drivermaker
Banned
An article in the front page of today's paper is titled: "IT'S TIME TO CUT TO THE CHASE, MEN: WIVES ARE THE KEY TO WHAT WE BUY".
The article starts out... No matter how you slice it, Greg Grizzle was going to get his vintage motorcycle. He'd longed for a BMW bike since 1976 but his wife, Jennifer, believed the family had more pressing priorities, like their children and finances -- not to mention concerns about safety.
They struck a deal: Greg would get a VASECTOMY and the motorcycle would be his. Snip, snip. Vroom, vroom. "By then, I couldn't protest," said Jennifer Grizzle. He deserved it. He went under the knife for me".
His sacrifice echoes a newly classified criterion that married men must often pass for their most desired purchases: the WAF - Wife Acceptance Factor.
Motorcycles, cars, big screen TV's, POOL TABLES - all are subject to this qualifier.
Until recently, though, the WAF has been a taboo issue for many men to discuss, lest one be branded, well, a BIG WIMP. You never want to tell another guy your wife won't let you buy something.
"PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE HONEY, CAN I HAVE IT?" (regarding a pool table)
Thumbs DOWN. "Where are you going to put that? Fine when you finally finish the basement, we'll talk. UNTIL THEN, NO!!"
For many men, the key to the WAF is in the bargaining. Do you really want that pool table (or whatever) next summer? Barter - and schmooze - for it now.
"I look for every opportunity to give my wife what she really wants in anticipation of future round draft choices," said Peter Stark, author of 'The Only Negotiating Guide You'll Ever Need."
"My wife wants a new couch, my standard response is, 'Honey, if that makes you happy, I want you to have that couch.' If you spend a good portion of your time trying to make the other person happy, it is a lot easier to pass the WAF test."
Stark also recommends addressing the relationship first - lots of "I love yous" never hurt - before proposing a significant purchase.
"Meeting the needs of your counterpart," he said, "is absolutely critical."
Jennifer and Stephen Shepard have performed this give-and take dance for years.
"We have it down to an art," she said. "He's pretty frugal until something comes out that he wants. Then he decides to get me jewelery."
Earlier this year, Stephen purchased a 65-inch TV and Jennifer, not so coincidentally was gifted with a SAPPHIRE RING she'd been eyeing.
The big secret: She actually digs Stephens electronics. "I like to play with the toys, too," she said. "I just make it seem like I don't wo I get the jewelry."
Wisconsin based Brunswick Billiards - which offers its products at Atlantic Billiards in Alpharetta - re-engineered its system of selling pool tables to accommodate the WAF.
Showrooms were moved from shady areas to upscale strip malls. The inventory evolved to 50 percent billiard equipment and 50 percent home decorating items, from glassware and barstools to lighting and artwork (no dogs playing pool on black velvet). The pool tables were refined, with designs now based on stainless steel and maple along with Craftsman-style looks to complement home decor.
And it worked. "Over the last five years, we started using the phrase 'male-initiated, female-approved,' said Mark McCleary, vice president of marketing for Brunswick Billiards.
"Almost every guy needs to get their wife or significant other to bless it. The way pool tables look is almost totally different. It's a huge difference. (END)
I have a significant other for over 20 years but we've never gotten married out of fear that it would destroy the dynamics of the relationship. Maybe the institution of marriage is what does it, I don't know. But we've owned two homes, now working on another one, and all of those homes were purchased or built based on the fact that a pool table fitting in was a prerequisite to the home chosen. There is no compromise on this!!
My approach has always been, "I'm getting a phuckin' pool table in the house, and there will ALWAYS be a pool table and we ain't haggling about it.
End of conversation!" When it comes to pool cues, cases, or anything else...it's my business also. I don't give a shit what she buys either.
But, getting a VASECTOMY as a trade-off to purchase something...buying rings, furs, cars and paying DOUBLE THE MONEY TO GET WHAT YOU WANT
in a trade.....ARE YOU SHITTING ME???!!!!
Do you guys really have to go through this?? What the hell has the world come to??
The article starts out... No matter how you slice it, Greg Grizzle was going to get his vintage motorcycle. He'd longed for a BMW bike since 1976 but his wife, Jennifer, believed the family had more pressing priorities, like their children and finances -- not to mention concerns about safety.
They struck a deal: Greg would get a VASECTOMY and the motorcycle would be his. Snip, snip. Vroom, vroom. "By then, I couldn't protest," said Jennifer Grizzle. He deserved it. He went under the knife for me".
His sacrifice echoes a newly classified criterion that married men must often pass for their most desired purchases: the WAF - Wife Acceptance Factor.
Motorcycles, cars, big screen TV's, POOL TABLES - all are subject to this qualifier.
Until recently, though, the WAF has been a taboo issue for many men to discuss, lest one be branded, well, a BIG WIMP. You never want to tell another guy your wife won't let you buy something.
"PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE HONEY, CAN I HAVE IT?" (regarding a pool table)
Thumbs DOWN. "Where are you going to put that? Fine when you finally finish the basement, we'll talk. UNTIL THEN, NO!!"
For many men, the key to the WAF is in the bargaining. Do you really want that pool table (or whatever) next summer? Barter - and schmooze - for it now.
"I look for every opportunity to give my wife what she really wants in anticipation of future round draft choices," said Peter Stark, author of 'The Only Negotiating Guide You'll Ever Need."
"My wife wants a new couch, my standard response is, 'Honey, if that makes you happy, I want you to have that couch.' If you spend a good portion of your time trying to make the other person happy, it is a lot easier to pass the WAF test."
Stark also recommends addressing the relationship first - lots of "I love yous" never hurt - before proposing a significant purchase.
"Meeting the needs of your counterpart," he said, "is absolutely critical."
Jennifer and Stephen Shepard have performed this give-and take dance for years.
"We have it down to an art," she said. "He's pretty frugal until something comes out that he wants. Then he decides to get me jewelery."
Earlier this year, Stephen purchased a 65-inch TV and Jennifer, not so coincidentally was gifted with a SAPPHIRE RING she'd been eyeing.
The big secret: She actually digs Stephens electronics. "I like to play with the toys, too," she said. "I just make it seem like I don't wo I get the jewelry."
Wisconsin based Brunswick Billiards - which offers its products at Atlantic Billiards in Alpharetta - re-engineered its system of selling pool tables to accommodate the WAF.
Showrooms were moved from shady areas to upscale strip malls. The inventory evolved to 50 percent billiard equipment and 50 percent home decorating items, from glassware and barstools to lighting and artwork (no dogs playing pool on black velvet). The pool tables were refined, with designs now based on stainless steel and maple along with Craftsman-style looks to complement home decor.
And it worked. "Over the last five years, we started using the phrase 'male-initiated, female-approved,' said Mark McCleary, vice president of marketing for Brunswick Billiards.
"Almost every guy needs to get their wife or significant other to bless it. The way pool tables look is almost totally different. It's a huge difference. (END)
I have a significant other for over 20 years but we've never gotten married out of fear that it would destroy the dynamics of the relationship. Maybe the institution of marriage is what does it, I don't know. But we've owned two homes, now working on another one, and all of those homes were purchased or built based on the fact that a pool table fitting in was a prerequisite to the home chosen. There is no compromise on this!!
My approach has always been, "I'm getting a phuckin' pool table in the house, and there will ALWAYS be a pool table and we ain't haggling about it.
End of conversation!" When it comes to pool cues, cases, or anything else...it's my business also. I don't give a shit what she buys either.
But, getting a VASECTOMY as a trade-off to purchase something...buying rings, furs, cars and paying DOUBLE THE MONEY TO GET WHAT YOU WANT
in a trade.....ARE YOU SHITTING ME???!!!!
Do you guys really have to go through this?? What the hell has the world come to??
