My tennis game had been canceled on this unusually rainy Saturday morning in Phoenix, Arizona, so I went car "looking." I wouldn't call automobile shopping a hobby, but in the 9 months or so before my lease is up, I start looking for my new car. I'm always ready to change cars because I'm never happy with the car dealership where I bought the last car, even if I'm delighted with the car itself!
"OK," you might say, "this woman is a difficult customer." And you may be right. However, my expectations, shopping and buying behavior may be similar to the behavior of many relationship-oriented female customers. We insist on higher skill and service levels from automobile salespeople, and we look until we find that. We'll buy a car where we find honesty and interpersonal connection, not where we find the best deal or the car of our dreams.
Let me tell you what happened and how I responded. Although the dealer hours were stated on the door as opening at 7:30 a.m. opening, the showroom looked and sounded empty at 9:00. I told the receptionist that I wanted to speak to a female salesperson. She said there weren't any available at that time. I turned around to leave, but changed my mind and asked for anyone who was available. She made an announcement on the intercom and a man appeared. He introduced himself and shook hands although he never asked my name. This was an experienced (17 years) salesman selling a luxury brand automobile. I told him I wanted to test drive a certain model. He agreed, retrieved the requisite keys, license plate, etc., and off we went.
Although "John" never committed any of the obvious faux pas', like calling me "Dear" or driving the car himself until we were on an empty side street, he called me nothing, since he still hadn't inquired about my name. He seemed ill at ease with me, although I don't know why. He never asked me what my interest was in this particular model, how I used or what I wanted in a car. In fact, he never asked me anything about my automobile needs and wants. Instead, "John" showed me all the features of the car as we were driving, which I found distracting and not of interest to me at that moment. I was interested in the feel and maneuverability of the car, not the CD player or heat control.
When we returned to the dealership, we drove past my car, which I pointed out to him. The car I had requested to drive cost about $10,000 more than my own car. After returning the car to its rightful spot, without any request or explanation, "John" showed me a different model, different make. He thought I might be interested in it because it too drove well, but was less expensive than the car I test drove.
His intentions may have been great - put me in something I clearly had demonstrated I could afford - but I felt I was not being taken seriously.
Although John didn't ask, I volunteered that the lease on my car wasn't up for nine more months. His face fell and I could tell I was a big waste of time in his book. He said he'd check on something I'd asked about and call. He didn't. Not only will I not buy from him or his dealership, I probably won't even buy that make and model, even though I really liked the drive. Am I being too sensitive or overreacting? Am I taking this all too personally or even expecting much too much of the average experienced salesperson? Maybe so. But why not? I can afford the time and money to buy a car from someone who seems to have my interests as a customer in mind and who wants to fit his product to my needs; someone who treats me with respect and is comfortable with me as a customer. Why do it any other way?