Chris Maclean: beware the carpet blaggers
It's amazing what a few hours of sunshine can do. This morning, a glorious spring day, was the perfect opportunity to catch up on a little window cleaning. It also brought the first of my favourite sales scams for this year.
It may be because there is an element of alcohol in the equation but it always staggers me how many predatory sales people are out there trying to prise hard-earned money out of licensees. There are innumerable charities all vying for space on our back-bars. There are a plethora of people trying to persuade us that, particularly in lean times when there are few customers, if we stock their magic device we will somehow be inundated.
But this morning's scam, one I have seen tried dozens of times, always follows the same routine.
A long wheel based white van pulls up and an affable chap, usually in a baseball cap and dirty white apron (to add credibility), asks if he is speaking to the guv'nor.
He then explains that, having only just finished fitting a brand new carpet in a local pub, he finds himself with a large amount left over. He doesn't want to return it to the depot, all he wants is a little beer money and the chap at the Rose & Crown where he was just working said I might be interested.
It obviously works. Licensees must fall for this all the time.
Phone the Rose and Crown and, chances are, he has just been told that you were having carpet fitted and he was told the carpet he bought was left over from your job!
Most licensees I know think they are streetwise enough to avoid such methods. I am not always sure they are.
I certainly had a piece of carpet, which would fit no room I had, bought in a moment of weakness. I didn't even like the colour. But what always upset me was that a neighbouring licensee was hit by the same scammer on the same day, got twice as much carpet and paid half the price. And he said he was conned.
