mart special (and no, it is not the Wal-Mart service they stopped giving away cds for a long time ago) account. When you buy a laptop, they are supposed to take you to the connection center and get you to subscribe to a service with internet on a cell phone company. If you look at a phone, they are supposed to get you to drop your phone company to get you to sign up for Vonnage, which is phone over high speed internet. Don’t have high speed internet, see beginning of this paragraph.
And this is what it has all boiled down to. The associates were told earlier this week that they have to do this. They have to convince people to sign up with Wal-Mart contract services. They were told the lies to tell you. They even have placed in a team of professional liars. Associates who have even more in depth training to be more persuasive on lying to you, or to try to scare you. And what if they don’t? They were told that they would be replaced. They have been threatened with either a pay cut and getting moved to a worse section of the store, or termination, if they don’t lie to you, or scare you into a contract.
This is the monster you have created. This is the monster you support and follow blindly. If this is who you support, then you really are the fools Wal-Mart wants you to be. They know the current economy, and have posted in many publications that they hope the economy stays down. Because it has brought you to them. Why help? If they can get you in high cost contracts, then they keep you out of your means of support and keep you shopping at their stores. Welcome to the real world, wake up and realize - you are being taken advantage of, and they are getting richer because they are keeping you stupid.
No comments:
Post a Comment