Opinion...why aren't salespeople helpful?

[lostinvt]

I'm in a 2LT now and wanted to get a taste of V8 power...so I went to my local dealer last week after calling and asking if they had an M6 ss or 2ss I could drive.
Of couse I get there and was told that, sorry, I can't, they don't have any SS models to test drive....as I'm looking at a half dozen on their lot...but of course they wanted to talk numbers with me...so I walked.

So I went to the second local dealer. Very nice guy...but the first thing he said was that he just transferred from the Nissan dealer up the road..um..K...

So when I started asking him about driving an M6 SS, he went to go get one, then came back and told me they didnt have one, the one he was thinking about was sold..OK, fair enough.
Then he tells me that if I'm in a V6 now, it's really not much different, and I probably wouldnt notice the difference!

I did finally get him to round me up an A6 2SS....I commented it was a 2011 since it had the HUD and he proceeded to argue with me that it's been an option in all camaros since day 1....

I mean...geez...

But at least he let me go without a big headache....

[KeepItGreasey]

some people just don't want to make money. any dope knows that the 2010's never had HUD's.

[razorduck]

I visited a dealer here in Northeast Arkansas and although the salesman was very nice, when I asked about a 1SS, he said he never heard of a 1SS. He said that they had several 2SS's on the lot though. I told him I was really wanting a 1SS because the price difference in the 2SS wasn't worth it to me for a few more options (That's just how I roll). After several days of the dealership searching, they found out that there actually IS a 1SS. Buying through a different dealer currently...

[bigted83]

I know the feeling. I been shopping around and shopping around and finally found 2 places I like. I gotta go see them Monday and most likely I'll be coming home with a new camaro ls or lt1. Can't wait

[Lawdog1911]

OMG, Me and my wife have had it with salespeople. Last year we were looking for a car for my wife and we went to a lot and we were outside in triple digit heat and all the cars were locked and no one would come out. We were getting urked and we finally went in and the salesman was sleeping with his feet up on the desk and his hat over his face. We slammed the door on the way out and it woke him and he came out and asked if we needed something and we said no, go back to sleep. He said to us, "Fine, take your a** down the street to another dealership" and walked back in.

My wife was so close to kicking his a**, but instead we got him fired by telling the owner about what he said to us.

Later in the year, we went back and tried another dealership and my wife saw a Smart Car she'd been wanting. It was $15k and it was there on the lot and She just had to have it. We asked for a test drive and the salesman said no, because it was the owners car. I was like, "is it for sale?" and he said yes. I was like, I am not paying $15k for a car and not get to test drive it.

Anyway, we left that dealership POed and drove next door and bought a Honda Fit for the same price and paid cash for it and took it back to the other dealership with the purchase order saying we paid cash for it and showed the owner there that we wanted to buy his Smart Car, but the douche bag salesperson would not let us test drive it first so we bought a Honda, lol.



Ok, Rant Off!

[IROCTPI]

haha you must have an bad azz wife! my mom is the same way.

[ketel0ne]

Not wanting to get political or into social dynamics or history, I believe most service and sales industries are not what they used to be. It doesn't matter if it is an iPhone at the AT&T store or a new car.

[SuperFly03]

In my experience it has been hit and miss. You either get a great one or a really bad one.

I had an OK one when I bought my '07 GT500. He was nice and worked with me and did what he could to get the numbers where they needed to but I wasn't made aware of a serious TSB issued on the car 2 weeks before. Partially my fault.

When I bought my Camaro the guy was very nice and I worked the deal and it came out cool. I couldn't test drive a new SS but he got me into a used SS to test drive so I wasn't buying blind. He was very knowledgeable and a mechanic. He knew his shit. It was appreciated.

Then there was the guy at the Merc dealership who wouldn't play ball to save his life. I wanted to trade in my Camaro for an '11 GT500 (used) they had on their lot. I told him that if he got the numbers where they needed to be I would walk out that day with the car. I had never met him. It was going to be the fastest sale he's ever made. He was just a dick. Insulted the Camaro, didn't understand that Nav was part of Onstar and that it wasn't a separate option.

Now, the Ford dealer I ended up buying my '10 GT500 from was BEYOND nice. I mean it could not have gone any smoother. I drove 500 miles to go pick up the car and I didn't get dinged on mileage for the trade in, they gave me a full tank of gas on the GT500. They let me play with the GT500 (hadn't seen it in person since it was 500 miles away). They honored the deal the internet sales manager gave me (I had printed all the emails) w/o question. No fuss, no haggle, no dig for a door ding I got. My GF and I told them if they kept that shit up we'd drive from Houston to their dealership to buy Ford's from now on.

I left there getting a beyond excellent deal (way better than I should have) and I got a perfect car. The down side is I can't go there for service though.

[Sc0rPs]

Originally Posted by Lawdog1911

OMG, Me and my wife have had it with salespeople. Last year we were looking for a car for my wife and we went to a lot and we were outside in triple digit heat and all the cars were locked and no one would come out. We were getting urked and we finally went in and the salesman was sleeping with his feet up on the desk and his hat over his face. We slammed the door on the way out and it woke him and he came out and asked if we needed something and we said no, go back to sleep. He said to us, "Fine, take your a** down the street to another dealership" and walked back in.

