Trader Tales: Sell cars? No, not me
July 16th, 2010 by James Baggott
WHENEVER I am introduced to someone for the first time, I avoid where possible the subject of my occupation…
It is not because I am embarrassed or ashamed of a job I love, it is because more often than not I get told a horror story about a bad car retailing experience that person has suffered.
‘I went into xxx showroom on a Saturday afternoon in a pair of jeans and tee shirt, the salesman looked me up and down and decided I could not afford it so I walked out in disgust,’ or similar is a sentiment most of you would have heard in your careers.
‘I would have bought the car but they would only give me half of what my part exchange is really worth,’ is another well worn gripe.
In all cases I feel duty bound to defend my car selling brothers and sisters with sweeping statements like ‘if you didn’t make an appointment on a Saturday they were probably busy’ or ‘I am sure they would have done the deal if they could’.
However, at the weekend, my best friend asked me to buy a used car on his behalf. He has a specific need for a large German estate and likes to buy with the confidence of a manufacturer backed used car warranty. I located two examples on the manufacturer website and thus moved from gamekeeper to game.
The first choice car had been sold, the salesman took my number in the event that the buyer shed his skin so it was on to number two.
The dealer who owned the second car claim to be a ‘vibrant company with a fresh approach’. I called and asked to be connected to a used car salesman. ‘One moment,’ came the curt reply and that was to be it. The phone rang and rang to the point I had to hang up. I called an hour later with the same outcome.
Undeterred I left an enquiry for the specific car on the manufacturer website. I know what some of these ‘hot’ leads are like. You get everything from brochure collectors, 10 year olds doing their homework and in one extreme case that I experienced, an inmate of the local prison planning which car to buy on his release two years hence.
With this in mind I left a mobile number and a little message – ‘please can comeone contact me urgently about this car’.
Three days have passed and I am still without a call. I feel like Cheryl Cole might if she registered on a dating website with an artistic library photo and the phrase ‘liberal attitude to non committal sex’ only for her to get no interest.
I urge you all to think about your most basic of processes. Can a receptionist take details? What happens if you have a temporary receptionist? Who handles the portal for your web enquiries? How are they distributed? These are hardly challenges to test the boffins of Nasa.
Oh, and for the record, I called on a Saturday and I was wearing jeans…..
Tags: Trader Tales
July 16th, 2010 at 4:34 am
I know exactly what you mean – sometimes I actually wonder if they want to sell the car after all.
I emailed a gentleman once about a vehicle he had for sale and he promptly responded with a few answers to my questions. I then gave him a call and discussed it and said I’d like to come and see it. He said he’d get back to me – I was pretty keen so sooner, rather than later, was better for me.
A few days later, still nothing. Emailed him again. No reply. Rang. No answer.
Two weeks later I see the advert relisted, nothing’s changed…..
Err……..
July 20th, 2010 at 8:48 pm
I called a certain car supermarker near sheffield about a 56 reg Mondeo Titanium X estate, the dealership was 65 miles away but it was the only car nationaly that fit the bill so I called them and enquired about it. I told them that i would be calling the next day and as I would be travelling so far i would want to take it away the same day, this was no problem was the reply.
The next day i called them at 9am and told them I was on my way to them and would get there about 2pm.
When I got there at 2pm, a salesman approached me and i told them which car i had come for. They told me that car had been sold the night before. I was furious, one of the sales reps had spoken to me and told me it was available a few hours earlier. I had even been to the building society and had a building society cheque for the car. All he could do was apologise but i was not happy.
When I got home i reported them to trading standards as they were still advertising the car on there website after it had been sold which is against the law, it remained on there website for several days after it had been sold.