You are so correct, I will never forget the looks I got the day I bought my Bee, Picture late October, November 2006 I pull into dealership in a 12 year old 94 grand caravan looking a little tired and grimy from working all day. Taking a look around the lot for the Yellow SuperBee and not seeing it I asked a salesman if they had the car and where might it be. The look I got was disbelief of why do you want to see that car you sure can't afford it, as he replied it is in the show room as he walked away. I walked inside the show room and there it was, and I walked around it I think 3 times when a salesman I have dealt with on other cars came up to me and said hello, an old high school hockey buddy I was shocked to see him at this dealership since I last purchased a car from him. He asked would I like to purchase the car, by now we are drawing a crowd around us of other sales people that are kind of chuckling about our conversation and I replied when can I get the car if I buy it today, he said the day after tomorrow. As I looked around at the gathering I said wrap it up. Jaws dropping to the floor of a few sales guys with a look of disbelief. I will never forget it. even the guy who walked away from me was in total shock. LOL This sure made my day. Rob the salesman was so appreciative that he closed the sale and got a big commission check that he actually thanked me with a car cover and tickets to a Toronto / Detroit hockey game. Now this is the difference between a guy that knows his business and cares to one that only wants a sale and could care less about you.
It's not really that surprising. We own the cars, drive them everyday, wash them, and screw with stuff in them. I have worked sales before and detailed product knowledge is not the highest priority. Sales technique is mostly about overcoming objections and closing the sale. Car salespeople turnover is pretty high, and to be fair, how many different vehicles does Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram sell? It would be rare to know more than just general facts about every vehicle on the lot. 99 times out of 100 when I go car shopping, the salesman is interested in 2 things... 1) how much do I want my payment to be. - 2) getting me into their computer system with my name, e-mail, phone number, etc. (and I'm sure also to run a credit check before wasting time showing me the cars).
This is key. We bought our Charger from a salesman that knew his business, after visiting a dozen or so dealers that just wanted to make a sale. Those other guys would not even show my wife the car she wanted, rather they showed her the car they thought would be an easy sale. - I think they thought they were doing her a favor by showing her SXT models vs. R/T models. Big mistake on their part.
On a side note, I was at the dealership yesterday for an oil change and tire rotation, and in the showroom they had a Challenger I thought looked nice. Salesman came over and I asked what the color was and the salesman looked at me like I was stupid and said green. I looked at him and said, I can see it's green, but what does Dodge call this green? He had to look it up, it was F8 green - apparently the guy at the factory that thinks up the names for the colors for Dodge must have been off that day. lol
F8 Green Chally? lol and this was the day they were bought. The shipping guards have been taken off both vehicles lol
Ours were already removed by the dealer before we even saw the car. I guess you can sell them for big bucks. I see you already did.
Absolutely, a salesman that has tenure will be up to date on models options and paint colours. etc. most of which is carry over from previous years. Until they decide to completely change the vehicle. The most obvious changes made every year are front and rear fascia's tail lamps, headlamps, radios wheels and paint colours. Paint codes are always e.g. P = primary Q = secondary ( 2 tone ) NA today. F = green, W = white, X = black, C = blue etc 8 = actual colour mixture. shade The golden rule to any sale is the customer is always right !!! so to walk out of dealership for stupidity on the part of sales person is absolutely correct.