My wife was so close to kicking his a**, but instead we got him fired by telling the owner about what he said to us.

Later in the year, we went back and tried another dealership and my wife saw a Smart Car she'd been wanting. It was $15k and it was there on the lot and She just had to have it. We asked for a test drive and the salesman said no, because it was the owners car. I was like, "is it for sale?" and he said yes. I was like, I am not paying $15k for a car and not get to test drive it.

Anyway, we left that dealership POed and drove next door and bought a Honda Fit for the same price and paid cash for it and took it back to the other dealership with the purchase order saying we paid cash for it and showed the owner there that we wanted to buy his Smart Car, but the douche bag salesperson would not let us test drive it first so we bought a Honda, lol.



Ok, Rant Off!

Damn! Both those could have been easily fixed, the first the salesman could have apologized and explained himself but decided to be an arse. Second was just about as bad! That one made no sense to make you buy something you can't even test out!

However, you also allowed them to decide what car your wife will own. Never give them that much power... such as because of them you have a Fit instead of a Smart.

My dealings were never so bad, except can't say I care too much for the one I got my Camaro from. He was too concerned over 'the next sale' such as answering his cell. Wouldn't mind if he tells the caller he's with a customer and will call them back but he goes on for a few minutes! Even the final portion with talking with an On Star rep in my new car he gets not one but two calls!!! First he just curls over a bit but still couldn't hear the rep any longer, second one I basically told him to get out of my car.

So yah... won't be coming back to him and telling others to avoid.

[~Stacy~]

Sorry about your brush of bad luck with salesman! I have been truly lucky the last 5 years. I've been dealing with the same sales manager. Problem was the dealership closed up. Well the sales manager moved on to a different dealership and I followed him! It's 27 miles away instead of 5 miles but it's definately worth the drive. It's soo easy buying a car now! Call him up and that's it I have dealt with complete idiots before I met the right salesperson to go through.

[robsls3]

Dont worry one dealer I stood in the showroom next to a 1ss IOM for an hour waiting for somebody to come ask if I needed help. I kid you not out of the 10 salesman not one came to me. I was the only customer on the lot. As we left a lady and her daughter were coming in and she got asked if anybody was helping her. I turned around and said WTF was I chopped liver? They all looked at me. I got in my TA a floored it out the dealer lot.

I had one dealer tell my I couldnt afford a 2ss.

I had another tell me they were out of 1SS camaros and cant find me one but they had 2LT's for $33k. I said your smoking crack if you think im paying $33k for a 6 cylinder.

[RubyCamaro]

I agree that there seem to be some good ones & some bad ones out there. When I was shopping for my car I went to Ford, Nissan & Honda dealerships. I got very nice, informative, knowlegable, & not pushy salesmen at each location. I gave each the chance to answer my questions thet told them to give me their best sales pitch of why I should buy that car over others I had test driven. All those guys did a very good job. But I didn't like the cars. I went to my local Chevy dealer & got a female salesperson that time. She was very dissappointing. She let me test drive a Camaro but didn't want me to go very far. Luckily I still loved it. When I asked her to give me her pitch as to why I should buy it over a Nissan, Honda, etc. All she had to say was "It's an American car". Well Duh! I felt like she was blowing me off so I went down the road to a different dealer & bought my baby.

[The_Blur]

You were clearly not a buyer. You already have a Camaro and wanted to try out another one. The salesperson probably regretted saying hi to you from the beginning.

You have to remember that doing this is a waste of their time. They don't get paid to spend time with you. They get paid to sell cars. If you don't buy, they make $0. While they were wasting time with you, they could have taken a phone call, email, or customer that was serious about buying a car. Instead, they have to worry about handling a non-customer until an opportunity arises to get rid of you.

Salespeople are there to sell. It is implied in their name. Because they are only paid for sales, there is no incentive for them to do anything else. If you're expecting more than sales from a salesperson, then you need to rethink the way you do business.

[~Stacy~]

Originally Posted by The_Blur

You were clearly not a buyer. You already have a Camaro and wanted to try out another one. The salesperson probably regretted saying hi to you from the beginning.

You have to remember that doing this is a waste of their time. They don't get paid to spend time with you. They get paid to sell cars. If you don't buy, they make $0. While they were wasting time with you, they could have taken a phone call, email, or customer that was serious about buying a car. Instead, they have to worry about handling a non-customer until an opportunity arises to get rid of you.

Salespeople are there to sell. It is implied in their name. Because they are only paid for sales, there is no incentive for them to do anything else. If you're expecting more than sales from a salesperson, then you need to rethink the way you do business.

I'm not a salesperson but I have worked in the retail industry for over 10 years. I have learned that the customer is the priority not you. I don't enjoy salespeople who roll out the red carpet treatment for you and once the sale is over screw you! I take my camaro in for service and the sales manager is working I always like to have a quick conversation with him if he's not busy. I can't stand people who want your money but give a shit about the customer. I've been to dealers like that and never went back. I'm sorry but I'm going to go to a dealership where everybody is friendly with me. The service manager, the receptionist everybody even the owner better come talk to me At least I know they still appreicate my business even though I'm not buying a car today!