Buying a car is a different experience – the buyer is face to face with the seller. Or at least someone working for the seller who is empowered to make pricing decisions. It’s a whole different style of negotiating, and as I recently learned, doubles as a graduate level course in manipulation.

Here are my 5 favorite techniques that the sales associate and the business manager used to try to influence me, some subtle and others quite overt:

5. Good Cop, Bad Cop: The sales associate started out as the good cop, with the business manager as the bad cop, which is traditional. Later the business manager transitioned to the good side and the “owner” became the bad cop. It’s a classic strategy that everyone knows, and is fun to play along with.

4. Silent Treatment: After the business manager had joined us around the negotiating table, they tried the silent treatment on me. I’m a huge fan of the silent treatment as a strategy because it’s simple and often effective – some people get really rattled by just being quiet. I enjoyed the quiet for a moment, meeting their gaze, but then had to call their bluff by moving to wrap up the discussion.

3. Thick Permanent Marker: The business manager wrote the dealer’s official counter offers using a thick green marker and large font. It was intended to look very final – that’s the lowest price they can offer. As an added bonus, he also wrote numbers out to the ones place, which was supposed to signal that his counter had much more careful thought behind it than my bids that ended in three zeros. I like these techniques because they are much more subtle attempts to influence than the others.

2. Isolate & Pressure: They really wanted to keep me sitting at the negotiation table free from distractions. With no communication with the outside world, they could try to control what information I had available to me. That wasn’t very successful since I consulted my iPad each time the sales associate visited the business manager, but whatever. What won the prize was when they actually discouraged me from calling Amy, saying something like, “If she trusts and respects you, then she’ll be fine with you agreeing to a deal right now without consulting her.” Are they specifically trying to cause marital strife? I wonder how many angry spouses they have to deal with?

1. Appeal to my Vanity: There were two models I was considering, one slightly larger than the other. They wanted me to buy the larger car, presumably because it cost a little more and they would make more money. I would shift the conversation to the smaller one when they were signaling that they couldn’t reduce the price of the larger one any more. The first couple times that convinced them to lower the price of the larger car a little more and keep the discussion going. But on one occasion they instead tried to sell me on paying more for the larger car because it was the “big boy car.” They went on to explain how I would make a much better impression if I “rolled up” in the larger car. That was easily the highlight of my negotiation. First of all, it was a bogus argument because I’m confident that 99% of people either wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two cars or wouldn’t care. But what really amused me was the absurdity of actually hearing them say “big boy car.” Does this nonsense actually work?

The day after all of this happened I made a quick list of all the ways they tried to manipulate me, and got up to 17. Just about everything about my visit was geared towards closing the deal before I walked out the door. Both the sales associate and business manager were good at their jobs, and they succeeded. I’m confident they made money, otherwise they wouldn’t have sold me the car, but am also confident that I paid a fair price.

The best part of these techniques is that they can be played in reverse. The next time I go car shopping I’m going to have Amy be the bad cop that I have to consult by phone, I’m going to definitely use the silent treatment first, I’m going to bring a giant red marker to write my bids with, and I’m going to sell them on how great they’ll feel when they close the deal.

With mind games like these, how can car shopping not be fun?!

Thanks to Kerri Provost from the Real Hartford blog for providing this inspiring story.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 slides

Location: 150 Nevers Road, South Windsor; there is onsite parking.

Hours: Dawn to Dusk

My Friend’s Place is an expansive play area with multiple playscapes, numerous other features, and more rubber chips than I have ever seen in my life. Lots of opportunity for fun, but adults need to keep a close eye on their youngsters as the perimeter is open and the largest playscape is set on a lower level than the rest of the equipment.

Playscapes: There are two primary playscapes at the playground. A smaller piece seems perfect for the 2 – 4 year old set, while a larger one is clearly designed for older children.

Swings: Two sets of swings provide plenty of opportunities. The first has the three infant swings and an oversized safety swing. The second has four traditional swings, a tire swing, and another oversized safety swing.

Other Stuff: There are lots of interesting play stations spread throughout the playground. There is a music area with oversized xylophones to bang with mallets. There are what appear to be sensory tables that can be filled with sand or other materials. There are two teeter-totters of different styles, and there is a covered picnic area with garden seating area.

Facilities: I did not see any outdoor facilities, and must confess that we did not go exploring in either the Parks & Rec building or baseball field Press Box building. My bad – anyone know if there are bathrooms at this place?

Social Opportunities: High. We saw lots of other kids and parents on our visit and everyone seemed quite friendly. Since it’s a primary park in town, and is easily accessible with its own parking lot, I would expect it to be a popular destination.

Potential for Escape: Medium/High, since it’s completely unfenced. The good news is that the road is very far away, and even the parking lot is a good distance. My main concern with the setup was that the large playscape at the lower level is separated from the rest of the playground by a four foot retaining wall with a metal fence on top (to keep kids from falling). Ellen was on the upper level to (supposedly) go down the slide that feeds down to the lower level. She chose to run in the other direction, so I had to choose between going 100 feet in either direction to go around the fence or climb up the slide to chase her. Fortunately nobody was on the slide and I was able to take the shortcut up.

Related Posts:
Bushnell Park Playground, Hartford
Mikey’s Place Playground, Wethersfield
South Quaker & Flatbush Playground, West Hartford
Playground Review: Elizabeth Park, Hartford

Though not very long, the steep embankment always draws a crowd in fresh snow and makes for an exciting run. There is even an opportunity for a jump at the bottom of the hill when crossing over the gravel path that circles this portion of the park.

