Rainsoft/A & B Marketing- No Integrity

My husband had signed up to win a free grill at Home Depot to be given away from Rainsoft if we allowed them to come out and do a water test. I knew they would try to sell us a system, but I thought it would be interesting to see what product that had. I very specifically asked how long the demo would take. The person making the appointment said 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on how many questions we had. After one hour my daughter called because we were supposed to meet them for supper. I told the 'water tester' that we had to get going, so i would appreciate it if he could wrap it up. I then told him that he did a good job of showing me my water wasn't good and that his product was good, so 'what was this going to cost?' He actually had the audacity to say that he wasn't a salesman, just there to do the water testing and he would only get paid if he completed the tests. Well, he had DONE the tests, what he hadn't finished was his sales pitch. He continued on with story after story and another half hour later after my daughter called again, I politely said, 'we need to get going'. That's when he got us to sign a survey and grumbled about probably not getting paid because he didn't finish and then proceeded to pull out the contract with all the numbers on it, showing that it will only cost $9,000, but of course, if we buy tonight he will *** the installation charges, sales tax, etc and it would only end up costing a little under $8.000. when we said that we had many other home improvements to do he gave us the whole 'guilt' pitch about 'don't we care about our health, you can't put a price on health, etc.'

I would have actually thought about purchasing, however a company that has to resort to those kind of sales tactics, and has such little respect for people's time, isn't upfront about trying to sell you a system in the first place... i don't think I would trust anything they say about their product either. Integrity begins with the sales person. In this day and age, people want to be informed and educated- not 'sold', 'high pressured', etc. It reminded me of the kirby salesmen of 30 years ago! Beware... I'm sure there are many options out there for good water treatment systems. I would NEVER let anyone in my house again. I'll go to them and bring my own water sample. I don't appreciate having to try to kick someone out of my house and then made to feel guilty because THEY told me they would only be there 45 minutes to an hour and clearly had planned on staying 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Argh!

Comments (10)

1. Written by notmakingtherainsoftmistake, on 31-10-2009 21:26 We had the same experience as some of you. We had RainSoft A&B come out last night to our new home after signing up at Home Depot with the promise of a free home depot gift card if we listened to their presentation. The guy was supposed to be at our house at 8:00 and he called at 8 and said it would be 8:30 which turned into 9:00 pm. He showed up and commenced to testing and proving to us that our water was horrible. It took forever. We have 4 children who were trying to get to bed and he just continued talking even though it was clear we had other responsibilities. Even after we told him we might be interested, he insisted on asking us a million stupid survey questions. When the price came out, it was an astronomical $8,000 to be paid back at $199/mo for 5 years. We were very hesitant but of course, we were also told that if you don't buy that very night, then the price jumps up by $3,000. The guy didn't even give us the home depot card we were promised! He stayed until almost midnight! Report

2. Written by rainsoftandaandbmarketingsux, on 15-10-2009 18:24 They do not stand behind their products, they do not tell you the truth and charge you every year to come out and look and see if their system is having problems. Just take $8000 and flush it down the toilet... I promise you won't get as frusturated as dealing with these rip off artists! Report

3. Written by Jay D., on 20-09-2009 20:34 I had a Rainsoft guy come and do the same thing... I can't believe that Home Depot would want to be associated with such a high pressure, fear mongering company. I have since purchased a Kinetico Non-Electric Water System and absolutely love it!! Check Kinetico out if you need a water system. Report

4. Written by Brandon, on 20-08-2009 23:18 Well, I can vouch for the time - definitely plan on 2-3 hours with a rainsoft rep in your house. They do a lot of showing you what you already know (If you have hard water). Our water is nothing short of terrible, and we knew that going in. We were simply looking to replace a rental softener system we already had. The price is definitely on the high end so be prepared to suffer some sticker shock. As for if its really worth it - well that's up to you to decide.     As for the sales pitch, the guy we dealt with was extremely nice, not pushy at all, and was kind enough to realize that when my wife started yawning and my kid went to bed that it was definitely time to wrap up the show. You could tell he wanted us to purchase that night, when we explained clearly that if it was 2pm it would be a different story, but at almost 10pm it was just too late to try and rush the paperwork. I guess it all depends on who you get knocking on your door. Report

