Your inappropriate car choice for customer visits.
Discussion
Many moons ago I turned up at a client in this:-
Client was a no-nonsense concrete contractor who greeted me with the words "what the f
k is that?!!"
Prior to that, I went on a two week assignment to a prestigious audit client driving the garage's "shop truck" which was an Escort turbo van conversion (the only courtesy car they had available whilst the Integrale was in bits) which was much rougher and far less tastefully stickered that the one below, and which also came with a super-loud exhaust and substantial oil leak.
It also had a power band of approx. 500rpm with massive flat spots making up the entire rev range either side, but in the sweet zone it felt like it had a million horsepower!!
Nobody ever mentioned it and I tried to arrive early and leave late whilst parking over the ever-growing slick in their otherwise pretty pristine car park...
Most of the clients I visit regularly these days know I am a massive petrol head with a weird selection of vehicles available, and some even ask which one I am in today and have a bit of a chat about it
Client was a no-nonsense concrete contractor who greeted me with the words "what the f
k is that?!!"Prior to that, I went on a two week assignment to a prestigious audit client driving the garage's "shop truck" which was an Escort turbo van conversion (the only courtesy car they had available whilst the Integrale was in bits) which was much rougher and far less tastefully stickered that the one below, and which also came with a super-loud exhaust and substantial oil leak.
It also had a power band of approx. 500rpm with massive flat spots making up the entire rev range either side, but in the sweet zone it felt like it had a million horsepower!!
Nobody ever mentioned it and I tried to arrive early and leave late whilst parking over the ever-growing slick in their otherwise pretty pristine car park...
Most of the clients I visit regularly these days know I am a massive petrol head with a weird selection of vehicles available, and some even ask which one I am in today and have a bit of a chat about it
99t said:
Many moons ago I turned up at a client in this:-
Client was a no-nonsense concrete contractor who greeted me with the words "what the fk is that?!!"
Prior to that, I went on a two week assignment to a prestigious audit client driving the garage's "shop truck" which was an Escort turbo van conversion (the only courtesy car they had available whilst the Integrale was in bits) which was much rougher and far less tastefully stickered that the one below, and which also came with a super-loud exhaust and substantial oil leak.
It also had a power band of approx. 500rpm with massive flat spots making up the entire rev range either side, but in the sweet zone it felt like it had a million horsepower!!
Nobody ever mentioned it and I tried to arrive early and leave late whilst parking over the ever-growing slick in their otherwise pretty pristine car park...
Most of the clients I visit regularly these days know I am a massive petrol head with a weird selection of vehicles available, and some even ask which one I am in today and have a bit of a chat about it
Your neighbour had exquisite taste too Client was a no-nonsense concrete contractor who greeted me with the words "what the f
k is that?!!"Prior to that, I went on a two week assignment to a prestigious audit client driving the garage's "shop truck" which was an Escort turbo van conversion (the only courtesy car they had available whilst the Integrale was in bits) which was much rougher and far less tastefully stickered that the one below, and which also came with a super-loud exhaust and substantial oil leak.
It also had a power band of approx. 500rpm with massive flat spots making up the entire rev range either side, but in the sweet zone it felt like it had a million horsepower!!
Nobody ever mentioned it and I tried to arrive early and leave late whilst parking over the ever-growing slick in their otherwise pretty pristine car park...
Most of the clients I visit regularly these days know I am a massive petrol head with a weird selection of vehicles available, and some even ask which one I am in today and have a bit of a chat about it
Not a client but a site I managed.
Back in 2013 I bought a brand new, bright red, Porsche 981 - I was managing a national transport fleet for a large blue chip at the time responsible for 5 sites across the UK.
One of these was in South Elmsall, West Yorkshire, where one of the very last mining disputes in the 80's took place and is still a heavily unionised area today. The site had a significant Unite presence with the car park overlooked by the office buildings where many of the employee welfare meetings and tribunals took place. I had to hear my fair share of these and it didn't escape me the irony of being a Londoner driving a Porsche reprimanding local's for various misdemeanors while the union reps looked out to the car park.
I managed to escape any damage/ physical violence but I always felt a bit uneasy about my visits there.
Back in 2013 I bought a brand new, bright red, Porsche 981 - I was managing a national transport fleet for a large blue chip at the time responsible for 5 sites across the UK.