All three of the hidden homes were built in the early 1900s, which makes them a little newer than the properties along the road. The visible homes almost all date back to the 1800s.

These hidden homes all have a very secluded feel even though they’re quite central in Greater Hartford. We’ve been back there a few times and have been impressed by how quickly you forget that you’re in the middle of a City. Part of it is the lot sizes, giving the homes nice spacing from each other, but it’s also due to the large park that is adjacent to the two homes in the rear.

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A Hidden House

What I find interesting about hidden houses is that they each have an interesting story. How did they get there? Are they newer or older than the houses that surround them? If they’re newer, when did they get built and how was the building lot created?

There are many hidden houses in Greater Hartford if you know where to look. Our first example, in the above picture, is in the northern part of West Hartford. It was built in 2002, and is much newer than the 1950s vintage homes that surround it. The lot is just over an acre, large for West Hartford, and is set in the middle of an oversized block just off Main Street. Two other homeowners control an additional 2.1 acres (combined) of undeveloped land adjacent to this property.

It looks like this home is a very private set-up, yet still in a convenient location within town. The lot has its own driveway, which appears to be an easement over the home on the left’s property. And the undeveloped land behind the home probably gives it a really different feel from your typical West Hartford property.

I hope you had enjoyable holidays. Based on the number of parties you attended and all of the comings and goings I saw and heard about, it seems that you were festive and merry. Good for you.

Recently I’ve been listening to you banter back and forth about potential New Year’s resolutions for 2012. Lose some weight. Read more. Spend less time watching TV. You know, the kinds of things that all humans consider as worthwhile endeavors at the beginning of every year, only to quit them within a few weeks.

Well, as you know, I just turned 100 years old in 2011. I thought it might be a good idea to come up with my own resolutions for 2012, seeing as I’m heading into my next century of being and all. I haven’t really had resolutions in the past, but I see this as good of a time as any to start. Since I’m a house and don’t really have income or moveable limbs in order to help myself, you’re going to need to assist me with these items. I figure it’s the least you can do since you live within my walls and keep me busy on a daily basis. In no particular order, here’s what I’d like to work on for 2012:

1. Be less dusty. I know you have a kid and a Labrador, but maybe this can be a mutual goal. Dust me more and you can lose some weight?

2. Have fewer weeds in my garden beds. Again, seems like a mutual goal. You lose more weight, I keep my self respect with the neighboring properties.

3. Get some insulation. Kyle keeps the heat really low and I’m freezing my bum off. If you can swing it, I would also appreciate a new furnace and hot water heater. I’ve been doing some research for you which I can pass along if you’d like…

4. Watch less HGTV. Honestly, I’m getting a complex by listening to the whiney people on TV talk about new homes with open floor plans, granite counters and remodeled bathrooms. Why aren’t old houses ever good enough?

These seem simple enough, if you ask me. I consider these goals the least you can do given all that I do for you. So raise your dust rags and weeding implements, here’s to a happy and successful 2012!

Warm regards,
Your House

Do you buy in to decorating your home for the seasons or holidays? Some of us pick and choose which seasons to dress up our homes, while others use any excuse they can get to display a new wreath, flag or some type of bric-a-brac to celebrate each passing holiday and season.

I enjoy looking at peoples’ exterior seasonal decorations. Everyone has different styles and often you’ll see clever creations. I find that we don’t do much exterior decorating at our house though. In the spring we’ll put some planters on our front and side porches that will last through the summer. Low maintenance, but offering some color and cheer. Nothing happens on the outside of our house during the fall because of our battle with the squirrels. No pumpkins, no ghosts, nothing. Bah-humbug!

The winter/Christmas season seems to be the time when people go through the most effort to showcase the exterior of their homes. We spend a lot of effort decorating the inside of our home, but for the outside go with two simple wreaths that stay up until at least April. Not because they’re seasonally appropriate, but because we’re lazy.

Many of our neighbors, and maybe yours, or even you (!) tend to go all Clark Griswold on their places. Driving around residential areas in the evenings is always a fun activity. Who has the inflatable winter wonderlands? Who goes for twinkly lights only? Our daughter, who is two, really enjoys this and exclaims “Christmas!” every time she sees lights.

Do you put a lot of effort into seasonally decorating the exterior of your home? Why do you do so? Because you enjoy it? Family tradition? Keeping up with the Joneses?

NOTE: The house pictured above is one of my very favorites in the West End of Hartford. The owner of this home does a remarkable job every season. Everything they do is tasteful and visually interesting. If you get a chance, do a drive through some evening and see if you can find it. It also looks very nice during the day.

I’m happy to report that I’ve made good progress on my goal. Most importantly, I’ve eliminated some of the physical and mental barriers that I felt were keeping me from truly embracing the bike. The most important turned out to be finding a more convenient place to store my ride so that it’s easy to just get started. A close second was figuring out a way to secure my pant legs so that they would be less likely to get greasy. Beyond that, most of my concerns were mental issues.

Since the initial post I’ve ridden many places, and to different types of appointments. Most have been short jaunts where biking is just as fast as driving, but there have been a few longer ones too. I still believe biking is better for trips that don’t involve client interaction, but I’m beginning to come around on that front too. Especially since, as a couple commenters pointed out, biking gets easier as you get in better shape.

I’m hoping to keep riding as long as possible this season because it is a nice way to travel. I’ve been impressed that distances seem shorter on the bike than they do in the car sometimes – perhaps I’m enjoying the trip more? And when my destination does not have easy parking in front, riding is really nice because I can usually lock up outside the front door and save a meaningful amount of parking and walking time.

Thanks again for the encouragement, and enjoy the mild weather!