Dealer attitudes
Discussion
The article said:
15) Be serious, respectful and intent on the deal. Do not take your kids. Turn off your cell phone. Be polite. Don’t lead on the dealer if you do not intend on buying. Most dealership staff are professionals and should be treated as such until they do something that shows they are not professionals.
But then again, that's the difference between US car sales and UK car sales. In the States, I believe that car sales people are well respected professionals.
Yugguy said:
Point about clothes is difficult. I always go to look at cars in scruffy clothes cos I'll be on the ground looking underneath, looking under the bonnet, rubbing the oil between my fingers etc. This is the same whether the car costs 100 quid or 10 grand.
Don't get me wrong if your going to look at a second hand car being sold by Mr Sheepskin coat then I don't see any need to dress up, just as you wouldn't dress up to go to McDonalds.
If however you want to go into a 'prestige' dealer and take a 30K upwards car for a test drive then it may be sensible, just as if you went to an expensive restaurant you would do the same (even Tonker if he has been nagged into it)
Saabyfox said:
PhillVR6 said:
Just thought I'd mention Racing Green just outside Farnborough. I occassionally visit, once turning up in my old Corrado, but more recently in the Astra. Always in jeans and trainers.
I am always approached as a serious customer and always explain I'm just looking. Each and every time I have been offered a coffee and been told "the TVRs are on the ground floor and the Jaguars and classic cars upstairs, feel free to have a look around".
Guess where I'll be heading if I ever have some cash burning a hole in my pocket.
I am always approached as a serious customer and always explain I'm just looking. Each and every time I have been offered a coffee and been told "the TVRs are on the ground floor and the Jaguars and classic cars upstairs, feel free to have a look around".
Guess where I'll be heading if I ever have some cash burning a hole in my pocket.
Are you based in Farnborough then Phil?
Nope, Woking, but occasionally work at Farnborough Aerospace centre.
JagLover said:
housemaster said:
EVERYONE SHOULD BE TREATED EQUAL AND WITH RESPECT.
So some Chav wants to have joyride in a 50K car and you let them. The situation is more nuanced than you make out.
You personify the point I am making so well, probably without appreciating it...
A good sales person is a professional at ALL times. Qualification is a fundemental skill of a good sales person as is the ability to be discreet and eloquent. I am not suggesting you would let a 17 year old take your 911 for a test drive once you had qualified he was unable to justify why I should, but in the same way I would not make a call on first appearances as to if he could or could not afford the car! A subtle but important difference between you an I may I suggest?
I have tried VERY had to avoid sweeping generalisations and my statement above still stands!
lazyitus said:
I think secretly, that some people deliberately dress up like chavs to go and look for a car. Its normally confrontational people who enjoy a good argument - because they can.
As this point about 'appearance' seems to have started in my first post, I felt some clarification would be appropriate for the few people who suffer from hard of understanding...
I personally never dress to be something I am not. At the weekends, I like to get casual, combats, t-shirt or rugby top and trainers as just one example. I often don't have a shave, I often leave my watch off, so could be seen as scruffy by certain manicured types. I never dress down to give the impression I am "chav" or "being someone I am not", I dress to feel comfy, simple really. During the week I can more often than not be seen in a very expensive suit, wearing a very expensive watch and driving a very expensive car and on occasion I have bought cars dressed like this.
My point is very simple, though some seem to have missed it completely...
On many occasions I am treated differently when I am in my 'weekend' wear compared to when I am 'suited and booted', and this is wrong and shows stupidity on the behalf of the sales person, who feels able to judge me by what I am wearing on a particular day without ANY other form of qualification. I don't dress to impress or dress to be seen as something I am not, at 39 years of age I have much more important things to worry about. I also don't expect to be treated any different because I may be seen by some as 'having a bit of cash'. I expect to be treated professionally and qualified professionally, which I have no issue with at all.
More often than not, (though not always!) we are all guilty of judging a book by its cover and as a salesperson you must be more discerning.
Again I remind people I am a sales person and have been for 20 years so perhaps am able to see it from both sides. The 'stuff' I sell is not cars, and can come in around 7 and 8 figures, but the job and the fundemental skills of being a salesperson are the same. Selling cars is a numbers game for most sales people in the trade, the numbers are just bigger for the ones who are good at it and they more often than not tend to be the professional ones and the ones who treat everyone the same on a first meeting. A few appropriate questions soon highlights the genuine people and there is no reason for these to be as moronic as "can you afford it mate" or worse "I don't think you can afford it mate"!
