Discussion
Car salesman in the bmw dealership I went to today. Truly a fascinating breed of animal and a unique species.
Whilst waiting to pick up my car from the service I observed some behaviour that David Attenborough would have been proud to have narrated on.
The strong purposeful walks, to own the space.
The strong and unrelenting eye contact.
The marking of territory with strong aftershave.
The unnecessary loud communication to show confidence.
Then the mating ritual ahead of a car purchase - a bit like a peacock showing off its feathers - one salesman had a cravat and the others had things like matching hankies in their pockets.
Honestly, they all looked like such prize plums - for goodness sake do dealers think people are in the 80s still. Yes, dress smart but don't go to such a stupid extreme and behave like Gorillas. People are buying a car, not a taking a princesses hand in marriage.
Thank god the service department were sane, otherwise I would have never returned to that place of pretentiousness ever again !!!!
Whilst waiting to pick up my car from the service I observed some behaviour that David Attenborough would have been proud to have narrated on.
The strong purposeful walks, to own the space.
The strong and unrelenting eye contact.
The marking of territory with strong aftershave.
The unnecessary loud communication to show confidence.
Then the mating ritual ahead of a car purchase - a bit like a peacock showing off its feathers - one salesman had a cravat and the others had things like matching hankies in their pockets.
Honestly, they all looked like such prize plums - for goodness sake do dealers think people are in the 80s still. Yes, dress smart but don't go to such a stupid extreme and behave like Gorillas. People are buying a car, not a taking a princesses hand in marriage.
Thank god the service department were sane, otherwise I would have never returned to that place of pretentiousness ever again !!!!
I was in a BMW dealers the other weekend looking at 2 series coupe's the funny thing was the salesman had very little product knowledge for example he didn't know how much power the engines produced I very nearly walked away.
All they seemed to be interested in was quoting the PCP deals and finance packages.
All they seemed to be interested in was quoting the PCP deals and finance packages.
Klippie said:
I was in a BMW dealers the other weekend looking at 2 series coupe's the funny thing was the salesman had very little product knowledge for example he didn't know how much power the engines produced I very nearly walked away.
All they seemed to be interested in was quoting the PCP deals and finance packages.
What more do you want? Everything you need and more is available online. You don't need a guy in a suit to tell you how much power a 240i has.All they seemed to be interested in was quoting the PCP deals and finance packages.
The guy in the suit is for negotiating a purchase with.
Totally agree with the OP, it's not just BMW though.
I've visited my local MB, Audi, BMW and Jag dealers recently as looking at prospective new company cars and they are all filled with the same kind of overly groomed, daftly dressed pillocks. They all appear to dress like London investment bankers, are overly familiar in their greetings and seem to be of the opinion they are doing you a favor selling you a car.
A very odd bunch indeed, and one I actively avoid contact with wherever possible.
I've visited my local MB, Audi, BMW and Jag dealers recently as looking at prospective new company cars and they are all filled with the same kind of overly groomed, daftly dressed pillocks. They all appear to dress like London investment bankers, are overly familiar in their greetings and seem to be of the opinion they are doing you a favor selling you a car.
A very odd bunch indeed, and one I actively avoid contact with wherever possible.
Audi is similar, amongst the male salesmen anyway. Lots of sucking of teeth in the negotiation stage when they have no control over what deals can and cannot be done. Lots of walking around with a coffee in one hand and an iPad in the other. The younger ones use a lot of hair gel/spray to reach previously impossible angles.
To their credit they don't talk too loudly.
To their credit they don't talk too loudly.
Monkeylegend said:
Over 2 million new car registrations so far this year, car salesmen must be doing something right.
Yes, because if it were not for those salesmen none of those cars would have been purchased.Never once has the salesman been the difference between me buying or not buying.
Sounds like they are being fashionable, bet they had beards too. Sounds like most blokes the high street, all a bit Essex these days.
Doesn't bother me too much, lack of product knowledge does though. An exceptional salesman might be able to match my knowledge of the product they are selling, which seems wrong to me.
Doesn't bother me too much, lack of product knowledge does though. An exceptional salesman might be able to match my knowledge of the product they are selling, which seems wrong to me.
I tend not to care much about it... I know the car before I buy it, I just want to test drive it, discuss the options and get the best deal, done. Recently ordered a new car, took 2 visits to dealership, one to spec it and get a quote, second one to have another 4K off and test drive... job jobbed. In total I think I spent 2h in the total of the 2 visits including test drive. Don't get why people need so much time to buy a car.
