Exotic car salesmen Snobby or Lazy? Or Both?

Yeah... But it doesn't mean you have to take it or be a part of it if you don't want to.

 

I have walked in to miller and said I was just looking around and had no intention to buy and they still showed me a bunch of cars. I came in later with my dad who was looking to purchase a quattroporte and again they were very friendly. I do know someone who had a bad experience there though, but I had heard this one salesman was not very nice.

 

Twenty six years ago, I was working as a parts manager in a Jaguar dealership.
99% of our sales were phone orders, followed by delivery to our clients in the Washington DC area....By that, it was rare to see anyone on our showroom floor. I could tell you all a lot of funny stories about the goings on in this dealership, but one story stands out & is somewhat relevant to this string:

One morning we (4 employees in the entire shop) were standing around in the showroom and a man who looked the part of a steet bum walked in....
He was bearded, smelly and wearing an Army fatigue jacket. The jacket pockets had trash and a Cracker Jacks box stuffed in the pockets.
The man (bum) was eyeing a new 1983 Jaguar XJS. He hung around for a few minutes, looking the car over....No one paid him much, if any attention....While he was leaving, he turned and told us that "his man" would be by in a few days to purchase the Jag, with cash. The comments were basically: yeah sure! Gee, he sure smelled bad, etc.. A week later a man in a big car and very nice business suit, showed up & purchased the car for his very eccentric boss.

On a side note...Working at that dealership gave me my first taste of exotic cars...The Philippine
embassy owned a white Maserati Bora, which we serviced....Occasionally, I was able to drive it.

JG

 

The only Ferrari dealership that ever totally ignored me was in Rome, Italy. Every other one around this great big world of ours have treated me respectfully.

 

20 years ago at Ferrari of Los Gatos I was just standing around in their showroom then suddenly

two salesman gave me their attention and approached me, and I said wow this is great then

one salesman said please don't drool over the Ferrari You see at that time that's all I can do

just drool and admire the all the Ferrari.

 

"Exotic car salesmen Snobby or Lazy? Or Both?"


Neither.

 

I'm trying to empathize here, but honestly I'm having a hard time feeling the anger -- and I've been an Indignant Customer of the Year nominee in more stores than I can count.

I don't see why you stood outside staring into the showroom. I'd go in, clarify what you're looking for and get one of their reps working to locate a car for you. Or call someone like Jim Lyons at Sports Car Company in San Diego -- 360s are falling from the sky these days. Get Motorcars Int'l and Marshall Goldman on this and tell them your price point, preferred color, mileage, etc. Those dealerships probably do 10 times the volume of Expo.

In fact, I bought my 328 from Sport Auto over the phone. It's a transaction, not a social event. They didn't care what kind of watch I was wearing, and vice versa.

 

makes me giggle when I see people being ignored because of their clothes. At my airport we have more than a few billionaires. All of them usually look like they crawled out of a dumpster. You can't tell a book by it's cover any more. Us relatively poor folk have to dress up, they don't.

 

The higher the price tag on the window, the less hassle from the salespeople. At a Toyota dealership they need every buyer to pay the rent, at a Porshce, BMW, Ferrari etc store, they don't need you at all.

 

FWIW, my daily driver is a pickup (and a new E92 M3) and when I bought my 430 I was wearing cargo shorts and an old Tshirt. I had decided well beforehand I was not going to ever step foot into the dealership (Ferrari of Atlanta) until I was ready, they had I car I wanted and a deal was going to get done. I did not want to be perceived as a "tire kicker" nor did I ever intend to try to negoitate the price.

Me: "what's it cost"?
Salesman: "$XXX,XXX"
Me: "OK"

Alright, there was a little more to it than that, but I think it's critical to be a serious buyer from the get go. If you are still getting crummy service (or no service) then it's time to walk. (Is there a smiley that's walking?)

 

I've been snubbed before alot but gotta say the Ferrari Dealers and the independent exotic places have all treated me well.

I've strolled in with long hair and flip flops (my usual garb) and been treated with respect. I'd imagine alot of Ferrari customers are well to do eccentric types and just people well off enough to not care how they look if they choose to take that attitude. Ferrari is used to that. Ferrari or even BMW dealers don't all stop practicing their golf swing and run over to greet you the way they do at a my Nissan dealer. I think it's more of a soft technique that lets you browse and feel comfortable in the enviornment before your approached.

I wasn't in your shoes at the time so i don't really know but i think it's just their sales technique.

Not returning your e-mail was just wrong however.

When i first sold my products in some ways i was a better salesman because i approaced everyone with a good faith attitude but now i classify and make a determination of my chances of getting the sale. Every once in a while someone i wasn't gonna approach will end up buying and i have to remind myself that i'm not always right in predicting who will buy and who won't.

