Complaint Review: American Insulation LLC & American Eagle Builders Supply Inc. - Arlington Texas

These companies are running a classic shill game - misrepresentation and deception are their forte.

Here's how it works.  The company uses independent contractors as in-home commissioned sales representatives and gives them the fancy title of "Vice-President of Marketing".  Currently the comapny has 12 Vice-Presidents of Marketing.  

The company begins it's ruse by canvassing homeowners door-to-door and leaving a brochure with anyone who has an interest in any of the products or services the company offers.  The canvassers tell the homeowners they need to get the homeowner's name and phone number in order to get paid for their canvassing activites - which is a complete lie.

Step 2 - the homeowner recieves a phone call from the telemarketing department of the company telling the homeowner that the company is looking to set up a promotional home in the homeowner's neighborhood and that the company is willing to spend several thousand dollars on the homeowner's house if they are selected for the promotion.  The company then requests an appointment with the homeowner when "our Vice-President of Marketing" can come by and go over the promotion.  If the homeowner agrees, this "lead" is then given to one of the 123 Vice-Presidents of Marketing.

Step 3 - A "Vice-President of Marketing" visits the homeowner and takes the lie to the next level.  This "VP" tells the homeowner that he/she has several thousand dollars in marketing budget set aside to work with one homeowner in that neigborhood and that, in order to qualify for that promotion, the homeowner would need to make a commitment and sign a contract that day.  If the homeowner agrees, only then will the "VP" show the homeowner what materials and services they provide. 

And here's where the real ruse and ripoff begin....

The VP will show the customer a "retail price" - what the job would cost if a "salesperson" was there instead of a "VP of Marketing".  The VP then shows the homeowner a promotional price which is several thousand dollars less.

On the surface, seems like a good deal for the homeowner.

However.....

What the homeowner does not realize is that the "retail price" is calculated as follows:

the VP takes the base price of the job (from price sheets provided by the company) and adds $3000-$5000 to this base price and then divides that number by .85 to arrive at the "retail price" of the job if a salesperson was there and not the VP. 

the VP then proceeds to show the homeowner the tremendous discounts he/she is willing to offer the homeowner on a promotional basis if the homeowner signs a contract that day:

The VP deducts 6% as a supposed "sales commission" that would not be paid since the VP is not on commission (a complete lie...the "VP" is actually a commissioned sales rep)

The VP deducts 9% as the "mark-up on materials"(company profit) on the job which the company is not interested in making a profit on a promotional home (again...a total lie)...What a coincidence that 6% + 9% = 15%...the exact amount of additional markup added to the job cost by dividing the already vastly inflated price by .85 in the earlier step.

Then the VP says he/she will spend $2000 in advertising budget.....even though the job was already marked up $3000-$5000.

So the homeowners sees numbers that look like they are saving $$3000, $4000, even $5000 on the price of the job when in fact they are paying $1000-$3000 (or more) OVER the actual cost of the job.

And folks....the company's actual cost of the job already has a 10-12% sales commission and a very nice profit margin built in for the company.

And what about that "one home in the neighborhood promotion".  Another absolute lie. The company will repeat this scam with as many homeowners in any neighboorhood who are naive enough to fall for it.

Beward folks.   You can get the same work done by a reputable company for thousands of dollars less without the false pressure of a false promotional deadline.