SpyBook

I've been meaning to write about finding out personal information about people for a little while. Often times, I'll get incorrect customer information and I'll have to piece together the right address, or try to find an alternate phone number. The internet is great for this.

Today, I had an estimate and I thought the customer was going to be there. I knew I was at the right place because the number I called rang the house phone on the other side of the door. I needed to talk to her but where was she? Lets see if the internet can provide some other way to contact her.

I typed in her first name and the address. Bam! Got her middle and last names from the list of real estate transactions involving the house. I could enter in all three names and the local city and see what Google finds. I maybe will find her occupational address/contact. But realistically, what good is that? I disturb her at work for something she maybe thought wasn't important enough to be there for. Do I really want to talk to a possibly snotty bitch, who would have her hackles raised for being disturbed at work? Just too many bad ideas.

In the end, I just entered her full name on my WhitePages app on my phone and it only revealed the phone number I already had. I left a second message stating where to find the estimate. With luck, I'll get the job.

*

So earlier today, I chit-chatted with a local retractable screen dealer. We've been buying their high end products. They are a husband and wife team that left the mode of operation Jackie and I experimenting with now. So it's always good to make friendly small talk.

So I started this conversation with her before memorial day weekend, about what they were going to do for the holiday. Basically enjoy the three days off to recharge and renew. She politely asked me what we ended up doing.

Well... I ended up completely blanking out. All I could remember was taking Joanna to a playdate with some kids whose birthday party we were going to miss. I knew I did more stuff, but I couldn't remember what it was.

I guess I just wanted to forget it. Writing now, I remember that I had three jobs on Saturday, and they were not exactly smooth operations. Jackie (with Joanna in tow) had to bring some corrected screens to a job site while I politely tip toed around a weeks worth of dog poops amongst overgrown weeds in the backyard. That stunk.

Then on Sunday, while our neighbor Jean watched Joanna, Jackie and I went "Test-driving" cars. The Nissan Maxima just turned over 200k on the odometer, check engine light came on, and the car alarm wouldn't stop going off without me removing the fuse.

That sets the scene at the Toyota dealership. You know it is bad when your wife turns to you and asks quickly behind the back of the salesperson, "You ready to buy a car today?" WTF! But I played along and said, "Only if you think it will be exactly the car you wanted!" We had been looking at 2008-2009 Highlanders online. So we test drove one. I was okay with it.

Then the salesman takes us to an 2007 Acura MDX with the same mileage as the Highlander, and pretty much the same price. And the crap hit the fan. Jackie fell in love with it. But we didn't do any homework on it. I really wasn't prepared for the next four hours.

The long and the short of the afternoon is that we haggled and negotiated for hours. When we agreed on the monthly payments and the amount down, we finally got to see the sticker price when filling out the loan paperwork. And it was only $200 less than the marked price. WTF!!!!!

And to make it worse, we ended up buying the extended warrantee on the thing for another $2k.

I mean WTF!!!! if it were at all possible we were going to get the warrantee, we should have used it as a negotiating point. FUCK FUCK FUCK!!!!

But the smile on Jackie's face... well it's just sweet.

FUCK!