"I'll Look it up:" Lack of Passion Among New Car Salespersons

[Gateclyve Photographic]

In a column today entitled "What I Learned About Young People While Trying to Buy a Car," the columnist wrote:

It seemed to both my wife and me that these car dealerships hired any decent young person who applied for a job, and that these young people regarded selling cars as no different from selling shoes: It's a job. It requires you to show up on time, be polite, accompany potential buyers on a test drive, look up answers to questions on your smartphone and go home at the end of the day. Their interest in cars was not necessarily greater than drug store employees' interest in hair brushes. Selling cars is just a way -- one of many others to come -- to pay the bills.


My wife saw in the answer "I'll look it up" one possible key to the problem: If the young people we interacted with this past week are representative of their generation, many do not feel the need to know much, because all the information they need in life can be found via Google. . . .

I can assure readers that pushiness is no longer a problem. The only thing any of the dealers pushed was free bottled water.

But perhaps the lack of passion is an inevitable function of NEW VEHICLES BEING SO ABYSMALLY . . . ANTISEPTICALLY . . . MIND-NUMBINGLY UNIFORM AND BORING!. Who's going to put a poster of a CUV on their dorm room wall? Who is going to memorize the specifications of another commodity rental car FWD sedan?


Also, could it be that the lawyers have scared so many huge corporate dealership groups about possible lawsuits from "false statements" and "deceptive trade practices" that "I'll look it up" is just playing it safe? After all, if you don't know anything and don't say anything it's harder to sue . . . .

[RockJustRock]

Out here they've gone VERY aggressive on the marketing side. Salespeople are admonished customers will NOT walk away without buying. Even USED. Followed a lead on a used car to a dealer lot A place had A Cadillac Allante cheap It had a charging issue and I told the guy I'd rather just ride shotgun than drive a potentially stalling car in traffic. He insisted if we didn't swap seats and have me end the test drive by rolling INTO the showroom he would get chewed out by the boss. Insisted on test driving my trade even though I told them it was a $1.000 wholesale only prospect. Bargained hard to less than a $500 difference then tried to force me into considering financing. Rode me hard to switch to their other Internet buy a full size Mercury with extreme low miles that I didn't like just because something didn't say "pampered" about it. Then they gave me a 30 second head start to leave and ran up while I was buckling back in to my car to tap on my window and say "PLEASE reconsider the Mercury". Wasn't there a Reality TV show about a dealer pulling that kind of "kill percentage" crap?

[pdub]

That's an interesting perspective, that column. I would go so far as to say it's not piled up on the car dealers, it's all the way across the board, everywhere, with the young kids in the workplace. The last time we bought a car was in 2012 and we were dealing with an older adult. We weren't buying what they had on the lot, we were ordering a new car from the factory, built the way we wanted it.

But across the board......I've harped on this before......it's two words. Two IMPORTANT words. "You're welcome." What ever happened to that as an acknowledgment for a sincere, "Thank you?"

You tell a millennial, "Thank you," and they'll say, "No problem." Well, I didn't want or expect it to BE a problem. That's just annoying and it's for sure not ever going away.

[studemax]

As a group, millenials are lazy. Also - they regard cars as appliances. And the phrase "car salesman" has long been a punchline. So it's no surprise I've never purchased a spanking new automobile or truck, and very few used rides came from a dealer. I prefer not to deal in BS.

[Deaf Bob]

Memory banks from the dorm window at the deaf school... Half hour after lights out, 2/3 of the staff (house parents) leave.
I'd be at the window watching... 3 viehcles leave..40 Ford Coupe, 55 chev with primer and flip front and the 650 Triumph chopper. This was mid 1960
Today? Drive thru the whole school and nothing pops
The head nurse (she was old, grandma old) drove a Mustang with a 390/4 speed and factory fog lights while a blue haired English teacher drove a California Special RED mustang..

[AndyB]

Most cars are appliances!

If you're shopping for a Honda minivan, expect crazy high pressure and basically an awful experience. If you're shopping at a dealer that does mostly luxury or sporty stuff, the experience is way different--they are low pressure and easy to get along with. They don't have the insane high pressure to sell, because their cars will sell themselves. Seriously, if you're honestly shopping, try going to a toy store sort of place and see how different the experience is!

[Loren]

You tell a millennial, "Thank you," and they'll say, "No problem." Well, I didn't want or expect it to BE a problem.

Yep that's one of my non-favorites, too. What, was it going to be a problem? Did it turn out to not be a problem? Are you f'n stupid? Do you need to look at your phone now?

I think if the columnist had gone to a buy-here/pay-here lot where used cars are pushed onto customers where there there will be a significant chance of re-possession and that is part of the business plan, he/she would have found a bit more "passion" on the part of the salesperson.

