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 !!!!
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
Benjamyn999 said:
I have disliked the breed for many, many years. My wife chooses and buys her own cars but we go to the dealerships together. You can probably guess where this conversation is going. Recently she made an appointment with BMW dealer to test drive a new 5 Series with a credit card at the ready (so to speak). Salesman knew nothing about advantages or comparisons with E Class Merc. Just kept saying beemer was better but not why. Now waiting for Disco5 instead. And we would have bought on the day if only he had taken one millisecond to listen to us.
I'm not sure if I'm in the minority on this, when it comes to car purchases I know what I want and then just go and get the best deal - I would very rarely rely on someone to tell me specifics as they are not as interested as I am (given it's my money) or unbiased (they will push a car to suit their agenda).I can even forgive lack of product knowledge - a lot of these guys are as thick as two short planks IME so I expect nothing - but it's the fact about how they come across in such a horrible way - dress, style, body language etc.
I have had far better experience at Porsche and Ferrari dealers - not sure what stupid training course bmw are sending their tools to! It's almost like they have been told to try to intimidate or exude excess amounts of confidence so a customer believes whatever you say.
Horrible freaks - wouldn't want to ever spend more time than I had to with them.
I have had far better experience at Porsche and Ferrari dealers - not sure what stupid training course bmw are sending their tools to! It's almost like they have been told to try to intimidate or exude excess amounts of confidence so a customer believes whatever you say.
Horrible freaks - wouldn't want to ever spend more time than I had to with them.
POORCARDEALER said:
It is difficult for dealerships to employ and retain good staff these days as the pay structures are generally poor and the hours long and anti social
That is the crux of the issue and hence why I'm relaxed about lack of product knowledge - but they should allow them to be normal people!!, (I'm the OP so referencing back to my original points)Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff