183/
Since pausing, the situation has moved into a more formal legal phase. As a result, I’m pausing the public thread indefinitely.

The record stands for anyone who wants to review it.

If you need context, the case is ongoing — feel free to DM.

#TimeForUs

182/
It’s the week of Thanksgiving so I am going to pause tweets for a week to spend time with my family.

The story will pick back up after the holiday!

Honestly, I hope you have a chance to take a break too. These things matter, trust me.

#TimeForUs #HappyThanksgiving

181/
The offer I received was for $3,310 — well below the $8,310 that would satisfy my demand. In no way was I going to accept that offer, nor would I reject it outright.

That day, I made the decision to write what is now known as The Deitsch Counteroffer.

#TimeForUs #standup

180/
In formal negotiation, someone presented with an offer has three choices: accept, reject, or counteroffer.

And as much as ADT insisted their offer wasn’t negotiable, they couldn’t take away my option to respond with a counteroffer.

#TimeForUs #Negotiation

179/
Next, I sat down to review the contract.

It didn’t take long: I counted five clauses that had never been mentioned — new terms, conditions, one-sided provisions favoring ADT.

For the first time, I wasn’t decrypting emails; I was evaluating an offer.

#TimeForUs #Contracts

178/
The first thing to do was acknowledge receipt.

I noticed Amy always did this; I realized it was both courteous and productive. Following her example made sense.

#TimeForUs #Received

177/
Receiving ADT’s offer was a milestone — not because of its quality, but because I was finally able to see the additional things ADT wanted.

After months of chasing, this was the first time ADT had put forward a binding agreement for resolution.

#TimeForUs #Negotiation

176/
And later that morning, it arrived. The first formal offer ADT sent — signed, structured, and finally in the format required for me to evaluate it.

It had taken months to get to this point.

#TimeForUs #Offer

175/
By late morning, I was hopeful.

After days of clarifying process and waiting for ADT to send an actual offer — not an agreement in principle, not an email summary — it finally seemed like it might arrive.

I was ready to evaluate it on its merits.

#TimeForUs #Waiting

174/
Amy’s reply that morning wasn’t long — but it didn’t need to be.

She confirmed receipt, acknowledged the points I’d outlined, and agreed to review everything before sending the formal offer.
Exactly what I’d asked for.

#TimeForUs #Progress

173/
I’m out with my wife today. The story continues tomorrow.

#TimeForUs #Cliffhanger

172/
I kept things simple and consistent.

Just like before, I used clear bullet points to outline expectations — to codify the process and make Amy’s job easier.

At this stage, clear communication was the quickest path forward.

#TimeForUs #Communication

171/
“My brain sometimes organizes information differently than others, so structure like this is amazingly helpful.”

It wasn’t an apology. It was fact.

And if ADT didn’t want to understand that, the concept of mutual assent would press the issue.

#TimeForUs #Legal

170/
That last email mattered for another reason.

It wasn’t just about setting expectations for ADT — it was about codifying the example I'd set.

Structure isn’t decorative; it’s how some people’s brains keep complex information organized.

#TimeForUs #ADHD

169/
Here’s the summary email I sent that evening.

It confirmed what Amy had agreed to and restated expectations for the revised offer. I put everything into the bullet-point structure that had worked well previously.

#TimeForUs #Clarity

168/
I got the answer I wanted, so I saw no need to respond quickly.

That evening, I sent a summary email to ensure I’d communicated expectations clearly and organized them neatly.

#TimeForUs #Communication

167/
Also notice that the pattern continued.

Amy expressed her frustration, made her point, and then agreed to do what I’d asked. She said she would have it to me 'tomorrow' - the day I had set the dealine for.

#TimeForUs #Pattern

166/
I accomplished my goal.

Amy did not seem thrilled, but she agreed to send over a correctly formatted offer.

She explained what she felt she had to, but ultimately chose the path forward.

#TimeForUs #NextSteps

165/
When I sent my email, I wanted to stop the conversation.

I suggested that ADT’s deviation from standard negotiation procedure might be a policy issue.

The goal was to end the immediate back and forth.

#TimeForUs #PushingForward

164/
Because I had set a deadline, I sent an email from my phone for the first time in this exchange.

I explained that I needed a more formal approach — one I had already modeled in the Extension Agreement I’d prepared (see tweet 66).

#TimeForUs #Documentation

63/
I wanted to work quickly as the deadline I had set for an offer was nearing.

I made sure to explain that I was expecting an executable offer to evaluate and that I was sure it would not be hard to resolve this procedural hurdle.

#TimeForUs #TheirTurn

162/
I still don’t know whether ADT was knowingly trying to avoid extra work and a paper trail — or if I truly had to lead them to water each day.

Either way, it was clear I needed to send another email to explain what ADT had to do next.

#TimeForUs #NextSteps

161/
Check out the email.

ADT was blurring the line between an “agreement in principle” and an actual offer — and suggesting the next step would be a release.

That’s not how this works.

#TimeForUs #Legal

160/
I was mildly surprised by her response. Her tone suggested surprise that I was expecting something from her by Friday.

It seemed she was attempting to get me to agree to an offer before she presented one.

#TimeForUs #Hmmm

159/
Amy’s response came at 9:25 the next morning.

Normally, she replied two hours earlier. It’s possible she just had something going on — or maybe I’d finally gotten them to a point where they had to think harder.

#TimeForUs #Negotiation

158/
Here is the direction from my email —

1️⃣ “any future offer from ADT be presented in a form that … is ready for my countersignature”
2️⃣ “I’ll look out for ADT’s formal revised offer by Friday.”

#TimeForUs #Communication

157/
Here’s the email I sent from my hotel room that night.

I thanked her for removing the NDA, then pivoted to setting appropriate ground rules for future formal offers. Finally, I re-established the Friday deadline for a corrected offer.

#TimeForUs #structuredapproach

156/
By that evening, I was ready to close the loop. Her agreement to remove confidentiality was welcome — now it was about structure.

If we were going to resolve this, it needed to happen on paper, not through rounds of ambiguous emails.

#TimeForUs #Contracts

155/
With Amy's agreement secured, I didn't respond quickly. The email confirmed ADT's willingness to provide an offer in the correct format by the Friday deadline.

I let it breathe, deciding to respond from my hotel room later that night.

#TimeForUs #Agreement

154/
Here is Amy's response.

I was starting to notice a pattern. Amy might have some issues or be unhappy about what I was saying, but ultimately she seemed to agree to what I was asking.

#TimeForUs #Progress