Edited by housemaster on Wednesday 23 August 11:20
This thread keeps going around and around. I'm always pretty scruffy and would expect to be ignored at a prestige car showroom, mind you I also expect to be followed in certain shops. That's the way the world is. Though I think as already stated a good salesperson would approach with caution. I wouldn't expect to be ignored if going to buy a Golf. If they did I'd just leave and buy somewhere else. That's the benefit of being a consumer you can just walk out and buy someplace else.
Actually, after 40 years in the motor business on the showroom floor, the single biggest change I've seen is the way modern folk present themselves. Correspondingly the best lesson I've learnt over the years, is that you NEVER judge a book by reading the cover.
Having said that, if some people can't be bothered to take a pride in their appearance (let alone speech, writing or spelling - how many 'Donningtons' do we get on here?), what does it tell you?
Having said that, if some people can't be bothered to take a pride in their appearance (let alone speech, writing or spelling - how many 'Donningtons' do we get on here?), what does it tell you?
Edited by ph123 on Wednesday 23 August 11:35
I also appreciate that if you pay peanuts you usually get monkeys and at the same time its difficult to turn monkeys into gold if you don't educate them or invest time and money into them to help them on their way, which is often the route cause for the problems many people on this thread seem to be experiencing.
ph123 said:
Actually, after 40 years in the motor business on the showroom floor, the single biggest change I've seen is the way modern folk present themselves. Correspondinly the best lesson I've learnt over the years, is that you NEVER judge a book by reading the cover.
Having said that, if some people can't be bothered to take a pride in their appearance (let alone speech, writing or spelling - how many 'Donningtons' do we get on here?), what does it tell you?
Having said that, if some people can't be bothered to take a pride in their appearance (let alone speech, writing or spelling - how many 'Donningtons' do we get on here?), what does it tell you?
Edited by ph123 on Wednesday 23 August 11:33
You've got a spelling error in that lot
ph123 said:
Actually, after 40 years in the motor business on the showroom floor, the single biggest change I've seen is the way modern folk present themselves. Correspondingly the best lesson I've learnt over the years, is that you NEVER judge a book by reading the cover.
My point exactly.
Though I understand your point on spelling etc., I feel that some rules should be laid aside when typing on forums, for speed and the like you see. I work as a quality controller in a graphic design studio and some of the stuff I come across in government documents etc. would leave you dumbfounded.
Its all down to education and an overall falling in standards. You donut knead good englisch to make mooney
Its all down to education and an overall falling in standards. You donut knead good englisch to make mooney
blacktopjunkie said:
Though I understand your point on spelling etc., I feel that some rules should be laid aside when typing on forums, for speed and the like you see. I work as a quality controller in a graphic design studio and some of the stuff I come across in government documents etc. would leave you dumbfounded.
Its all down to education and an overall falling in standards. You donut knead good englisch to make mooney
Its all down to education and an overall falling in standards. You donut knead good englisch to make mooney
Tho bad enGlish leevs a sertin impreshen downt you fink...
We were talking about this the other day actually, as the outlaws are looking at houses to buy as well as a new car. Their view was; isn't it funny that out of the two most expensive things you'll probably ever buy, you are allowed a full test drive and once-over of the car and only a cursory look round the house for five minutes?
Mind you, both car dealers and estates agents can share bad reputation levels.
There are some stunning dealerships out there and I don't think it's based on marque. My local Suzuki dealership sells some of the cheapest new cars available with equally cheap servicing and yet their customer service, aftersales and general respect for the customer is fantastic. Like others, I've also found Honda dealerships to be superb. Surely Hondas are sold on reputation as much as Mercs are; why should some Mercs dealers sit on their laurels then?
My personal favourite are Ford dealers in South Wales. None of them have legs and it's a great game trying to get them away from their desks.
Mind you, both car dealers and estates agents can share bad reputation levels.
There are some stunning dealerships out there and I don't think it's based on marque. My local Suzuki dealership sells some of the cheapest new cars available with equally cheap servicing and yet their customer service, aftersales and general respect for the customer is fantastic. Like others, I've also found Honda dealerships to be superb. Surely Hondas are sold on reputation as much as Mercs are; why should some Mercs dealers sit on their laurels then?
My personal favourite are Ford dealers in South Wales. None of them have legs and it's a great game trying to get them away from their desks.
