Question

Samantha was leery about door-to door selling but saw some tremendous income
potential when she joined the Good Health Filter Company (GHFC). She thought,
“With all the hullabaloo about air pollutions and its contribution to ill health, these
filters should be a cinch to sell.” GHFC manufactured furnace air filters and claimed
that they would reduce indoor air pollutions by 90%. The company chose to
distribute its products directly to homeowners so salespeople could deliver a
standardized sales presentation.
During her training, Samantha was given a sales kit that included sales
literature and an actual filter that was loaded with contaminants that no homeowner
would like to see in their home. The demonstration filter had been exposed to
conditions that would not be found in most normal homes and was left in place
longer that the recommended replacement interval. The idea was that people would
see the filter and perceive it as being effective at improving their health. When
combined with the “scary” sales literature, it would be tough for people to say no. In
reality, the filter was less effective than most of the air filters that could be
purchased at any home improvement store.
Samantha couldn’t miss. Each time she made a presentation, she
emphasized how the home’s occupants would enjoy healthier air. At twice the cost
of regular air filters, she was making some healthy commissions.
Questions
1.
Is Samantha doing anything wrong?

2.
Is she creating a need that in reality may not really be present?
3.
Are “scare tactics” a legitimate selling technique?

Answer 1

Answer) Before answering the parts of this question,let us consider some of the facts of the given question as follows

• GHFC claimed that their filters would reduce indoor air pollution by 90%
• Demonstration filter had been exposed to conditions that would not be found in most normal homes
• Scary sales literature was used
• Filter was actually less effective than most of air filters found at any home improvement store

1. Yes,as a company employee Samantha cannot feign ignorance to above facts,what she is doing is nothing less than lying to customer in the sense that demonstration is already fixed,quality in actuality is not worth of the price,she is concealing the truth and facts and instead is using scare tactics to force customer into sale which is unethical and wrong.
2. Absolutely,she is creating a need which is not present,from facts listed in start of this answer we know that most of normal homes don't require it,demonstration is flawed and most people would be better of purchasing regular air filters,so she is using scare tactic to create a fabricated need.
3. No,scare tactics are not legitimate techniques as they are akin to lying and forcing customer to buy something they don't need it but the problem is verification of such claims,for example in given case to identify a scare tactic,one would need expertise to verify claims and most of common people do not possess that which is why a lot of salespeople use scare tactics as their approach,in fact not only these are not legitimate but they are false claims and dangerous in the sense they are fabricating a need which may lead to further customer exploitation.

Answer is complete.Thank you!