MPG Newspapers

MANOMET – He wants to talk to you and your mate and refuses to stop by to chat with just you about this.
Once he’s through the door, you realize you can’t discuss this offer alone with your mate and still get this deal.

It’s a one-time deal. Take it right now or you won’t get this great discount. When you and your mate still hesitate, he shakes his head. Well, just because he likes you he’s going to call his manager and push for another $500 off the price. He makes the call while you, sit there at the table together, exchanging glances. He talks to his manager and, after a little finagling, gets you $800 off the original price.
But this is a one-time deal remember, so take it now, or it’s going to be that original price you balked at.
If you decide to mull it over alone with your spouse anyway, and wait for this salesman to leave, you may have a problem. Because he may just keep on talking. You may reach the point of buying the windows just to get him out of your house.

David Whyte is all too familiar with this scenario and the wide world of window and door sales.
For years he worked as a window manufacturer’s rep, called to respond to clients when there was a problem. He watched customers get pressured into overpriced windows they couldn’t afford, paying prices that were five times the wholesale cost of the windows. He said it got to him, and he realized he could break out on his own and make an honest living selling great windows and doors without the sales gimmicks and the pressure. He realized he could sell the product for much less money than the big companies and still make a good living.

Four years ago, that’s exactly what Whyte did. He opened Coastal Window & Door at 529 State Road in Manomet, right next door to Joseph’s Do It Best Hardware store. Coastal Window & Door also sells doors, Sun Setter motorized retractable awnings, vinyl decks and patio enclosures.“I can sell people better products for cheaper money,” he said. Estimates are free. Whyte said he comes to your house, talks to you about what you want and discusses the options. There’s no “one-time-only” offer. He said the reason salesmen in big companies pull this stunt is because the price on the windows they sell is already so inflated, they factor in cutting the price by $500 or more during the sales pitch. Whyte also won’t pull the “I need to talk to you and your husband or wife” deal. This strategy is simply a way of keeping a couple from discussing a sale alone, he said, because people often make better, more informed decisions that way.

Whyte’s is a no-pressure approach. He stops in, gives you the options and what they’ll cost and breezes out, leaving his card. He wants you to mull it over on your own, he said, because he knows that when you compare his price and quality with the other big companies, you’ll realize his is the better deal.
He’s not kidding. One client received a $22,000 estimate from a big window company that dropped magically to $13,000 after the salesman called his manager. In this case, however, the client wasn’t biting. He did a little research and went with Whyte, who is doing the same job for $4,700.
“I can’t tell a customer that guy’s going to rip you off,” Whyte said. “But it’s the truth. The difference is, I’m just not ripping people off.”

As a manufacturer’s representative, Whyte said he sold windows to big home improvement chains. If a problem cropped up with the order later, the chain would contact the manufacturer to have a representative stop by the customer’s home to check it out. Whyte stopped by and, in the process of solving the problem, discovered what the big company had charged the client.
“I used to come home and say ‘I cannot believe what these people do,’” he said. “It’s worse than selling cars.”

Whyte said he loves his job now because the high-pressure sales world has been replaced by the cozy feeling of a family business. He said 90 percent of his business is through referrals, because people don’t just appreciate a decent price and a great installation. They like the personal approach, the fact that they’re not talking to a machine or a subcontractor.“We show up when we say we’re going to show up. We’re going to do what we say we’re going to do,” he added.

Window replacement has become a hot issue these days with skyrocketing fuel costs. Through a government program, NStar is performing energy audits in homes for free. Whyte said folks considering buying new windows should get one of these audits first, because NStar will rebate folks who install energy saving windows up to $500. Replacing drafty windows is also a great way to save money on heating bills. Whyte said you can cut heat and energy loss by 40 percent just by replacing drafty windows.
Whyte, his wife, Lynda, and their three kids, Stephen, 13, Brian, 11, and Jessica, 8, live just down the street from his business. So does his office manager, Lauren Mulligan, who is a family friend with kids of her own. Their kids are all friends, too. Dave’s cousin, Mike Housman, is also an employee.
“They all play hockey and baseball and they all drive me crazy,” Whyte said of his kids, laughing. “I coach all power skating for Plymouth youth hockey. It means I don’t have any time to myself. I’m a total clown. I love coaching kids.”

He said he also loves his neighbors and customers and had a few words of caution to anyone considering buying anything. “Just beware of high pressure deals that are only good that day,” Whyte said. “Particularly anybody who keeps dropping the price.”