Smarmy salespeople

[blue2000]

One of my pet peeves, for sure. 

Also, the Know it All salesman.  Last time I was car shopping, I hit so many dealerships.  I wanted some specific things:  Slightly used (less than 10,000 miles), economy size, 4 door (for my dog), straight shift (for me) and power windows and doors (I'm spoiled).

The first six lots I went to, the salespeople felt the need to tell me that was SUCH an unusual combination, I"d never find it, and how they were sure I didn't REALLY want that, I'd get tired of driving a stick (even though I've always had one) and let them show me this car, they guarantee I will love it even though it's not exactly what I want.  I walked every time. 

Unusual?? Power windows and doors on an economy car are a little unusual, but other than that, it sounds very common. They likely wanted to upsell you to a more expensive model. How awful of you to dash their hopes of high commissions so callously!

[LadyJaneinMD]

Pretty lady??  Ick!  I would have said, 'Sorry, neither', and went back to work. 

I don't mind salespeople; they have to make a living too, just don't be smarmy!  I hate that fakeness, it raises my hackles and makes me less likely to listen to anything else they're saying.

Unfortunately, I can't buy from kids at the door anymore, either. The last two I bought from just took my money and never came back.  I was ripped off by school kids. Twice.  That's what I get for living in affordable apartments instead of paying 3/4 of my take-home pay for rent.   That's why I buy from the kids of people I work with.

[Squishygirl]

We just had an attack of smarmy salesperson this weekend. The boiler for the central heating has finally died, (turns out it was older than I am) and it needs replacing. So on Saturday we had the main gas supplier come round to give us a quote. He was due between 8:45 and 10:00 but kept calling to say he'd be a little longer. The was some reason for it but it all sounded like an excuse.

He finally arrived at 3 in the afternoon and started up on how we had terrible water pressure, (it's not great but it's not terrible) and how we should get rid of the water heater and the boiler and the only place we should have it is in the loft and we'd need new pipes and new fittings. Only he couldn't give us a complete price because of our low water pressure. He kept going on about how he couldn't quite do anything until we sorted out our water pressure. It wasn't fair to do so when we would be spending 'thousands and thousands' on a new boiler.

He left after telling us to hire a plumber to sort that out first, leaving Mr Squishy and I panicky about finding all the money for it. We asked a local firm to come round and give us a quote and the first thing that the guy said was that we shouldn't go up to the loft because it would need too much work. He suggested a decent place in the kitchen instead, (where we wanted it all along) and quoted us a reasonable figure which we're going to go with.

It's still a lot of money but I'm the kind of person who needs actual numbers. I can cope with things when I have a figure in mind - it's the thousands and thousands that made me feel like fainting. Honestly, when you're trying to sell something, why on earth would you try to scare them into doing something unnecessary?

[blue2000]

It's still a lot of money but I'm the kind of person who needs actual numbers. I can cope with things when I have a figure in mind - it's the thousands and thousands that made me feel like fainting. Honestly, when you're trying to sell something, why on earth would you try to scare them into doing something unnecessary?

It's a sales tactic. He wanted to scare you, to make you believe you needed the stuff he was selling. And people fall for this, and end up paying huge amounts of money for something that shouldn't cost half that much.

It's great that you got a nice salesperson in the end, though!

[ganjin]

Hee. A single friend of mine who dates a lot has a theory about men who use that phrase (what she would think about another woman saying it, I don't know). In her experience, guys who call you Pretty Lady are disproportionately interested in a...particular...intimate activity. She swears this theory has been confirmed over and over.

So now I can't hear that phrase without my mind going to places I'd really rather it didn't.

Oh, DEAR LORD.   The man we bought our house from said that to me just the other day.

And I'm invited to a housewarming next month, hosted by HIS WIFE.

[kathrynne]

When I was shopping for a good used car after college I naturally started out with the local car swapper magazine and the phone. The salesman who thought he was answering my questions at one dealership actually refused to answer real questions. Hearing a female customer, he apparently thought color was my only concern.

"How many miles does it have?"
"It's red."
"How new are the tires?"
"It's red."
"Any accident history?"
"It's red."
"Yes, I understand that it is red. I don't care if it's purple and green, I want to know useful information. If you're not willing to tell me what I need to know I'll buy somebody else's car."

Hard to believe this guy was that stupid in the mid-'80s.

