Among the many embarrassing choices in my life is that I have gone to a few vacation timeshare presentations—I will not say how many. I tell my long-suffering wife that the presentation will only be an hour, I will tell the presenter “no” up front, and we will get some kind of award for attending.
When the presentation begins, the initial price for the timeshare is outrageous and I remain firm in my “no.” Then the price comes down. Still “no.” Then the inevitable, “And if you sign right now . . .,” and I start thinking that it might be a good deal, and maybe the kids would enjoy this, and we could upgrade our vacations. And then the price comes down again. In other words, I go in knowing that sales folks will try to manipulate me and I am certain that I will stand firm. Then I get manipulated and instead of standing firm, my wife has to apologize for her dazed and confused husband and drag him away before he does something he will regret.