Go online do most of the research, go to dealer, spec and price, test drive and buy. Done.
Go online do most of the research, go to dealer, spec and price, test drive and buy. Done.
Mike335i said:
Sounds like they are being fashionable, bet they had beards too. Sounds like most blokes the high street, all a bit Essex these days.
Doesn't bother me too much, lack of product knowledge does though. An exceptional salesman might be able to match my knowledge of the product they are selling, which seems wrong to me.
Aah, I thought it was just me getting old; in the past few years it has never ceased to amaze me how little product knowledge, if any at all, some of these salespeople have. Doesn't bother me too much, lack of product knowledge does though. An exceptional salesman might be able to match my knowledge of the product they are selling, which seems wrong to me.
At the risk of being 'sexist', I've found that, often, the female sales staff are much better informed than their male counterparts and are happy to say if they don't know, and then find out, instead of talking a load of bull.
Fox- said:
Monkeylegend said:
Over 2 million new car registrations so far this year, car salesmen must be doing something right.
Yes, because if it were not for those salesmen none of those cars would have been purchased.Never once has the salesman been the difference between me buying or not buying.
Fox- said:
What more do you want? Everything you need and more is available online. You don't need a guy in a suit to tell you how much power a 240i has.
The guy in the suit is for negotiating a purchase with.
The salesman is being paid to do a job that job is to sell cars part of that job is to answer potential customers questions, I don't know how you buy cars I ask questions...is that OK.The guy in the suit is for negotiating a purchase with.
ruhall said:
Mike335i said:
Sounds like they are being fashionable, bet they had beards too. Sounds like most blokes the high street, all a bit Essex these days.
Doesn't bother me too much, lack of product knowledge does though. An exceptional salesman might be able to match my knowledge of the product they are selling, which seems wrong to me.
Aah, I thought it was just me getting old; in the past few years it has never ceased to amaze me how little product knowledge, if any at all, some of these salespeople have. Doesn't bother me too much, lack of product knowledge does though. An exceptional salesman might be able to match my knowledge of the product they are selling, which seems wrong to me.
At the risk of being 'sexist', I've found that, often, the female sales staff are much better informed than their male counterparts and are happy to say if they don't know, and then find out, instead of talking a load of bull.
My wife thought I was being unreasonable asking about things like the gearbox.
Where do they find these people from though ?
I wonder if these people actually feel uncomfortable doing what they have to do, as it certainly doesn't look sincere - it just smacks of a lack on integrity.
It must be some daft training school and dealership management which forces them to be dress and then have to behave as such plums. They must be inspected every morning for shoe shininess.
The contrast with the service department folk is stark - the bloke who served me was polite, to the point, was smart but not pretentious and just behaved like a normal human being !!!
I wonder if I opened a dealership and just adopted a genuine unpretentious approach would we make a mark on the industry?!
ETA In fact I would have to say such an environment actually felt uncomfortable - surely the polar opposite of what dealers are trying to achieve...i feel like drafting a letter to send to the MD of one of these franchises
I wonder if these people actually feel uncomfortable doing what they have to do, as it certainly doesn't look sincere - it just smacks of a lack on integrity.
It must be some daft training school and dealership management which forces them to be dress and then have to behave as such plums. They must be inspected every morning for shoe shininess.
The contrast with the service department folk is stark - the bloke who served me was polite, to the point, was smart but not pretentious and just behaved like a normal human being !!!
I wonder if I opened a dealership and just adopted a genuine unpretentious approach would we make a mark on the industry?!
ETA In fact I would have to say such an environment actually felt uncomfortable - surely the polar opposite of what dealers are trying to achieve...i feel like drafting a letter to send to the MD of one of these franchises
Edited by BigLion on Thursday 27th October 22:10
Speed addicted said:
I did baffle an Audi salesman a few years ago by asking what sort of 4x4 system the S5 I was looking at had as I didn't really want a Halidex system like the S3. He just kept repeating that it was four wheel drive while looking uncomfortable. He did know awful lot about finance though.
My wife thought I was being unreasonable asking about things like the gearbox.
I assume you already knew the answer and were just 'testing' them - if not, it would have been a surprise if they had known. What exactly did that achieve given that only a piston head would care about such things?My wife thought I was being unreasonable asking about things like the gearbox.
They know more about the finance because that is what sells cars. What colour can I have and how much is it a month is more important. Most BMW owners don't even know they are RWD...
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