Maybe the salesmen are doing the same thing. My guess then is lazy.

 

I agree.

I'm only 17 and when I go to Ferrari of San Antonio I am always greeted with a " Hi, how are you" or a "Would you like to take a look at something". They all know I cant buy anything but they still take the time to talk and show me thier inventory. I go probably every 2 or 3 weeks to check things out and I cant remember a single time I was treated badly in any kind of way.

Todd

 

Two weekends ago my wife and I were in SLC for a long dog show weekend. When the dog looses in the morning, there is no reason to stay for the afternoon, so we had a nice lunch, and then dropped by Steve Harris Imports. Over the last twenty years, as business has taken me to SLC I have dropped by this dealership, they were always friendly and knowlegable. My wife has wanted a QP since they came out, but didnt want the duo select transmission, so we have been talking about it off and on. Tim Beers showed us around the dealership, the almost ready renovation to contain the vintage cars, and the shop. He showed us the available QP's and took my wife for a ride in the one she liked the best. As we left in our new QP, I realized a small problem-the rental Chevy minivan-truck thing was sitting at the curb[This thing had sliding doors on both sides, and the nose of a 1985 Blazer glued on the front-Lowlander/uplander or something like that-no wonder GM is sliding]. Tim saw the issue, and said"would you like me to return the rental for you?"
We drove the car to San Diego the next day. Before noon on Monday they called to make certain everything was ok, that I was happy with the car...the all important follow up.
This is the way I like to do business. I bought a car at a price I knew to be fair, they sold a car and made profit, and we had a few laughs along the way.
Speaking only for myself, I just prefer to deal with people who treat me with the same respect I have for my clients.
Malcolm

 

Now that is service!!!!

 

Auto dealerships are like every other business or organization, no matter the product or service. Whether you're consistently treated respectfully or rudely depends on the leadership- the owners- not the salespeople or whomever you're dealing with. If decent behavior is mandated by the people running the company, that's what you'll get, since poor behavior won't be tolerated. On the other hand, rudeness and lack of interest in the customer's needs at the top will trickle down, too. Goes for car dealers, the government, restaurants, and all the rest. Bottom like is this: how you're treated by the average employee says a lot about the owners and how the business is run... and what they think of their customers. And of course high volume sales organizations can give some extra pressure to purchase, but they can still be nice about it (not all of them are)!

Cheers,
Rich

 

I've always had good experiences dropping by Ferrari dealers when I'm traveling. The one exception was the Lambo dealer in San Francisco, who wouldn't let me in the door for some reason (it was the middle of the day, and I think they were theoretically open).

That said, whenever I have been seriously considering buying, I've always called ahead and made an appointment. It just makes things easier for everyone.

 

Bringing back a thread from 2008? Really?

 

After I bought my Ferrari, I stopped by Ferrari of Los Gatos (as it was called then) with my then-girlfriend and her two boys, aged 6 and 8. We were not, obviously, in my 308 - Lisa had some generic mid 80's American car. . . We were still treated with great respect and dignity, and one salesman went out of his way to show the boys the cars they liked, even opening doors and letting them sit (carefully!) inside a few.

Later they did a very high-dollar service on my car, and went to extremes to get everything right.

Can't say enough good about Los Gatos/Silicon Valley Automotive Group!

 

Bob Delp posting on a thread from 2008? Really?

 

ESP. Since the OP hasn't posted again since 2009.. wonder if he ever got his 360...

Would be funny if he didn't and the sales guys that blew him off surmised correctly.

 

Which brings up another issue: People who come here and complain, when they could and should call up the people that bugged them and talk to them about it.

I'm soon going to purchase either a 456 or 550. If I decide to buy it from a dealer, I'll call, say I'm interested, make an appointment with the explicit information that yes, I'm serious, and will never purchase a car without test driving it. I'll be polite, professional and diplomatic, but the subtext of the call will be: "I'm serious here. Be ready."

Then there's no question about why I'm entering the dealership.

And if I'm not treated politely and seriously when I'm in the market - seriously - to purchase a car, then I'll hoof it out of there.

If I do get good service, wherever, I'll post a recommendation here on F-Chat. If I don't, I'll complain to their boss.

Reminds me of a more current situation in the Dino forum, regarding an eBay ad that has some questionable claims in it. Seems someone made the posting on behalf of the owner. Why not call up the owner, rather than complain about possible "misrepresentation" here? Maybe there were mistakes or oversights that could be cleared right up, and the OP - if he was really interested - might wind up with the Dino of his dreams. . .

 

I looked at the OP's post history and he last posted in '09 and there was nothing about him getting a Ferrari. Guess the salesmen at the dealership "sized up" this guy correctly.