Well we gave it a shot ....
For the last 3 weeks plus, I gave the world of car sales a shot, let me tell you everything you have heard about the business is in fact true. Sadly the job itself was fine, folks would come in and ask questions, and I would answer them, we would go for test drives and people would ask you the usual "do you have this in red?" or "do you have one with leather" and stuff like that, and then people would get something called sticker shock and freak out. What I can take away from this experience is 3 things ....
1. People are idiots - so a guy walks in and looks at a brand new Tahoe, this is a 40k plus vehicle, he wants to put no money down and wants to know what his monthly payments would be, well most of us can do the math, it's gonna be around 700 a month even if his credit is good which affects his interest rate, he just about has a heart attack, he was thinking it would be more like 400 a month, well that won't get him a new Tahoe ... I tried to put him in something more in his range which was more like 28k - but nothing tickled his fancy, frankly I think he was depressed after not being able to afford the new Tahoe, and so was I for wasting about 2 hours working with him for nothing.
Maybe this is where I stop to say I worked at a "one price" store, meaning no haggling or negotiations, what you see on the sticker is what your price is .... I can't believe how many people after I told them that would still ask me what the best price was or could I go lower .... this goes back to point number 1 above. We were also not on commission, so it didn't matter what I sold you I'd make the same money, but I still had to sell SOMETHING to make money, and I didn't sell a thing (OK I sold one car to a friend but that doesn't count).
I could tell you about 100 more stories but I won't, they are funny and yet depressing at the same time, let's just sum it up by saying most people WANT to own a new car, and WANT to buy a new car but frankly most people can't afford it and most leave depressed and tell me a line like "I have to go talk to my wife" or "I have to go to work but Ill be back after" so they leave and they don't come back, it is what it is.
2. Sleazy old school car salesman still exist - now don't get me wrong most of these morons are gone but there are some dinosaurs left and they basically survive by their client lists, we have one guy that probably makes 120k a year and he is our best and sleaziest salesman, but he has been doing this for 24 years and he has a customer database a mile long, and since I started with no database, I had to rely on "fresh ups" meaning new people to the lot for a sale. Even if a customer was there 4 years ago and bought a car from someone else, I would have to split that sale with that person, that's a bunch of crap, they didn't even remember the salespersons name. In the time that I was on the lot, I saw guys run past other guys to talk to customers, even running up to their car to open the door for them, madness! Where I worked they had WAY too many salespeople, there were always about 6 of us standing around playing pocket pool, and that's another reason why I left, I stood outside one day for 12 hours and talked to one person, this store has no foot traffic, and there it is, not to mention most of the old geezers there were down right rude, seriously it was everything you hear of and more ...
3. I forgot what 3 was, but I think you all get the idea.
So I am no longer a car salesman.
So what's next you may ask yourself? Well tonight I start a new gig, I am working overnights cleaning airplanes for a wonderful little airline called Sun Country based locally. Now I could write a whole other chapter in this blog on the story of this airline, their owner is in jail for a ponzi scheme, they are in bankruptcy, but they are the little engine that could, the folks that work there took huge pay cuts to stick around, and they are finally out of the deep end and everyone I have met at this company are some darn positive and happy it's unbelievable. They really like where they are and what they are doing, well I've drank the Kool Aid so sign me up! DId I mention that after 90 days I can fly anywhere they fly for nothing???
I start tonight, yes overnight, which is cool with me because I can still get things done in the day time if needed like projects or a job interview (yes I am still looking for something in my expertise), and so there you go.
I think we will cut it here for today, the blog is back and I hope you enjoy it!!!
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