Free dinner at Red Lobster AND a $50 gas card

[nomoretslt]

All I have to do is attend the meeting at Red Lobster where they will tell me how to legally and permanently eliminate all my timeshare obligations and how to get out of a timeshare contract when it no longer fulfills my needs. Also receive maintenance fee reimbursement for unused weeks/points during the pandemic!!!!
This was a mailing, but sounds just like the phone call someone’s husband received a few weeks ago and posted about it. It’s a bit far in Myrtle Beach. If it was 5 minutes away I’d go….and ask “how do I get rid of my Disney Vacation Club”. . That would be after the meal and gas card though. I don’t know why we got this…got rid of my “free” timeshare years ago. I would think they wouldn’t bother with DVC since they are usually easy to sell….although the resale market is pretty saturated.
so strange that there is no company name on the mailing at all, only an 800 number. If I can find a phone booth somewhere, I’d try calling. No way will I call from my cell….then they’d have me forever.
the unfortunate thing is…many people will take the bait.

 

[Laurie]

Well, promise of a free dinner at Red Lobster is exactly what got me into timesharing in the first place, 25 years ago; since then, 50 or 100 trips of a lifetime. All resales though, as it turned out. Grateful for that original enticement!

 

[Talent312]

I get these free dinner offers for retirement planning.
But my planning is done. I'm already retired with a nice pension,
"Then, why are you here?" -- "You tell me."
.

 

[dioxide45]

I took them up on the offer, no $50 gift card for me though. Just the free dinner from a preset menu. They tell you all the things bad about timeshare, have a couple plants in the audience to whoop up when they talk then they sit with you one on one. We had the free meal and it was more for research purpose than anything else. The livestream I did about the experience actually performed reasonably well on my channel.

 

[DaveNV]

I get mailers inviting me to learn about burial plots and cremation services. The free lunch is at some fat-heavy, unhealthy meal place that will shorten my lifespan. I'm thinking "Hmm, captive audience, just dying to use their services!"

No thanks. Free lunches are usually worth what you pay for them.

Dave

 

[clifffaith]

Our free prime rib dinner led us into an investment that showed up on 60 Minutes in the early 2000’s!

 

[RX8]

so strange that there is no company name on the mailing at all, only an 800 number.

I have received a number of these mailers and not once was there ever a name listed. Likely because one would find bad reviews if they were able to search the name.

 

[Tank]

Went to one years ago , get notifications all the time.
Just want to sell you something “better”
At the time trading in mine.

No thank you!

Good dinner, they couldn’t believe how stupid we were to keep what we had, and not jump ship.

 

[wackymother]

We've gotten a couple of offers for free dinners at pretty darned good restaurants, usually for investments. But honestly I'm too lazy to go.

When we settled my MIL's estate, there was one weird small investment, a hotel fund. . . . We speculated that it stemmed to one of these dinners, years ago.

 

[LannyPC]

...they couldn’t believe how stupid we were to keep what we had, and not jump ship.

Kind of like a TS sales person can't believe how stupid you are for not buying a TS that he's trying to sell, not jump at this "deal of a lifetime" that's good for today only?

 

[nomoretslt]

There are dozens of nice restaurants in Myrtle Beach….Red Lobster is not tops on the list. Initialy I thought it was a regular dining coupon, then thought it was one of those ‘investment” seminars. I don’t think they want to sell me a timeshare, I think it’s one of those “Timeshare Exit” companies. The friend that gave me her timeshare a few years back (which I ended up being able to give back to the company after a few years…I hated the place) paid money to one of those places and they did nothing for her. I was lucky they only charged $250 for the deedback. soon after it went up hundreds. I was also lucky to stumble upon TUG and was pointed in the right direction.

 

[amycurl]

I've never understood the timeshare sales strategy of insulting us. Vidata tried this with us in Mexico; he called us liars because we had a MF of under $500 (which we did) and it just got so comical, we couldn't help but laught. At a more recent one at HGVC in Orlando, the sales person said we had done 8 presentations (we hadn't, maybe two or three at HGVC over the course of two decades) and seemed to imply we were up to some nefarious purpose. Um, you keep inviting us and selling us these packages. At one point I told her, "Look, this is the game *y'all* invented. I don't like it either, yet here we are." I still don't understand that strategy of insults/making us feel bad/guilty....that's not how this works, people.

 

[SmithOp]

We've gotten a couple of offers for free dinners at pretty darned good restaurants, usually for investments. But honestly I'm too lazy to go.

When we settled my MIL's estate, there was one weird small investment, a hotel fund. . . . We speculated that it stemmed to one of these dinners, years ago.

I've been twice to Morton's Steakhouse from a local investment outfit, the main pitch is converting 401 to Roth and Life Insurance (both non taxable payout). I think they put me on the do not invite list now. I told them I'm already retired and my investment strategy is locked and loaded, should have got me 20 years ago.

 

[Talent312]

... I still don't understand that strategy of insults/making us feel bad/guilty....that's not how this works, people.

The flip side is:
We're so friendly and caring...
I shared my life with you, and asked about yours...
So you gotta wanna 'help feed my babies.'
.

 

[simpsontruckdriver]

My late wife and I went to one at a local (Orlando-area) steakhouse, they wanted to sell us a pre-paid chiropracter contract, where they would guarantee that straightening us out would heal our diseases. We ate, watched their sketchy (not good medical science) claim videos, then left. They called us a day or 2 later, we refused. Chiropractors are good for bones and joints that may be misaligned, but there is zero medical science that says getting aligned cures diseases.

TS