[sbtier]

the salespeople felt the need to tell me that was SUCH an unusual combination, I"d never find it, and how they were sure I didn't REALLY want that,

I got something similar from real estate agents recently.  They told me I would NEVER find a house with central air (despite the fact I currently live in one).  Two of them also acted completely incredulous that anyone would ever consider buying a house before selling the one they live in.  Like I'm going to believe they don't understand: sell current house before buying a new house = having nowhere to live.  I decided to look for a house on my own because they were worse than useless.

[Chartreuse]

I've always kind of had the theory that if they have to suck up to me or dumb things down, it's a sign the product they're selling is inferior (or they seem to think it is).  Tell me what I need to know, let the product speak for itself, be confident in what you're selling, and I may buy.  Dance around the real issues, try to distract me, and I'm going to see through it. 

What?  Are we supposed to be stupid because we haven't got a Y chromosome?   

[LadyJaneinMD]

When I was shopping for a good used car after college I naturally started out with the local car swapper magazine and the phone. The salesman who thought he was answering my questions at one dealership actually refused to answer real questions. Hearing a female customer, he apparently thought color was my only concern.

"How many miles does it have?"
"It's red."
"How new are the tires?"
"It's red."
"Any accident history?"
"It's red."
"Yes, I understand that it is red. I don't care if it's purple and green, I want to know useful information. If you're not willing to tell me what I need to know I'll buy somebody else's car."

Hard to believe this guy was that stupid in the mid-'80s.

Well, you *do* know the 3 most important things a girl needs to know about a car, right?

1.) is it cute?
2.) is it a cute color?
3.) do I look cute in it?


Back in the 80s when I was looking for cars, I went to a used car salesman and told him what I wanted: small, efficient, standard shift, in good repair.  He immediately pointed me to a huge flashy Cadillac with all of the extras, saying, 'You'll look SO GOOD in this car!'   
"Yeah?  And who's going to pay for repairs and gas?"

Needles to say, I did not buy a car from him.  What a maroon.

[LadyJaneinMD]

I've always kind of had the theory that if they have to suck up to me or dumb things down, it's a sign the product they're selling is inferior (or they seem to think it is).  Tell me what I need to know, let the product speak for itself, be confident in what you're selling, and I may buy.  Dance around the real issues, try to distract me, and I'm going to see through it. 

What?  Are we supposed to be stupid because we haven't got a Y chromosome?   

Oh, I've got one on that, too!  I had a flat tire once on the highway.  My brother and I got out and changed it, then went on.  On the way home I passed a tire chain that was having a sale. Hey, a sale, and I needed a tire! A match made in heaven, right?    The wait took forever, then the salesman took me out to back to show me how 'someone' had stripped the threads on the lug nuts while putting on the spare tire.  "Really?  I did it myself, by hand.  I know I'm strong, but I'm not THAT strong. Maybe you need to talk to your mechanics about lying to you." 
They replaced it all, for free, but not without trying to bully me into a ball bearing change, too.  Sheesh.

I no longer go to the ****stone stores. 

[kathrynne]

When I was shopping for a good used car after college I naturally started out with the local car swapper magazine and the phone. The salesman who thought he was answering my questions at one dealership actually refused to answer real questions. Hearing a female customer, he apparently thought color was my only concern.

"How many miles does it have?"
"It's red."
"How new are the tires?"
"It's red."
"Any accident history?"
"It's red."
"Yes, I understand that it is red. I don't care if it's purple and green, I want to know useful information. If you're not willing to tell me what I need to know I'll buy somebody else's car."

Hard to believe this guy was that stupid in the mid-'80s.

Well, you *do* know the 3 most important things a girl needs to know about a car, right?

1.) is it cute?
2.) is it a cute color?
3.) do I look cute in it?


Back in the 80s when I was looking for cars, I went to a used car salesman and told him what I wanted: small, efficient, standard shift, in good repair.  He immediately pointed me to a huge flashy Cadillac with all of the extras, saying, 'You'll look SO GOOD in this car!'   
"Yeah?  And who's going to pay for repairs and gas?"

Needles to say, I did not buy a car from him.  What a maroon.

Yep, I know it well. The car I was looking for at that time was one that would safely take me for a one-hour commute each way in a metro Detroit winter for a temp job that would have me in and out of darkrooms all day and had me driving into the sunrise in mornings and into the sunset in the evenings. The last thing I cared about was the car's color or looks!

The funny thing was that my Mom actually commented a few years later that she thought I would look good in a Mustang convertible. Mom is about as "point A to point B" on transportation as they come, and that comment came out of the blue. No matter how good I might have looked in the car, its payments would have made my bank account look pretty ugly.