Did a shop for a Cadillac dealership.

Salesman said once I couldn’t afford something and kept suggesting used.

Yes I put that on the form.

I've had shops where the salesman did that. I wanted to take them and shake them or something.

If I wasn’t mystery shopping I have called the dealership owner.

Curious- was there something you may have said or done that would give him that impression?

The same thing happened to me with the iPhone X shop. The rep took one look at me and said, "I know you can't afford it, let me show you the Samsung 8!!!"

I don't know why this post reminded me of this story but it did...
A couple of years ago I was getting my car serviced and was waiting in the customer area. This salesman comes over. Young kid, early 20's, wearing the current "fashion" of tight shiny pants that stop at the top of your ankles. All flash, no substance kind of guy. He plops down in the chair across from me and asks if my car is in service. Now, I'm sitting here with my nose in my phone already, so I look up, say yeah, and stick my nose back in my phone. So he asks what kind of car I have, I tell him, and stick my nose BACK in my phone. So he asks me if I have seen the new model and I'm like no, and stick my nose back into my phone AGAIN. Well he proceeds to tell me all the differences between the new one and mine and asks if I'd like to see one. I'm like no, I'll just check one out in 3 years when they come off lease and I can get a good deal on it. Because at this point I've made it quite obvious I don't want to talk to the guy and I'm just a bit pissed. He stutters and stammers for a minute then asks what my car is in service for. I'm like dude leave me alone already but I tell him it's just a basic service. He response with "ah, gotta keep it running good for the grand kids."

Most of me was a bit pissed at the comment but part of me was like oh my that was a good one.

Was he wearing hoohcie pants?!? I mean, great story, old chap.

Doing Cadillac shop tomorrow, will say, this is my last hurrah...I've always wanted a Caddie (not true), but very good at lying while getting paid...

Irene, are you stopping all car shops or just the Cadillac shops?

Some nerve. When I lived in Hawaii, well you've all seen the pic of Steven Tyler on the beach. You never know who is who. I hope he gets the Walmart "treat everyone equally" speech at least.

@spicy1 wrote:

well you've all seen the pic of Steven Tyler on the beach.

No. I haven't. And I'm fairly certain I don't want to.

Share in the fun! Would you dis this guy if he came in to your car lot?



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 01/03/2018 04:01AM by spicy1.

The salesman's behavior in this story intrigues me... Having spent a little bit of time selling cars, I know that if I bring somebody to the car that they want and get them driving it, they will frequently purchase it, assuming they can afford it (and are actually in the market).... It's also common practice to offer a one or two year old vehicle of the same make and model as it really is a good deal for the customer. However, when the customer insists on the new vehicle, that's what you show.

The only reason a salesman would push that hard to show a used vehicle is if he was really certain that the customer would not be able to afford it and, even then, it would behoove him to first show the new vehicle and then, if the numbers were not going to work out, show the pre-owned car.

So, if that were to happen to me, the first thing I would do is ask myself if there was something about my appearance that suggested that I was not a new Cadillac type of person. (Speaking in extremes here): Did I drive a 30 year old car onto the lot that made some funny sounds and was held together by large amounts of duct tape? Was I wearing a faded beer tee shirt that my stomach outgrew four or five years ago? Is my mullet overdue for a trim? Was my speech pattern gruff and unsophisticated or did I use a few too many French words (and not the ones likely heard in France?) Etc. I don't know anything about the OP, nor was I at the location. However, if it were me, I would really self-reflect and ask myself if there was something in my presentation that screamed "I have a price range well below that of a new Cadillac." It doesn't have to be as blatant as above. We've all seen the dress and car requirements that MSC and their clients put on shoppers for certain types of shops. These requirements are their because Bubba does occasionally take these jobs and drive to the dealership with his beater.

If I was certain that that was not the case, I would wonder if it was some sort of discriminatory thing. Was I a different ethnicity than the salesperson? Did I appear really young? (Few 18 year-old kids will buy a Cadillac.) Did I have a religious bumper sticker on my car? Is there some sort of indicator about my background, whatever it might be, that might be perceived incorrectly as suggesting that I could be less-than-affluent?

I am not suggesting that the salesman's behavior is at all appropriate (it's not). However, there must be a reason for it (rational or not). As a shopper, I would be very critical of myself, wondering why it was so difficult to get the salesman to show me the the car I wanted.

Edit
Note: I mean no offense to the OP (or to Bubba). This is simply how I would react if I had had the same experience.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/03/2018 03:55AM by MFJohnston.

Or maybe the salesman was just another dickofa salesman; there are many out there.

LOL! We have two vehicles. One is an eyesore. It is the backup vehicle. I have to park it far from the dealerships and walk onto the lots. The other car is plausible for new car mystery shops.

