Test drive etiquette
Discussion
deeen said:
Thanks for your considered answer, most un-PH! Viewed from your end of the telescope, I can see your point. Maybe the problem is not the customer or the salesman, but the "commission only" business model?
I'm in the US, a little different from the UK where I think the guys do get a salary. I'm very happy with commission only thanks, it works very well and ensures the customer gets great service and good sales people can make a very good living.
unrepentant said:
I'm in the US, a little different from the UK where I think the guys do get a salary.
I'm very happy with commission only thanks, it works very well and ensures the customer gets great service and good sales people can make a very good living.
Pretty much commission only here too bud, which is why I cant afford to deal with the c untishness of half the blithering tool boxes on this thread. I've sold 30 this month, 300 this year, OP has bought nothing so far, go figure I'm very happy with commission only thanks, it works very well and ensures the customer gets great service and good sales people can make a very good living.
twing said:
Pretty much commission only here too bud, which is why I cant afford to deal with the c untishness of half the blithering tool boxes on this thread. I've sold 30 this month, 300 this year, OP has bought nothing so far, go figure
I guess the amount you make per sale is also an issue? At a few hundred pounds you can't afford to spend too long on each potential customer. Even if they buy in the end, some are more trouble than they're worth.Exaggerating to make the point: If there was 5 grand in it then you'd spend more time trying to win everything that presents itself.
Centurion07 said:
You and everyone else having a moan about "why shouldn't I test all 3 I'm interested in?" when nobody has said you shouldn't & it was stated in the OP that he was going to test drive a car he knew he wasn't going to buy, which is what the debate is actually about. 
Actually I was replying to a post with an example of my experience of a main dealer.twing said:
Pretty much commission only here too bud, which is why I cant afford to deal with the c untishness of half the blithering tool boxes on this thread. I've sold 30 this month, 300 this year, OP has bought nothing so far, go figure
How many of your clients are repeat business?If OP is 30 now and you helped him out by finding a few different vehicles for him to try out etc treated him like a king then you'd probably have him coming back every 2 years for the next 30 years at least. Then again maybe that's not how you do business, just get as many through the door as possible and shove them in cars, on their way they go.
Sheepshanks said:
berlintaxi said:
Least you got the offer of a test drive, BMW salesman recently told me that I should just order a new X5 as that is what his customers did and why did I need a test drive anyway as there was one in the showroom.
For years after it came out X5 was famous as no-one ever test drove them - lead-time was 12mths and the dealers didn't have demos.twing said:
You're not a customer until you buy something. Before that moment you're a window shopper.
What an extraordinary statement! Part of any job in sales is to distinguish the true customers from the window shoppers and to divide your time accordingly. The true customer is the one who's genuinely interested in buying and needs to be convinced that they should buy from you.Winning a customer for the first time is the hardest part; do that and give them a good experience and there's a better than even chance they'll come back, and you won't have to work so hard next time.
I've been shopping recently in the approved-used market and had no trouble being taken seriously by sales people who were prepared to listen to me rather than trying to fit me into whatever they needed to shift. I've told them honestly when I wasn't expecting to buy the specific car they showed me but would be interested in a newer / faster / less black version if they could find one, and they've responded by staying in touch and making helpful suggestions. I imagine the cost of that is part of the premium you pay for an approved used car, and I might not expect so much attention lower down the dealer ladder, but to me it's an essential part of the process.
Brian Trizers said:
twing said:
You're not a customer until you buy something. Before that moment you're a window shopper.
What an extraordinary statement! Part of any job in sales is to distinguish the true customers from the window shoppers and to divide your time accordingly. The true customer is the one who's genuinely interested in buying and needs to be convinced that they should buy from you.Winning a customer for the first time is the hardest part; do that and give them a good experience and there's a better than even chance they'll come back, and you won't have to work so hard next time.
I've been shopping recently in the approved-used market and had no trouble being taken seriously by sales people who were prepared to listen to me rather than trying to fit me into whatever they needed to shift. I've told them honestly when I wasn't expecting to buy the specific car they showed me but would be interested in a newer / faster / less black version if they could find one, and they've responded by staying in touch and making helpful suggestions. I imagine the cost of that is part of the premium you pay for an approved used car, and I might not expect so much attention lower down the dealer ladder, but to me it's an essential part of the process.
twing said:
Just so you're aware... Approved generally means ex- major daily rental. HTH
With the one I bought three years ago, and the one I may be about to buy, I got the details and service invoices of the original, private owner. Dog hairs too, in the first one; still finding them!twing said:
Just so you're aware... Approved generally means ex- major daily rental. HTH
Depends on the marque. Car salesmen do themselves absolutely no favours on these kind of threads. Entitlement culture is strong in these ones - why should I have to do any work for my money? I'm fuxking great.
maurauth said:
How many of your clients are repeat business?
If OP is 30 now and you helped him out by finding a few different vehicles for him to try out etc treated him like a king then you'd probably have him coming back every 2 years for the next 30 years at least. Then again maybe that's not how you do business, just get as many through the door as possible and shove them in cars, on their way they go.
Utter rubbish, you might have him back for a few years but as his income and/or family grows etc then his requirements will change and the likelyhood of him coming back every two years are near to zero. If OP is 30 now and you helped him out by finding a few different vehicles for him to try out etc treated him like a king then you'd probably have him coming back every 2 years for the next 30 years at least. Then again maybe that's not how you do business, just get as many through the door as possible and shove them in cars, on their way they go.
