It was already dark in Puerto Vallarta. It gets dark a lot earlier in the tropics. A light rain was falling as I left the hotel to buy some milk for breakfast the next morning. Nearby was a little store and snack bar where I could buy it. On my way I passed a stand with maps and tourist information. Of course, it was a "Timeshare Booth."
Timeshares are sold by introducing prospective buyers to a hotel or condo suite by inviting them for a free breakfast, followed by a sales presentation. They try in many ways to induce you to buy. If one salesman fails they bring the next and harder salesman, and if that one fails they bring in the really big gun to try to push you into buying in any way possible. It is really a waste of valuable vacation time. I knew all this. All I wanted from them was the small free paper map of the town.
A likable fellow, speaking good English gave me the map, and of course, invited me and my spouse for breakfast the next morning. I declined, and told him that first of all I did not care for Timeshare. Further, I did not have the income to qualify to purchase, and anyway, I could make my own breakfast. He countered by offering a free Harbour Cruise. I told him I had just finished cruising, and this did not interest me.
We then spoke of conditions in Mexico and the USA, and he understood me to be a Canadian and not a richer American. We discussed the hurricane and how fortunate it was that no lives were lost and how thankful he was that his wife and three little children were safe. By now I had begun to feel friendliness toward him. He told me how much it would help him to have a couple go to the breakfast. It would show his boss that he was really trying.
He asked me what did I like, anyway in Mexico, and I told him I always liked the "Mexican Fiesta". "Oh well," he replied, "we have one at our hotel tomorrow evening!" "How much does it cost?" was my question. "Three hundred pesos per person," was the reply but for you it will be only $200 pesos for both of you, if you come to breakfast.
(A Fiesta is like a party, with mariachi music, and a show with beautifully dressed folkloric dancers doing traditional dances. There is also a buffet with many regional dishes of Mexico presented.) Mary and I have been to regular Fiestas in Mazatlan,(not Timeshare,) and we just love them. So, when he told me he could get me tickets for both of us for just $200 pesos,I was hooked. I wanted to help his family by letting his boss see he could bring someone and thus solidify his job, which he said was in trouble. We would enjoy the Fiesta, and breakfast had to be eaten, anyway. So we might as well endure the Timeshare presentation. We would stand firm and not buy. I gave him the two hundred pesos and he gave me a receipt, and the promise to pick me up near the hotel at nine the next morning.
I bought the milk and went back to our room. Mary already knows about Timeshare, and was not enthusiastic at all, but we might go. We should wait to see what the morning would bring.
What did the morning bring? Heavy rain. And I woke up at ten minutes to nine! I flew into my clothes, damped my face, and ran down to the waiting fellow who stood near the hotel entrance with an umbrella. (The hotel selling timeshare was next door to our hotel.) I told him my spouse was indisposed, which unfortunately she really was. I would have gone to the breakfast by myself and offered to, but they don't allow it. They need to work on both of you and get both signatures in order to have a firm sale. So he said, "Well then come tomorrow and bring your wife." He introduced me to his leader so the man could see that he had a prospect. I asked the leader about the Fiesta that night and he said "Oh don't worry, they'll have another one tomorrow." I went back to Mary and we had our breakfast from supplies I brought with us. I had a little electric one cup water heater for coffee and tea, we had fruit and cereal with milk.
That afternoon I saw a poster that only showed one night for the Fiesta, so I checked. Sure enough, it turned out that the Fiesta was over. They were going to have a Beach Party the next night, and we don't care for Beach Parties. I paid for a Fiesta. I tried to get a refund, but was unsuccessful. We decided to cut our losses and I left a message that we would not come the next day for the presentation, or the beach party.
Afterward I found out the salesman did not get anything from the two hundred pesos, because we did'nt show up. They only pay for people delivered to the door. Who swallowed the money? Why the Timeshare company and their American partners.
I met a watchman by the shore and asked: "Are there any sharks in Puerto Vallarta?" He looked at me with surprise and answered: "Not in the ocean. Only on land, selling Timeshare!" I replied "Yes,I know. They bit me for two hundred pesos!"
