Is it ok to be rude to dealers?

[AshBaldry]

Trouble with this is.......is that everyone,Joe Public thinks they know what there cars worth,and thinks they know the trade inside out.Everyones a trader out there so it seems.....ever since the Internet started playing a vital role in the automotive sales world people can just log on and get information they couldn't before! "my cars worth such and such becuase on. eBay/autotrader" margins people margins!! Some people walk onto the forecourt with an attitude problem,like a member of the Mitchell family about to kick off,not our fault you havnt looked after your car and is worth @uck all! We don't create depreciation,Glass' Guide are to
blame haha

Edited by AshBaldry on Sunday 21st February 09:38

[Glosphil]

Deva Link said:

Victor101 said:

Trust me, it's a lot of work and aggro to earn £65.

Well, plus the £14K. Don't forget the vast majority of people do their job without any commission or bonus.

Victor101 said:

Sell five cars a week (very good going indeed - not many would do this)

I'm surprised it's that low. Bought a new Honda Jazz for wifey the other day and the salesman mentioned in passing that we were his 4th order that day.

Victor101 said:

...and after tax you might earn 30 grand a year.

Not many people think in terms of take home pay. £30K *after* tax is a pretty chunky salary.

£65/car, 5 cars a week, 50 weeks a year is £16,250. Plus £14K basis is just over £30K/annum BEFORE tax.


Selling computer software to engineers earnt me over £43K/annum including commission and on-target bonuses. I also had to drive up to 30K miles per year as the I couldn't sit in a showroom and wait for the customers to come to me. I look on being able to go to the customers as an advantage.

Edited by Glosphil on Sunday 21st February 15:21

[POORCARDEALER]

Oh one of my fav subjects.........did a loose version of Pendle back in early 90s selling BMWs in a big city, wasn't too bad as I adapted it to suit the customer, and learnt how to "work" the sales manager, rather than the other way around, net result was a £1M a year profit on used cars for the department, and not too many complaints, BUT times move on and the manufacturer effectivly put an end to it.

I run a independant garage now, and I deal with agressive rude people many times a day...what a customer thinks they will gain with such an attitude I have no clue, but in a way it is the industries own fault for lambasting them in the past!

At the end of the day I want to sell as many cars as poss, but I occasionally refuse to sell a car to a customer due to their bad attitude, life is too short, I dont need the aggro moving forward, and it's bad for my blood pressure

[DuncanM]

This is an interesting topic .

I should always treat people nicely until they give you reason not to and that's either way round (buyer/seller).

The Mercedes Dealership in Bedford are so bloody nice that it almost makes me want to buy a car from them despite only going there to service my girlfriends 03 plate C class.

I mean really polite and friendly and professional.

Duncan

Edited by DuncanM on Sunday 21st February 10:02

[Deva Link]

DuncanM said:

The Mercedes Dealership in Bedford are so bloody nice that it almost makes me want to buy a car from them despite only going there to service my girlfriends 03 plate C class.

I mean really polite and friendly and professional.

As an MB owner myself and being on 2 UK MB forums, I can't recall anyone ever describing an MB dealerships as "bloody nice".

It's widely recognised that the biggest barrier to greater success for MB UK is that customers hate the dealers, both on sales and service. MB messed it up big time when they canned all the long established independant dealerships some years ago.

[Cecil]

Being rude is not on, to anyone. However erudite sardonic sarcasm, is perfectly exceptable.

[DuncanM]

Deva Link said:

DuncanM said:

The Mercedes Dealership in Bedford are so bloody nice that it almost makes me want to buy a car from them despite only going there to service my girlfriends 03 plate C class.

I mean really polite and friendly and professional.

As an MB owner myself and being on 2 UK MB forums, I can't recall anyone ever describing an MB dealerships as "bloody nice".

It's widely recognised that the biggest barrier to greater success for MB UK is that customers hate the dealers, both on sales and service. MB messed it up big time when they canned all the long established independant dealerships some years ago.

I have to admit I was genuinely surprised at how good MB Bedford treated me last time I went (3mths ago).

It's no stretch to say they are the best dealership I have been in period when it comes to customer service .

Duncan

[CharlesdeGaulle]

MartinF said:

One got me to loosen my top button and fall out of the office as if he'd beaten me up for having the cheek to ask for a discount!

When I have visited large dealers, one of the things that has irritated me is that the guy I think I'm dealing with i.e the salesman, is not actually the man I'm dealing with in fact. Rather, he is merely the go-between between me the customer and the bloke who will agree the deal in some back office.

I realise that all dealers are different, but I want to deal with someone empowered to make the deal, not the intermediary. And as for falling for all the cod-psychology about ganging-up against the mean boss - oh purlease; give us some credit. It's always struck me as an odd way of doing business.

And in answer to the OP, why should it be any more right to be rude to car dealers than it would be to the checkout girl in the supermarket or any other person that daily life brings you into contact with?

[Blown2CV]

MattVXR87 said:

One of my rules in life is to treat others how you want to be treated

well, would you want people to treat you in a rude way?

[paoloh]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

MartinF said:

One got me to loosen my top button and fall out of the office as if he'd beaten me up for having the cheek to ask for a discount!

When I have visited large dealers, one of the things that has irritated me is that the guy I think I'm dealing with i.e the salesman, is not actually the man I'm dealing with in fact. Rather, he is merely the go-between between me the customer and the bloke who will agree the deal in some back office.

I realise that all dealers are different, but I want to deal with someone empowered to make the deal, not the intermediary.

You will very rarely find this in any main dealer.

All sales guys have to get deal/px value agreed by their Sales Manager unless of course yolu are paying full price with no part exchange.

[okgo]

LHD said:

Garlick said:

Pendle training memories:

Having your watch/ mobile taken away for the course duration.

