Tweet
Surprise, Surprise!!
Preface: Yes, I'm a car salesman. I know that due to the actions of others, we've gotten the reputation of perhaps one of the lowest forms of scum on the planet. However, we're not all as bad as we're cracked up to be.
Around September '06, this ordeal went down:
A fellow employee of mine, we'll call him "A-Rod" has an appointment for a customer who is coming in to lease a vehicle. Now, today is A-Rod's day off, so he calls me and gives me a heads up on what's going on.
Customer comes in, nice kid, about 23-24 years old, college kid. Anyways, he's really psyched about the car, read online about it and all, we test drive it, he loves it. Good.
Now, we get inside, he tells me that he had told A-Rod over the phone he could only afford $299 a month on a 2 year lease. My fellow salesman tells him of course we can do it, come on in.
[Now let me pause for a second here. Some people may think of this as misleading a customer. I think of it as giving us an oppourtunity to make a sale. It's not lying if you don't tell them the whole truth. Being honest and telling people I can't sell them a car for what they want does not feed my family.]
Anyways, I collect the necessary information, copy of license, personal info (name, phone number, address, etc) and take it to the sales desk. We find out that the vehicle he wanted does not have a lease program any more. We called the company headquarters, and yes, that vehicle does not have a lease program any more.
I tell the guy this. Obviously he's not too happy, but hey, that's how it goes. I try to suggest maybe another vehicle, but that would be out of his price range, and he leaves disappointed.
A few days later, I receive from my general manager this essay that was apparantly written to the CEO of the company. (I'm talking one of theBig 3, err Big 2)
An 8-page essay titled "Why I'll Never Look at a ******* Again"
A few snippets:
This is how it starts: "As a graduate student, the purchasing of a brand new vehicle is a great first step towards adulthood and self-management. The choice of a vehicle, as much as it is about budget, it also about ones' personality...."
Blah blah..
"Once at ISellCars' desk, I filled out form after form [LIE], supplied ISellCars with a copy of my driver's license and then was told to wait a few minutes to him to go finalize the paperwork. So I waited, and waited. Then I waited some more. It started to hurt, not only because I was sitting in an uncomfortable chair with no reading material, but also because I had to endure the tunes of Lionel Richie's "Hello" along with more outdated hits from the 70's. Maybe I made the wrong choice? Perhaps this is where my grandparents would go to get a car? Was the {model} not "cool enough"? A good forty-five minues had passed [LIE] since ISellCars had gone for "a few minutes", until he finally returned."
"I cancelled two of my classes. I drove 35 miles [LIE], spent another $15 on gas, added more miles to my current leased vehicle and you tell me there is no lease program for the {model} but that I am welcome to that the {other model} for double the amount I am able to afford?"
"Oh my way home, amidst the snarling suburban traffic of Miami [this guy writes too many essays], I reflected back on my wasted afternoon at the dealer. I also became concerned with the fact that {DEALER} has a copy of my driver's license, along with a thoroughly filled out form containing my personal information." [Name, Address, and Phone Number. That's it. I'm stealing your identity!!!
]
"Next month when my lease ends, I'll be back at my [shitty] dealer. I have to pick out a new vehicle"
I'm tired of typing. Anyways, I know this story isn't as great as others, and I'm sorry it's so damn long.... but this really pissed me off. I try my hardest to provide not only great vehicles, but great service to people. I know I might not be the most honest person in the world, but if you heard some of the crap these "customers" gave us, you'd lose all faith in the human race. I have hundreds of very satisfied customers who have never been treated so well in purchasing a car that will back me up in an instance.
And to top it all off, this guy claimed that "with school and work, the ONLY time I had available was THAT Friday afternoon", yet he spent all weekend typing up an 8 page essay about why he got his feelings hurt.
Luckily my GM was there that day and thought it was funny he sent the letter. Never heard anything since.
Preface: Yes, I'm a car salesman. I know that due to the actions of others, we've gotten the reputation of perhaps one of the lowest forms of scum on the planet. However, we're not all as bad as we're cracked up to be.
Around September '06, this ordeal went down:
A fellow employee of mine, we'll call him "A-Rod" has an appointment for a customer who is coming in to lease a vehicle. Now, today is A-Rod's day off, so he calls me and gives me a heads up on what's going on.
Customer comes in, nice kid, about 23-24 years old, college kid. Anyways, he's really psyched about the car, read online about it and all, we test drive it, he loves it. Good.
Now, we get inside, he tells me that he had told A-Rod over the phone he could only afford $299 a month on a 2 year lease. My fellow salesman tells him of course we can do it, come on in.
[Now let me pause for a second here. Some people may think of this as misleading a customer. I think of it as giving us an oppourtunity to make a sale. It's not lying if you don't tell them the whole truth. Being honest and telling people I can't sell them a car for what they want does not feed my family.]
Anyways, I collect the necessary information, copy of license, personal info (name, phone number, address, etc) and take it to the sales desk. We find out that the vehicle he wanted does not have a lease program any more. We called the company headquarters, and yes, that vehicle does not have a lease program any more.
I tell the guy this. Obviously he's not too happy, but hey, that's how it goes. I try to suggest maybe another vehicle, but that would be out of his price range, and he leaves disappointed.
A few days later, I receive from my general manager this essay that was apparantly written to the CEO of the company. (I'm talking one of the
An 8-page essay titled "Why I'll Never Look at a ******* Again"
A few snippets:
This is how it starts: "As a graduate student, the purchasing of a brand new vehicle is a great first step towards adulthood and self-management. The choice of a vehicle, as much as it is about budget, it also about ones' personality...."
Blah blah..
"Once at ISellCars' desk, I filled out form after form [LIE], supplied ISellCars with a copy of my driver's license and then was told to wait a few minutes to him to go finalize the paperwork. So I waited, and waited. Then I waited some more. It started to hurt, not only because I was sitting in an uncomfortable chair with no reading material, but also because I had to endure the tunes of Lionel Richie's "Hello" along with more outdated hits from the 70's. Maybe I made the wrong choice? Perhaps this is where my grandparents would go to get a car? Was the {model} not "cool enough"? A good forty-five minues had passed [LIE] since ISellCars had gone for "a few minutes", until he finally returned."
"I cancelled two of my classes. I drove 35 miles [LIE], spent another $15 on gas, added more miles to my current leased vehicle and you tell me there is no lease program for the {model} but that I am welcome to that the {other model} for double the amount I am able to afford?"
"Oh my way home, amidst the snarling suburban traffic of Miami [this guy writes too many essays], I reflected back on my wasted afternoon at the dealer. I also became concerned with the fact that {DEALER} has a copy of my driver's license, along with a thoroughly filled out form containing my personal information." [Name, Address, and Phone Number. That's it. I'm stealing your identity!!!
]"Next month when my lease ends, I'll be back at my [shitty] dealer. I have to pick out a new vehicle"
I'm tired of typing. Anyways, I know this story isn't as great as others, and I'm sorry it's so damn long.... but this really pissed me off. I try my hardest to provide not only great vehicles, but great service to people. I know I might not be the most honest person in the world, but if you heard some of the crap these "customers" gave us, you'd lose all faith in the human race. I have hundreds of very satisfied customers who have never been treated so well in purchasing a car that will back me up in an instance.
And to top it all off, this guy claimed that "with school and work, the ONLY time I had available was THAT Friday afternoon", yet he spent all weekend typing up an 8 page essay about why he got his feelings hurt.
Luckily my GM was there that day and thought it was funny he sent the letter. Never heard anything since.
Do you want some cheese with your whine?
That's quite disturbing.
I AM the evil bastard!
Comment