You Dont Look Like You Can Afford A New Car

[sinderella]

Mr Sin had popped into the local car showroom to pick up a spare part for a friend and said that he would grab a brochure for a new one at the same time
he was in his work clothes and asked where the parts dept was
salesman directed him and on his way out through the showroom, he asked
"have you any Fiat Doblos in?"
The salesman looked him up and down and replied
"We dont have any second hand ones in!"
Mr Sin replies "Good.cos I wanted a new one.Goodbye!"
We aint getting a Doblo from there!
It would have been our fourth new one!
Do they never learn?

[sunny-dave]

No they don't - I got patronised to **** by the local Merc dealer when I arrived in my scruffs and driving the works minibus ... wouldn't even discuss a test drive.

I took great pleasure in calling back a month or two later, after I'd sourced the A class from elsewhere ...

[Peter Pedant]

if you get a good deal
I put up with the put downs TBH
they are just words ....

[Peter Pedant]

I mean are clerks paid to think ?

I took into a govt dept someone's death cert
and someone asked me - are you the dead one/ is this yours ?
and I said I hope not ....
thinking o god I have walked into a building a zombies ....

[Cloverjo]

Not quite as good as yours Sinderella, but a few years ago I was in a fairly posh clothes shop, looking through the sales racks. I moved onto the full-priced clothes, and the assistant came up to me, looked me up and down and said "these aren't in the sale, you know". Thanks! I left with as much dignity as I could muster, and never went in again.

[Mamyalynne]

First rule of retail 'never judge a book by its cover' - I speak as one who has sold everything from shirt buttons to high end cars.

The customer is King (or Queen of course).

[SIRandyraven]

Use Carwow to buy or drivethedeal and don't have to deal with the idiots in suits. I have used Carwow and they ate excellent.
Saves so many hours horse trading with the salesman.

[Peter Pedant]

I was buying a redecorating package for £ 5-10 k
and the salesman called around with the contract and said
just sign the document ( as I read it ) I have got something else to do this morning
my partner said later ' I left the room as I knew a nuclear explosion was about to occur ... '

and yes I had to call them back later to re-do the contract
specifically put the staircase in straight and not wonky .....

[Answerprancer]

Hmm, they seem to be like that in car showrooms. I had a friend over from America a couple of years ago and he asked me to stop as we passed a TVR dealership, we went in and he asked the supervisor about a couple of their top line cars and was given a decidedly frosty reception. We left, and I was embarrassed. It turned out that a friend of his back in the US is a collector of British sports cars and this could have led to a purchase.

[Answerprancer]

Another friend of mine and I did a trip down Tin Pan Alley in London as we often did, he was interested in buying a Steinberger bass guitar, so we popped into one of the shops where they had one in the window and my friend asked if he could try it out. The salesman said that the guitar in the window was the only one they had in stock and it would be a hassle to get it out of the display, but my friend was serious about his intended purchase and the salesman groaned about extracting it - presumably because he thought my friend was just wanting to try it with no intention of buying. We walked out of the shop and found another where the salesman was only too happy to let him try out the Steinberger which he then bought.
Unfortunately, they didn't have any flight cases for this model so he had to take the bass away in the supplier's cardboard shipping box, we returned to the first shop and he went up to the salesman (same one) and asked, brandishing his newly bought guitar...
"Do you have flight cases for these?"

[Cloverjo]

That's brilliant, Answerprancer!

[lady-janine]

a friend called in at a bmw salesroom and wanted to test drive one of their new sports cars and it was suggested she should go home and discuss it with her husband as they were expensive and powerful cars and gave her a brochure. she walked out and went and bought a new merc instead. called in later and returned the brochure 'in case they ran out of them because they obviously would not sell their cars.' that salesroom was closed after a year.

[Svejk]

If you look like scruffy chavs, you get treated like them. Who'd have thought.

[sunny-dave]

Your life must be so hard then, sweaty ...

[murraymints]

was once on garage forecourt somewhere in Exeter with my ex...(health and safety regional director) coming back from hols in portugal still in shorts and flip flops..there was a spillage on forecourt and he pointed it out to the asst who said don't worry it will just evaporate...too much effort to deal with it properly..when he pointed out the dangers the asst got stroppy and told him to mind his own business..BIG mistake.he whipped out his warrant card and shut the garage down there and then..fire brigade were called to hose down etc and they got a huge bill...lol all for the want of a bucket of sand or two

[gness]

And you can tell a gentleman by the way he addresses others, Sin... regardless of dress.......

In the real world and on AB....☺

[murraymints]

indeed G!

[viv41]

Snobs are vile !

[askyourgran]

Reminds me of my Daughter when she worked for Aston Martin, she was on reception when this incredibly scruffy guy came in and looked at the cars, he then asked to see the Manager, she said she felt a bit put out but she went to the manager and told him about the scruffy man waiting to see him. The manager then introduced my daughter to JK from Jamiroquai who were popular at the time.

[Answerprancer]

"Sweaty" I like that :-)
"If you look like scruffy chavs, you get treated like them. Who'd have thought"
...like Nigel Kennedy for example. Yes, it pays to judge by appearance.

[sinderella]

I thought that you should always be treated like a customer?