re: New Meat [long]

["Osman Parvez" <oparvez1@nycap.rr.com>]

Okay..
          Apologies to the list for not taking this to private e-mail,
there are too many participants. First of all I want to apologize to Bruce.
It wasn't my intention to flame you. And yes, I did have a horrible day.
Unfortunately, I feel it necessary to respond to the personal attacks. 
           I have never had a complaint about the way I deal with customers
since I've been in the car business. For those of you who suggested that I
leave the job if I don't like it; that is entirely my intention in the near
future. This job was my idea of a fun way to take a year off between
undergrad and graduate school. 
           Now back to the issues: My complaint against Bruce was that it
is extremely frustrating to overcome the bad reputation that car salesmen
have. It gets to the point where potential customers simple treat you as a
lesser human being. I have no problem spending time with potential
customers or people browsing. The problem is that whereas I try to be
honest, customers seem to have no trouble lying to me. To tell the truth, I
don't understand why it is necessary. From being sent on false searches for
vehicles, to setting appointments where they neither show up or call, to
"joy-riders" who have no intention of EVER purchasing the car. I have no
problem spending a lengthy time negotiating a deal either, I just wish
there were more educated and honest customers out there. I love it when
they come in with a invoice price from the internet. Hey.. that lays our
cards on the table doesn't it. Good, now we can negotiate without the
hostility.
            There is a ton of abuse that car salespeople get to deal with.
Can you reasonably expect that an Audi salesperson will have the knowledge
that many of the listers do? Look at the history of the brand in terms of
sales in the recent past. Look at the general turnover rate for auto
salespeople. I think it's unreasonable to expect detailed knowledge for
Audi models over the past 10-15 years. Audi is trying to change this, and
quite honestly have instituted a much better training program than the one
Chrylser is running (my point of reference). It's called "Brand
Specialist." The salesperson attends training and then receives a monthly
newsletter about one aspect of the car. This month's is about the Bose
audio system. I was amazed at the detail in the newsletter. I think many of
you would be surprised at some of the details as well. Finally, the
salesperson has to pass a certification test. 
             It's wrong for a salesperson to be confident where he has no
knowledge. Whenever I get a question I can't handle, I simple tell the
customer that I don't know but I would be happy to find out the answer for
you. Like the guy who called last night asking about towing capacities for
the Passat, A4, and old A6. I had no clue what the cars are rated for and
the sales literature doesn't even list it. So, tommorow when I go in to
work, I'll get manuals out and dig  up the information for him. 
              My point is this: Don't make generalizations about any
profession for sooner or later you will find it has come back at you. I
know our dealership is unlike the stereotype. We don't apply unreasonable
pressure, we don't use tricks or dishonest methods of selling/leasing cars,
and we'd gladly work with any customer. There are dealers in the area who
blatently follow the stereotype and I wouldn't walk in there for the life
of me. Trust me, I could tell you stories about them.
              I would rather have a customer correct me than degrade me
when I am wrong. We have a tough enough time without the profession being
flamed across the list. People come in and "waste my time" often. It's only
when they are dishonest that I consider it a waste of time. It's like the
customer I spent 40 minutes on a test drive with. She made her intentions
clear... that she was going to look at Volvo wagons, that I can give her a
call in a week, and that if she ends up purchasing a Volvo she will give me
a call and let me know she is no longer in the market. The best part about
dealing with her... she thanked me for my time. When she thanked me for my
time, I didn't even care that she didn't buy a car from me that day. It was
just a pleasant experience. 
               Now the young couple who came in to drive a Jetta Glx were a
waste of time. She drove like it was speed-racer (forcing me to tell her to
slow down), then left as soon as we returned back to the dealer, and hasn't
returned one of my phone calls in the past month. She was a joyrider, and I
shouldn't have let her take out one of our cars.  This couple had no
intention of ever buying a car and therefore were clearly a waste of time.
Somebody might have walked in to buy that 911 C4S while I was out.
Furthermore, somebody eventually will buy that GLX and I don't think they
would have wanted it used in that manner. 
                As far as my dealership (Langan) and AOA is concerned, my
opinions are my own. Although I'm fairly sure that they would agree with my
points, I do not represent them on this list. We have the highest CSI
rating in the region (six dealerships in the N.E.). Our senior salespeople
had the option of moving to our new showroom but refused because the
service department isn't moving for some time. When I say something, please
don't doubt my sincerity because I can usually provide evidence for it.
When it comes to treating all customers fairly, I've already gotten a
severe lecture from my older sister about the way women are treated at a
dealership and I try not to treat them any differently than I treat a man.
When it comes to color of skin or their style of dress (jeans vs suit vs
"urban") I don't take it into any account. They all get the same
professional and courteous treatment. The only time I have to play cards
close to my chest is on the final selling price of the car, and for that I
always recommend the customer come into the dealer and not try to negotiate
via the phone/fax/computer. It's not to pressure them into making a deal,
it's to ensure that they are authentic customers and not simply using us
like a $20 hooker to keep their dealer honest. I have no problem
competiting with other dealers, I just want a fair shot at it. When I get a
call from NJ about only the price of the car, I'm very reluctant to reveal
it because it's very unlikely that he will buy the car from me. Why should
I have to go through the trouble of giving him a great price (working with
the salesmanager) when he has no intention of coming in. Some dealers have
sidestepped this "phone pricing" by low-balling the customer at prices they
could never sell the cars for. I don't do this and never will. 
                Sorry for the long message. I just wanted to clear the air
a bit. Bruce, my apologies for venting at your message. Many people have
made comments like yours on the list, but somehow combining your subject
"new meat" and what seemed like malicious fun at a young unknowledgeable
salesperson angered me at the end of a long hard day with no sales. By the
way, I only look at customers as "Jerks" when I feel they have mistreated
me. Like I said at the end of the first message, treat others as you
yourself would like to be treated. Even if they are (oh no) carsalespeople.


Osman Parvez
Albany, NY
89 200q, TAP Chip, 170K