Nightly homework that had to in for 6am but training started at 9am, meaning you had to get up earlier than needed.

Pretending the sales manager had 'roughed you up' because of the deal you had suggested.

Throwing car keys on the showroom roof

Etc, etc. Terrible business.

Seen it all.

The way to make no money 'If i can, will you...'

Still used by a lot of the old school.

Still being taught by the biggest automotive group there is to this very day.

Trial close, direct close, alternative close, blah blah blah.

[okgo]

Deva Link said:

Victor101 said:

Trust me, it's a lot of work and aggro to earn £65.

Well, plus the £14K. Don't forget the vast majority of people do their job without any commission or bonus.

Victor101 said:

Sell five cars a week (very good going indeed - not many would do this)

I'm surprised it's that low. Bought a new Honda Jazz for wifey the other day and the salesman mentioned in passing that we were his 4th order that day.

Victor101 said:

...and after tax you might earn 30 grand a year.

Not many people think in terms of take home pay. £30K *after* tax is a pretty chunky salary.

1.Yes, but for your 14k you work the worst hours there is and say goodbye to weekends.

2. Yes maybe, did you go in o the weekend? Because I would imagine he wasn't banging out 4 cars a day in the week, and if he was then he was getting paid less per car than we are talking.

I agree with victor, his figures sund correct, and as he said the leg work is tedious, if I could do the whole ot myself then I would have done, other people often fked things up. And there is always more, if you want to earn good money doing it then selling the car is about 1/3 of the way through what finance st you need to sell to make anything.

The place I left (thank fk, as its ruined now) say that you have to hit your target each month (which wasn't easy to start with) or you get paid £25 per car. So in chatting to a previous colleague, she told me that because she missed her new car target by one car, she got paid £200 bonus instead of about £1800.

[drivin_me_nuts]

... which kind of begs the question....

if it's so bad, why does it seem to still attract a steady stream of applicants? and why do those who stay in it... stay in it?

(sorry, that was two questions)

[paoloh]

drivin_me_nuts said:

... which kind of begs the question....

if it's so bad, why does it seem to still attract a steady stream of applicants? and why do those who stay in it... stay in it?

(sorry, that was two questions)

1) You can earn some very good money with no qualifications.
2) Once you are in, it is difficult to leave.

[okgo]

drivin_me_nuts said:

... which kind of begs the question....

if it's so bad, why does it seem to still attract a steady stream of applicants? and why do those who stay in it... stay in it?

(sorry, that was two questions)

I couldn't understand that either, first day, "now you're in this will be it for you" Err I think not mate, if its st, I'll be leaving.

And as to why they stay, the colelague that was moaning and bhing should just leave, I left at the same time as another person as it was rapidly going downhill (new DP was a tt) and we both have much more pleasant jobs with normal hours, she earns more than she did before anyway, and I probably will do as of summer this year. All without working 60 hours a week.

I think this job would be totally different in an independant place, it was the politics that fked up most things for that place.

[okgo]

paoloh said:

drivin_me_nuts said:

... which kind of begs the question....

if it's so bad, why does it seem to still attract a steady stream of applicants? and why do those who stay in it... stay in it?

(sorry, that was two questions)

1) You can earn some very good money with no qualifications.
2) Once you are in, it is difficult to leave.

1) That's sales in general, really.
2) Why?

[CharlesdeGaulle]

paoloh said:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

but I want to deal with someone empowered to make the deal, not the intermediary.

You will very rarely find this in any main dealer.

All sales guys have to get deal/px value agreed by their Sales Manager unless of course yolu are paying full price with no part exchange.

I guess I can see that the boss would have to authorise the numbers, but it must be pretty soul-destroying for the salesman to bounce between customer and Manager in not much more than a messenger role.

'Paying full price...' Really? Does that actually happen? Even now?

[drivin_me_nuts]

okgo said:

paoloh said:

drivin_me_nuts said:

... which kind of begs the question....

if it's so bad, why does it seem to still attract a steady stream of applicants? and why do those who stay in it... stay in it?

(sorry, that was two questions)

1) You can earn some very good money with no qualifications.
2) Once you are in, it is difficult to leave.

1) That's sales in general, really.
2) Why?

I think it takes a certain type of person to be a salesman. Most people who run their own business have to have some of those salesman elements, but it strikes me that car sales seem to have one of the most prejudicial (as in strongly perceived) reputations.

[okgo]

drivin_me_nuts said:

okgo said:

paoloh said:

drivin_me_nuts said:

... which kind of begs the question....

if it's so bad, why does it seem to still attract a steady stream of applicants? and why do those who stay in it... stay in it?

(sorry, that was two questions)

1) You can earn some very good money with no qualifications.
2) Once you are in, it is difficult to leave.

1) That's sales in general, really.
2) Why?

I think it takes a certain type of person to be a salesman. Most people who run their own business have to have some of those salesman elements, but it strikes me that car sales seem to have one of the most prejudicial (as in strongly perceived) reputations.

What you mean over double glazing, estate agents, advertising, they are all pretty bad too

[CarlT]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

paoloh said:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

but I want to deal with someone empowered to make the deal, not the intermediary.

You will very rarely find this in any main dealer.

All sales guys have to get deal/px value agreed by their Sales Manager unless of course yolu are paying full price with no part exchange.

I guess I can see that the boss would have to authorise the numbers, but it must be pretty soul-destroying for the salesman to bounce between customer and Manager in not much more than a messenger role.

'Paying full price...' Really? Does that actually happen? Even now?

The 'bouncing between' only happens at the end of the deal (or should do), so by which point the sales person has spent at least an hour with the customer doing the presentation, demonstration drive, looking at payments etc.

Yes, people do still pay full price!