One of these was in South Elmsall, West Yorkshire, where one of the very last mining disputes in the 80's took place and is still a heavily unionised area today. The site had a significant Unite presence with the car park overlooked by the office buildings where many of the employee welfare meetings and tribunals took place. I had to hear my fair share of these and it didn't escape me the irony of being a Londoner driving a Porsche reprimanding local's for various misdemeanors while the union reps looked out to the car park.
I managed to escape any damage/ physical violence but I always felt a bit uneasy about my visits there.
I've never had a job where I've done customer visits like that before but when working retail I did drop a few items off for customers. I had an E87 which don't offer Transit levels of load lugability but I've still managed 3 kiddies ride on Lamborghinis in boxes and a large stupid garden party speaker that people seemed to go nuts for all at once. It was a bit of a squeeze.
mikey k said:
Only one customer of mine has seen this car, purely because I know he "gets it".
I keep it secret from ALL my other customers, employees have been warned not to mention my cars to customers as well.
All through bitter experience of green eyed monsters in some of our household names I now keep my garage firmly under wraps
It seems there are a few of that type lurking in this thread
This is one area we can learn from the US, celebrate hard work and the achievements because it!
Don't put it down out of jealousy.
I now to site visits is a very dirty, tuned but debadged Merc C43AMG estate
2018-10-25_01-46-19 by Mikey K 675LT, on Flickr
I keep it secret from ALL my other customers, employees have been warned not to mention my cars to customers as well.
All through bitter experience of green eyed monsters in some of our household names I now keep my garage firmly under wraps
It seems there are a few of that type lurking in this thread
This is one area we can learn from the US, celebrate hard work and the achievements because it!
Don't put it down out of jealousy.
I now to site visits is a very dirty, tuned but debadged Merc C43AMG estate
2018-10-25_01-46-19 by Mikey K 675LT, on FlickrEdited by mikey k on Monday 2nd November 11:18
A former boss bought a P1. His instruction not to mention it to the main client then was a mixture of command and blind panic!
Always the TVRs and the Vette except for certain lefty Local Authority visits for quite obvious reasons. If I had to take a clown car to a LA, I would park in a public car park close by and walk in.
Nobody else has ever bothered with the cars except for the security at some of the military places I went who always seems to run the “random” mirror on rollers under the car to have a little look. In fact some more petrol head customers would try to negotiate discount including a ride in the car.
I once went to the HSE in Liverpool in a rental transit. It was quite a deliberate meeting arrangement as I had to pick up a new gearbox / diff rear transaxle for the Vette in Warrington and thought I would kill two birds with one stone and avoid taking a day off.
Nobody else has ever bothered with the cars except for the security at some of the military places I went who always seems to run the “random” mirror on rollers under the car to have a little look. In fact some more petrol head customers would try to negotiate discount including a ride in the car.
I once went to the HSE in Liverpool in a rental transit. It was quite a deliberate meeting arrangement as I had to pick up a new gearbox / diff rear transaxle for the Vette in Warrington and thought I would kill two birds with one stone and avoid taking a day off.
Justin Case said:
wolfracesonic said:
What way should a financial advisor go do you think, for turning up at clients houses? Grot box shed or McLaren F1 or maybe something in between?
I don't think that you could go wrong with a C Class Mercedes.It's indicative of how far down-market the premium brands have gone that my grandfather, turning up to site in a beige E30 323i, was greeted by a client with a rather pointed joke connecting his fee rates and his car. That said, the client did work for an East London school board - so he was probably a bitter old Trot!
Algarve said:
What made you come to that conclusion?
Or was it just jealousy based hate that turned out to be right by chance
No jealousy at all - he and a friend bought the car between them and used to hire it out for weddings/proms etc. It was a lovely car, several of us admired it and he was able to buy it thanks to some successful property speculation and working hard. Or was it just jealousy based hate that turned out to be right by chance
However, if you're going for a job interview as a production engineer at a manufacturing company, you surely have to be a bit of a knob to look out at the two cars on your driveway and pick the bright red Ferrari over the silver Astra that is your daily driver?
Took my Nomad in to a client one day last year, I'd been on site a couple of weeks and was heading further up North that weekend fora blat in the Peaks; was a great conversation starter
Suddenly I've got the exec members passing by my desk to chat about it - right bunch of petrol heads; one with a 355, another racing Caterhams, one just bought a Westfield....
Suddenly I've got the exec members passing by my desk to chat about it - right bunch of petrol heads; one with a 355, another racing Caterhams, one just bought a Westfield....
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