I would wonder about one thing in addition to the hoochie pants. Do the salespersons push used vehicles at certain times? For example, are they pushing used car sales late in the year in order to clear their lots and make room for new vehicles? Do they earn more in commissions if they sell certain makes/models? Do these mystery shop experiences reflect dealership sales objectives or promotions?

This made me spit out my wine. "Is my mullet overdue for a trim?"

I was dressed for weather, head to toe casual Nordstrom and newish expensive athletic shoes, too cold and icy for Toms. I wore what every woman here wears to shop at Nordstrom, since I lunch there weekly, I know. I drove a five year old SUV in perfect condition, and is the highest trim model Escape. Typical small dog show truck.

I was actually shopping for my next dog show truck, just making a few bucks doing it. On the weekend, I am one of those ladies running around a dog show ring with a winning dog.

Two different groups of people who know me well, saw me after and know that yes, I can afford a Cadillac and have driven them most of my life.

People who can actually afford Caddies don’t look it.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/03/2018 04:24AM by dulcew.

While I realize that it may be human nature, in an era in which computer geeks make insane money a salesperson would be making a big mistake to assume that attire equaled ability to pay.

Funny thing. I am one of those geeks....

It made me go get a glass of wine; man boobs, yuck!

@Shop-et-al wrote:

Irene, are you stopping all car shops or just the Cadillac shops?

I've shopped BMW, Tesla, Lexus Audi, many others so far. Caddy is the first time.

@spicy1 wrote:

Or maybe the salesman was just another dickofa salesman; there are many out there.

I totally agree: There are more than a few turds in the car business. However, they are turds because all they care about is money. Even the dumb ones know that you don't offend customers..... I do have one other idea: It is common for car dealerships to put incentives on vehicles that they have had troubles selling. It could be he was trying to push the OP to a vehicle with a $500 bonus.... Or, it is also normal for commissions earned on used cars to be much higher than those on new cars. Still, the suggestion that OP was not able to afford the car makes no sense. They are not jerks for the sake of being jerks.

Note: When I go new car shopping, I dress casually - generally jeans, a polo and sneakers. If directed, I'll wear khakis. But, I live in the PNW where the dress code is well more casual than that of most of the civilized world.... (I do avoid going full Bubba - though I am partial to the mullet.)

Some auto sales agents are just soooo awful. One said to me, "When you bring your husband in we can talk about the engine." I had that on video and audio. But, who knows; his boss might not have seen anything wrong there. Otherwise, how could so many of that sort stay in the business for so long ?!?!

Let's be honeat, in the car business how much a salesman contributes profit is the only thing that matters.

And isn't it ironic that Newton raises his fist in protest against civil rights yet makes those comments about women. Dannon spoke with their wallet and that's what I do.

Newton? Maybe I have not yet had enough coffee this morning ?

He created the EOY new slang, it's called the cam shaft.

I believe she is referring to the Cam Newton episode where a female reported asked him about a route a receiver ran and his reply was basically shock that a female would ask a technical queation about football.

For the nonfootball people, Cam Newton is the quarterback for the Carolina Panthers.

Dannon yogurt, who had an endorsement deal with him dropped him after the episode.

@bgriffin wrote:

I don't know why this post reminded me of this story but it did...

And reminded me of my experiences looking for two brand new cars in the past two years. (not on a shop) Dec 2015 I was at the desk of the finance person getting a price on a new Prius when the salesman ran in all excited to show me the car I needed to buy instead. He insisted I come outside to see a never sold, has been in the storage room for 2 years 2014 Prius with every bell and whistle imaginable. First issue it would not start for the test drive..they had to get out the battery charger. Other issues included the fact that I have neither a smart phone nor a garage door so I could not use most of the bells and whistles above the one grade below of the one I was planning to buy. On top of that I was buying the last of the 2015 models just before 2016 came out which had all sorts of incentives on it so it was $8,000 cheaper. 2014 models had no incentives. When I repeatedly told the guy I could not use the features without a smart phone he said my friends could use all of them when passengers (for $8,000 more I don't think so) He would not give up and I had to walk away from both the new one and the used one. I found another dealer and got my car.
Jan 2017 my husband's car died. Went to look at new Subarus. The salesman only showed us a used 3 year old Subaru. I had to beg him to show us the new ones which is what we came in for. Reluctantly he did. I went home and checked prices for used Subarus and it turned out that used one was a fantastic price. I should have grabbed it but had not researched used prices first and by the time I got back to the dealer it was gone.
In both cases I let the management know of my experience. I did end up buying from that dealer but with a different salesperson.

I drive a 2002 well-maintained Honda CR-V. When I do upscale car shops my line is that I'm done driving the old reliable vehicle, and it's time to treat myself to what I've been coveting for years. It always works.