buying a car

we went to a car dealership the other day looking to buy a new car - and i have to tell you, i do not like car sales people – or at least i do not like the kind that i ran into this day.

mistake one: we got out of the car.
we pulled into the lot, not really seeing anything we like we decided to get out of the car and look around.

mistake two: we make eye contact
as we were walking around and looking, one of the salespeople came to us and asked if we needed help. we looked in his direction and our answer was simple and direct, "no." that is when the onslaught started, the asking the same question but in different ways, thinking we would give a different answer; he asked if he could “show us anything,” and again our simple direct and honest answer was "no." then he asked us “what we were interested in,” and our simple and direct answer was, “nothing.”

mistake three: answering in more then one word.
Somehow, and i am not sure how, but when you step out of the “one word” answer, you display a weakness that shows the soft underbelly of a wounded animal. he then asked, “are you looking for a truck, car or van?” so i looked at him and said, "are you listening to our words?" he said, "yes." i said, "then please leave us alone." he added, "but i am only trying to help."

mistake four: we did not give an inch.
to that, i replied, "we do not need your help, we are just looking." then he said, "great, what can i help you find." i said, "nothing, please just leave us alone." he said, "so you are not looking for a car?" i said, "yes, we are looking for a car but we do not need help." he said, "so, you are looking for a car, how can i help you find it and make the best deal possible?"

mistake five: we made a retreat.
we had enough, and decided to just leave and head to another dealer. we started to walk to the car when the pack came in for what they were hoping would be a kill. just as we were rounding the corner to the car, two others came from behind and wanted "only to help us" - after being blocked from our path to the car i said, "look, please get out of our way, i am going to get hot in a second; please just leave us a lone."

mistake six: we spoke english.
something that i need to remember, but forgot, is that when you speak any language to a car salesperson you are opening yourself for attack, and they will twist what you say to fit their desires. After i mentioned that i was getting “hot” one of them asked, "do you want us to get you some water?" "no," i replied, "just move and let us go." then he turned to his pack member and said, "go get this gentlemen and his lovely wife some water." with that, one of them ran in to get the water. he tried to give it to us, but we refused...

mistake seven: talk to the pack leader.
just then the sales manager came out and asked if everything was all right - i explained what happened and that we just wanted to leave. he looked at me and said that i did not have to be so “nasty” about it all. he said, "well, they were just trying to help." i said, "we asked them not to." to which he replied, "no, you said you were looking for a car. all were being helpful, you were being nasty." i looked at him like a dear staring into the headlights of an on coming truck. then he added, “if you mellow out we can help you find that car you want and at the best deal in town, come on into my office.”

like all bad experiences in life, some good always pops-up – and in this case some lessons were learned. besides realizing that i will never buy a car from any of the folsom lake dealerships in folsom california. i found it is funny, how people can say they are kind (or helpful) and in reality be snippy, condescending and demeaning. kindness is not based on the words used, but the way the words are used.

pax