In my experience most car dealers are full of sales people that dont actually like cars and dont actually have that much knowledge. Ive worked in the trade for 8/9 years now and at the vauxhall dealership & Toyota the salesman all used to come and ask me about the cars and the customer queries, because they didnt know the product and dont know basic mechanics of how a car works.
Main dealer mechanics are another one (again this is the same as sales people, this is just my experience and i know not all of them are like this!) most of them have learnt their 'trade' my following the instructions the manufacturer give them to fix cars and fit parts. They get literally step by step guides of how to do things and thats what they follow. There are normally only a few mechanics at each dealer that actually know whats wrong with a car without having to read a manual.
Dont even get me started on their attitude to women when buying a car or taking it in for a service!!! My local ford dealer made up parts they had replaced after ragging my rs around for a morning, and renault head office told me "well there arent many women that know much about cars" after complaining that a technician & service advisor wouldnt take me seriously when my gear box had gone ... apparently i wasnt putting the clutch down properly!
Main dealer mechanics are another one (again this is the same as sales people, this is just my experience and i know not all of them are like this!) most of them have learnt their 'trade' my following the instructions the manufacturer give them to fix cars and fit parts. They get literally step by step guides of how to do things and thats what they follow. There are normally only a few mechanics at each dealer that actually know whats wrong with a car without having to read a manual.
Dont even get me started on their attitude to women when buying a car or taking it in for a service!!! My local ford dealer made up parts they had replaced after ragging my rs around for a morning, and renault head office told me "well there arent many women that know much about cars" after complaining that a technician & service advisor wouldnt take me seriously when my gear box had gone ... apparently i wasnt putting the clutch down properly!
You're quite right.
My favourite/favorite (my spell checker doesn’t agree with ME!) customer right now is a guy who came into the showroom some years ago, looking like Giant Haystacks, smelling like a particularly wet one.
Once he’d negotiated the showroom entrance, in a northern accent, he said “What do I do now?”
Naturally we wondered what he would like to do.
“Buy a car; don’t be silly; why else would I be here?” Ah, we understood.
Considering our cheapest car in the showroom was £95K, and a 200 mph motor car –
OK weren’t we the dumb ones; so, what did he run at the moment?
“I don’t. I don’t have a car. But I’d like to have one though. I can afford it. I like the look of these though.” Smug look.
Enthusiasm draining fast our end; best qualifying intuitions suggested it might be relevant to enquire as to whether he er, actually had a license?
“No, but I’ll get one, don’t worry. I’m getting one soon.”
To cut a long and lovely story short, he turns out to be one of England's award winning young artists who seemingly can throw colour at a wall and some international gnome will pay £500,000 for it.
And we are not monkeys Mr Housemaster. Don’t be so rude; and not very perceptive.
My favourite/favorite (my spell checker doesn’t agree with ME!) customer right now is a guy who came into the showroom some years ago, looking like Giant Haystacks, smelling like a particularly wet one.
Once he’d negotiated the showroom entrance, in a northern accent, he said “What do I do now?”
Naturally we wondered what he would like to do.
“Buy a car; don’t be silly; why else would I be here?” Ah, we understood.
Considering our cheapest car in the showroom was £95K, and a 200 mph motor car –
OK weren’t we the dumb ones; so, what did he run at the moment?
“I don’t. I don’t have a car. But I’d like to have one though. I can afford it. I like the look of these though.” Smug look.
Enthusiasm draining fast our end; best qualifying intuitions suggested it might be relevant to enquire as to whether he er, actually had a license?
“No, but I’ll get one, don’t worry. I’m getting one soon.”
To cut a long and lovely story short, he turns out to be one of England's award winning young artists who seemingly can throw colour at a wall and some international gnome will pay £500,000 for it.
And we are not monkeys Mr Housemaster. Don’t be so rude; and not very perceptive.
housemaster said:
ph123 said:
Actually, after 40 years in the motor business on the showroom floor, the single biggest change I've seen is the way modern folk present themselves. Correspondingly the best lesson I've learnt over the years, is that you NEVER judge a book by reading the cover.
My point exactly.
May I draw your attention to the Viz thread...
"Sir
They say you should not judge a book by its cover. Well, I beg to differ, as the last edition of Teen An@l Whores I purchased had a photograph of a young lady stuffing a big one up her back door on the cover, which proved to be an excellent and accurate indication of the contents of the said publication.
Sincererly yours
Norbert T Gobbins
Rugby."
Edited by Vesuvius 996 on Wednesday 23 August 14:34
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