Do You Have Buyers Remorse Yet?

All of us, at one time or another, have experienced the condition called “buyers remorse”. The dictionary definition is: an emotional condition whereby a person feels remorse or regret after he/she makes a purchase.

I have experienced it as both a buyer and a seller. Years ago, I worked as a time-share salesman at a resort in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. My job was to present the time-share plan in the best possible light to the prospective buyer. Since I taught salesmanship, as a business education teacher in high school, I pretty much knew the basic fundamentals of selling, but selling time-shares was selling at a high intensity level as it involved many thousands of dollars changing hands between the buyer and the seller. I needed some on the job training in order to be successful which I got that from the professionals in the field. As a result, I made “Salesman-of-the-Month” on one occasion. I believed in the time-share concept and it was my job to convince a buyer to buy my product using my selling ability.

I experienced the condition of “buyers remorse” after I sold a plan and the buyer left for home. On a few occasions, the couple or family thought about what they had purchased and got fidgety and developed a case of “buyer’s remorse” and called to cancel the contract (they had three days to cancel with no penalty). It was not a pleasant experience for me, the salesman, as I lost my commission. C’est la vie!

Today, I see the same emotional condition setting in with people who enthusiastically voted for President Barack Hussein Obama. Some friends of mine, who voted for him, have told me that they think they may have made a mistake in voting for him. It seems like a perfect case of “buyer’s remorse”, only this time it is their regret for a politician they voted for and not for a product. But, the catch here is that they don’t have “three days to cancel” their vote, and they and their country are stuck with their vote for at least the next three and a half years.

President Obama, like a good time-share salesman, did a great job in selling himself by telling the people what they wanted to hear. He was youthful, glib, and very articulate in selling “hope and change” on the campaign trail. Many people believed in him, and it didn’t matter that he was rated the most liberal member of the Senate, he sounded very moderate. It also helped that he was running against a very bland, boring candidate in John McCain. Many people were convinced that he would be the “change” they were looking for as compared to the policies of the previous administration. But, just like the buyer of the time-share plan, who had second thoughts and reservations about what they had just bought into, many people, after seeing what his plans are for the country since he was sworn-in, and how those plans will affect them in the future, are ruing the day they voted for him. They are having “buyer’s remorse”.

The extent of the “buyer’s remorse” won’t be felt until the congressional elections of 2010 and finally the next presidential election of 2012.

We’ll see if this “buyer’s remorse” has affected the voters who voted for him in 2008 (he received 52% of the popular vote), or is this just a temporary passing fancy of doubt? The success or failure of what he does between now and then will be the eventual determinant. Stay tuned for the ensuing results. Let’s hope our country can survive.

Written by Chuck Lehmann