Really? And You're In Sales???

A friend of mine called me this week and asked me to go and look at new cars with her.  She is single and didn't want the salesman to think she was an easy mark walking in to the dealership by herself. 

I told her no problem and I brought my husband along for good measure. 

We went to a local car dealer (let's just say a Japanese car dealer) and walked into the showroom.  We were immediately greeted by an eager man (let's call him Joe) who's English wasn't the best.  I should have known things wouldn't go well when I introduced myself to him as Belinda and he called me Banana.  Of course, if I were Anna Banana, this would not be a problem.

Joe immediately started peppering my friend with questions before she ever got to actually look at a car.  When she told him she was interested in two models and just wanted to know approximately what the payments would be on each, he escorted her to his cubicle and got out a white sheet of paper.  Joe asked her over and over again what she wanted her payment to be.  She kept telling Joe that she wanted to know what the payments were before she would tell him anything else.

After 30 minutes of stressful dialogue, I finally spoke up (yes I was quiet for the whole thing up till then) and said "This isn't rocket science. I'm sure you've sold one or two of these in the past. Just tell her what the payment range is."  Well, Joe wasn't at all happy with me.  He still did not answer the question.  I told my friend it was time to leave. 

I grabbed my husband and said we are out of here.  We walked out to our vehicles with the salesman chasing behind us.  He kept saying he would get the numbers man for us.  I told him he blew his chance and we were leaving.  My friend told him she was angry and stressed and wanted nothing more to do with him.

I took my friend to the car dealership where my husband and I have bought our last 11 cars, including cars for our daughter.  I was greeted with a hug from the general manager, Dave, and quickly made the introductions.  I asked him if he could do anything and keep the payment in the range that she needed.  He said no problem, and ran the numbers and came up with a payment that would only fluctuate a few dollars depending on which car she picked.

One of his seasoned salesmen assisted my friend and showed her everything there was to know about the car.  He even programmed her cell phone into the SYNC system to show her how the hands free phone operated.

She finally decided to drive the car to see if she liked the way it felt.  Once she pushed on the gas, she was in heaven. 

Never once did our dealership, (Landmark Lincoln in Englewood, Colorado) pressure my friend.  They treated her and her questions very sincerely and tried to accommodate her every need.

I am always amazed at the attitudes of some sales people.  If I behaved the way that Joe did to my customers, well - let's just say I would be flipping burgers at the nearest burger joint.