I run a small independent and have asked people who sound a bit vague on the phone if they intend buying the car if its as described and drives as it should, if they say no then I tell them not to bother coming, it's my business and I'll choose who drives my cars, no one else. The worst are locals who come for a look as it's close and then disappear off to shop for a cheaper one miles away if they decide they like it, I can generally spot a waster from a mile away. I'm in this to earn a living not provide a service to test drive cars to idiots who have no intention of buying and have nothing else better to do on a Sunday afternoon.
twing said:
Sheepshanks said:
Why is the salesman's time more important then the customer's?
You're not a customer until you buy something. Before that moment you're a window shopper.Maybe you are, if you aren't you wouldn't say so on here, but everything you've said so far paints you as exactly the sort of sales person that many people just don't want to deal with - OK it's the internet and things get lost in translation etc. but hire cars, not a customer until you've purchased etc.
Sounds like an amazing experience for the window shoppers.
But all the real customers start out as 'window shoppers'. I certainly do, and I appreciate sales people who take the trouble to convert me. I suspect a lot of this behaviour is determined by pay structures; if they're paid according to the success of the business - including servicing, for example - they have an incentive to win new customers for it, rather than just to sell a particular chunk of metal.
Back to the original question: is it reasonable to use a back-street car lot as a test drive pool? Clearly not, any more than you'd expect comfy fitting rooms and a 14-day return policy at the Oxfam shop. The same at a main dealer? I'd say yes, within reason. For one thing, I'd suspect there are incentives from manufacturers to dealers to get people in for test drives, precisely because of the window-shopper-to-customer effect. It worked for me years ago with Saab; I'd fancied one for a while, but when I went to a dealer, although I may not have fitted their typical customer profile - I was 27 - they handed me the key to their demonstrator and said "Take it for the weekend and let use know what you think." I had two in succession from that dealer.
Back to the original question: is it reasonable to use a back-street car lot as a test drive pool? Clearly not, any more than you'd expect comfy fitting rooms and a 14-day return policy at the Oxfam shop. The same at a main dealer? I'd say yes, within reason. For one thing, I'd suspect there are incentives from manufacturers to dealers to get people in for test drives, precisely because of the window-shopper-to-customer effect. It worked for me years ago with Saab; I'd fancied one for a while, but when I went to a dealer, although I may not have fitted their typical customer profile - I was 27 - they handed me the key to their demonstrator and said "Take it for the weekend and let use know what you think." I had two in succession from that dealer.
I'm curious what the marque's take on this kind of thing is tbh.
If I were a car manufacturer, hell if I was a manufacturer of anything, I'd want as many people as possible looking at and exposed to my product.
Seems there's a huge conflict with that when you're represented by a bunch of privately owned companies who survive solely off selling products and services - as a business they gain nothing by representing the marque.
I wonder if some of the larger main dealers would benefit from a couple of funded heads who are there to advise rather than sell.
If I were a car manufacturer, hell if I was a manufacturer of anything, I'd want as many people as possible looking at and exposed to my product.
Seems there's a huge conflict with that when you're represented by a bunch of privately owned companies who survive solely off selling products and services - as a business they gain nothing by representing the marque.
I wonder if some of the larger main dealers would benefit from a couple of funded heads who are there to advise rather than sell.
buyerseller said:
Utter rubbish, you might have him back for a few years but as his income and/or family grows etc then his requirements will change and the likelyhood of him coming back every two years are near to zero.
I run a small independent and have asked people who sound a bit vague on the phone if they intend buying the car if its as described and drives as it should, if they say no then I tell them not to bother coming, it's my business and I'll choose who drives my cars, no one else. The worst are locals who come for a look as it's close and then disappear off to shop for a cheaper one miles away if they decide they like it, I can generally spot a waster from a mile away. I'm in this to earn a living not provide a service to test drive cars to idiots who have no intention of buying and have nothing else better to do on a Sunday afternoon.
I dunno, I'm sure by the time I get to 30 I'll have decided on a marque that I'd keep going with and fair enough I might start out in a two seater, and then need to move to a 4 seater coupe and then yeah I'll need a 5 seater estate or a 5 seater 4x4 for the family, and then back to a small "fun car" but I'm sure most decent companies can provide that for a customer that keeps coming back.I run a small independent and have asked people who sound a bit vague on the phone if they intend buying the car if its as described and drives as it should, if they say no then I tell them not to bother coming, it's my business and I'll choose who drives my cars, no one else. The worst are locals who come for a look as it's close and then disappear off to shop for a cheaper one miles away if they decide they like it, I can generally spot a waster from a mile away. I'm in this to earn a living not provide a service to test drive cars to idiots who have no intention of buying and have nothing else better to do on a Sunday afternoon.
Edited by maurauth on Saturday 23 May 10:57
maurauth said:
I dunno, I'm sure by the time I get to 30 I'll have decided on a marque that I'd keep going with and fair enough I might start out in a two seater, and then need to move to a 4 seater coupe and then yeah I'll need a 5 seater estate or a 5 seater 4x4 for the family, and then back to a small "fun car" but I'm sure most decent companies can provide that for a customer that keeps coming back.
Go on, for fun, name the one brand who can deliver all of those Edited by maurauth on Saturday 23 May 10:57
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