[JRoberts]

I was at our VW dealer a few weeks ago getting my wife's car serviced. As usual I was wandering around the dealership looking at the new stuff on the lot and in the show room. Naturally I was approached by a sales person or two. No pressure just checking to see if I needed any help. One young man in particular really impressed me. He he knew his product, a new R series Golf as well as its competition, in this case Subaru. I was impressed and it reminded me that painting any group, including millennials with one broad brush is a mistake. I see as many people my age, and I am admittedly old, with their phone glued to their ears as any other age.
And I don't have problem with the "no problem" response to a thank-you. It simply means the same as "you're welcome" or "helping you was not a bother."

[Gateclyve Photographic]

Yep that's one of my non-favorites, too. What, was it going to be a problem? Did it turn out to not be a problem? Are you f'n stupid? Do you need to look at your phone now?

.

Yes. They should all work for Chick-fil-A so they have to say "My pleasure."

[Gateclyve Photographic]

The last time we bought a car was in 2012 and we were dealing with an older adult. We weren't buying what they had on the lot, we were ordering a new car from the factory, built the way we wanted it.

I bought a car from a young salesperson in 2012 . . . The son of one of the dealership owners (small town dealer) . . . The kid was enormously friendly . . . and didn't know squat about the product. For example, he assured me it had a "satellite radio" and was genuinely shocked when I pointed out to him during the new-car delivery the tell-tale lack of a "hump" antenna. Still, he's a good kid and a genuinely nice guy who always sends holiday cards.

[pdub]

Still, he's a good kid and a genuinely nice guy who always sends holiday cards.

Superman Jr. is a great kid. He's got a lot of growing to do, but he's a great kid. We love him at our house.

I spend a lot of time on the internet, if anybody can tell. I like a certain news channel outlet. where they allow comments. I can sit and argue with kids all day. They know everything, they cannot be denied, they know it all. It's fun. A great waste of time. Cheap entertainment, already paid for (the monthly bill). I can only imagine they go to bed with their blood pressure at about 470, and I go to bed laughing.

[Dan Barlow]

Yeah , half the time I say no problem . And I'm 56 .

[RockJustRock]

Superman Jr. is a great kid. He's got a lot of growing to do, but he's a great kid. We love him at our house.

I spend a lot of time on the internet, if anybody can tell. I like a certain news channel outlet. where they allow comments. I can sit and argue with kids all day. They know everything, they cannot be denied, they know it all. It's fun. A great waste of time. Cheap entertainment, already paid for (the monthly bill). I can only imagine they go to bed with their blood pressure at about 470, and I go to bed laughing.

I do that on FaceBook. I have friends that reel 'em in and I net 'em!

[Eric]

In a column today entitled "What I Learned About Young People While Trying to Buy a Car," the columnist wrote:



But perhaps the lack of passion is an inevitable function of NEW VEHICLES BEING SO ABYSMALLY . . . ANTISEPTICALLY . . . MIND-NUMBINGLY UNIFORM AND BORING!. Who's going to put a poster of a CUV on their dorm room wall? Who is going to memorize the specifications of another commodity rental car FWD sedan?


Also, could it be that the lawyers have scared so many huge corporate dealership groups about possible lawsuits from "false statements" and "deceptive trade practices" that "I'll look it up" is just playing it safe? After all, if you don't know anything and don't say anything it's harder to sue . . . .

Why should they study the product?
Why know the product?
The buyers today buy with 2 metrics 1)monthly payment 2)safety rating.
Customers have balls even commenting on a sales persons knowledge of the product, when , if you go out to customers car/truck the owners manual is still in it's wrapping.
The sales team have to study how to get you to sign on the dotted line and buy. Not what the unit can do,has/etc. Should they know, sure. But when they are working for free much of the time why bother. The customer comes in, waste the salespersons time asking uestions, and is only window shopping, goes home hits every dealer in the area with an email and waits for the best sounding deal to get emailed back.
The sales person knows this, They know 9 out of 10 customers are blowhards wasting their time.
Bet the person that wrote the column wouldn't work for free, like many sales people do .
The customers used to value service, and were loyal, not now. but they'll complain at a drop of a hat.
Sales persons used to know the product because the customer , when they walked in, wasn't pumping you for info, only to walk out and buy somewhere else. they would , buy there because you took the time to know and explain the product to the customer, and you'd get a repeat customer out of it.
The customer gets the service they asked for, Why would a retailer employ skilled/knowledgeable help, when the customer is window shopping, no matter if it is a vehicle, or something at best buy. You run to your phone and see where you can get it cheaper. After the sale person you wasted a few hours of time with answered all your questions. Only to have you buy somewhere else.

[Matt Cramer]

Car salesmen are showing less passion about their jobs, and that's a bad thing? I would much rather deal with a zombie who just hands me the keys and stays silent the whole test drive than some clueless, pushy suite with a polyester tie who tries to upsell me to a car I have no interest in. One car dealership around here has called itself a "car vending machine," trading on the idea that customers would rather deal with an actual robot than a "passionate" car salesman.