5. Written by cat, on 18-08-2009 22:38 My cousin-in-laws had almost the same experience you did, sans grill. It was a high school or young college-age girl who showed up and pretty soon off the bat they told her all the testing wasn't necessary and she should go. Then the girl said her boss would get mad so about two hours later... She ended and called her boss saying they didn't want to buy and she was leaving. The boss became furious and yelled at her (could hear him through the phone) about going through the steps of the sales pitch and making sure she had said various things. Then he demanded to talk to my cousin and commenced the tirade to them, guilt tripping and fear-mongering and all.  Before hearing about this I went to the company and got a similar dish, although much more friendly. It was all fear mongering and sales without saying anything about the actual product. Report

6. Written by bojangle, on 04-12-2008 20:28 you guys are all loosers! who cares about rain soft anyways! Its just water! my grandma is 95 years old and has never used rainsoft or anything like it. shes got more energy then any of you guys. live long and prosper. I asked the guy if it would be a good way to filter out wiskey! i hate hard wiskey! hard head, hard wood floor, hard taco, hard hat. Report

7. Written by stucknthebuttbya&b$$$theyevenr, on 12-09-2008 16:55 well i worked for a&b and yes they are full of it... they even had me call someone and say i was a happy customer so they could "stick it to them" i quit the next day. its sad how they screw people. Report

8. Written by kristen, on 23-08-2008 13:58 I was signing up for a free garden club at home depot and someone asked if I wanted my water tested. Since I thought it was garden-related, I agreed. Then it turned out to be a rainsoft salesman. I told him I have to help my neighbor out with something in 45 min, and he said his test may take an hour. Well, it was over an hour and he went on and on... I kept telling him that I don't see how this product is so great. If it really was, why doesn't everyone have it? Why don't I know ONE person who has it? How come I never see any articles about how great rain soft is? I read A LOT of environmentally-conscious media, including MANY articles about the recent debates on bottled water vs tap water. Why aren't they up front with pricing, either?   The guy was getting upset with my questions and eventually said he was going to leave because he can tell that I don't want the product. When I said that the main reason I don't want it is because I feel like I couldn't afford it and its not a trial offer- its all or nothing. He said he wouldn't even tell me what it costs. I asked him to and he said, "no, I know you don't want it so I'm not going to tell you how much it costs." So, then I read on here the ranges from $4000 to $9000 and wow that was way more than I even thought!! Report

9. Written by princess, on 17-08-2008 22:55 we had the exact same experience...we were told to clear an hour for the presentation, which started at 7pm. One of my friends called at 8:15 and I told her (right in front of him so he'd get the hint) "We have a guy here about our water but he's wrapping it up now-- I'll call you in 15 minutes". Well, 9:15 rolls around (after many more, "It's getting really late", "I'm really not feeling well and this is taking too long", "OK, you've already told us that") and he's not done...he's playing to my boyfriend because I'm clearly annoyed and he's still being nice at that point. Finally I said, "Look, we're NOT buying it. We are NOT spending that much money on a water filter before we finish the basement! Absolutely NOT!!!" and then the salesguy went from friendly, smiling to sour-faced ***, stormed out and slammed the doors on his way. Nice, huh? I actually was thinking that we would buy one after the basement was done...now, I'd never buy anything from that guy even if he did have the best product on earth. (Which, from what I've read since then, it isn't.) Report

10. Written by jim reynolds, on 02-07-2008 01:07 wow! with the technolgy that rainsoft has today. im glad i wasted the 3 Hr with my rainsoft tech. we was full of info that made my dission very easy for my wife and i. ive been a very happy customer for 7 years.i dont see how i lived with out it. thank you Rainsoft for protecting my family. Report

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