Never Become a Car Salesman

Times are tough. They’re even tougher down here in Toddville. Unless one is self-employed, Toddville residents can expect to travel a minimum of thirty miles, one way, to get to a job that pays wages slightly above minimum wage. If they are willing to travel forty to sixty miles, one way, they might fare better with a job at wages ten to fifteen years behind the wages offered by employers in major metro areas.

Keith, for example, took a little over a four-dollar-an-hour pay cut to do the exact same job he did for sixteen years in Baltimore. His employer is a major health care supplier on Delmarva, but they pay pennies on the dollar to their employees compared to comparable health care companies in the Baltimore area on the Western Shore.

Big companies aren’t stupid, I guess. They move into an economically depressed area and think, “Hey! Look how much money we can save in wages because these dumb rednecks will be happy for any sort of income!”

Now, I know the first thought city-smart people would claim is that the cost of living in a rural area is a lot cheaper than in a metro area, which is why companies can cut employee’s wages. That’s true, to a point.

Before moving here, I calculated the cost of living difference between Cambridge, the nearest major “city” to Toddville, and Baltimore. The difference equated to ten percent. For Keith to continue earning the same buying power as he did in Baltimore, his pay cut should’ve been less than half of what he had to accept. On top of that, his benefits are significantly less than what his employer in Baltimore offered. Bottom line: he took a ten-year step backward in his career development. (For privacy reasons and because everyone on the Shore knows everyone, I will not name the company Keith works for.)

I had to quit my job in Baltimore. I knew that. I couldn’t continue paying over $500 a month in gas to commute there. The problem was I couldn’t find an equivalent job down here.

Finally, last October, Sylvan Learning Center in Easton hired me to turn around the three-year loss the center had experienced. The pay was right so I took it. Unfortunately, the owner’s health took a turn for the worse and he decided to scale back his staff and, most likely, either close the center or find a buyer. I didn’t get my chance to turn the center around by June like I had forecasted.

Since Christmas, I have been trying to find a job. I’ve had offers, but the pay was significantly less than what unemployment affords me now. So I keep searching.

Two weeks ago, I came across an ad for a car salesman at Preston Autoplex. The ad read in such a way that I figured I was qualified – no experience necessary - so I applied. Eight days later, I was let go on the grounds that certain people felt I didn’t “have what it takes” to be a car salesman.

I have to agree with them. In the eight days I was there, there was no training of any sort. I made it no secret in my interviews that I never had direct sales experience. I knew how to talk to people and, most importantly, I know how to talk to Eastern Shore natives. They don’t like to be pushed. They don’t like the “hard sell”. They want to like you first and a handshake is as valid as a signature on any legal document.

Preston obviously had a different selling philosophy. In simple terms, it is no different than the philosophy of any other car dealership, especially the ones of the major metro areas. “Get people off the lot and in the doors and we’ll sell them a car.” Of course, that means they’ll sell you the car, warranties, and lifetime service memberships. The real money made by a car salesman and the dealership is not in the selling of a vehicle. The real money is made in the warranties and dealership services even though most purchasers of vehicles need neither.

While I am making my point using Preston Autoplex as an example, in reality, they are no different than any other major car dealership. I just happen to have first-hand experience with them as a brief employee. As an ex-customer of Norris Ford of Easton, I can relate what I experienced as a customer with what I learned as an employee at Preston.

By now, you might be wondering why I’m bringing all this up and why you should even read on. I have two goals for this article.

The first is to send the message to big companies considering a move to Delmarva that we know big city ways when we see it and we don’t like it. You’ll do fine here as long as big city people follow you, but for those of us born and raised here, we’ll resent and defy your intrusion. Save your breath on cheesy commercials about how your general manager was born and raised here (That’s a Norris Ford's radio commercial) or bringing on your eight-year-old daughter to show your “family friendliness” (That’s a Preston TV commercial). We locals recognize phoniness in a heartbeat. We’re still going to do business with you. We have no choice. You big city dudes have pushed out the genuine, family-owned businesses.

The second purpose for writing this article is to benefit my faithful readers. You have to buy a car. When you do, be harder than the most persuasive salesman. Pick out your vehicle, select any options you want, and tell the salesman to give you the best offer. He’ll run it to the sales manager, who will run it to the finance manager, and they’ll come back with an offer. Simply state, “Well, if that’s the best you can do, I should shop around more.”

The salesman and the sales manager will ask you what they can do to close the deal. Simply tell them nothing because you already asked them for their best offer and, if they are willing to do even better, then they didn’t give you their best offer.

They lied. Simple as that. Ask them to hold the offer for two weeks while you visit other dealerships. Other dealerships will more or less offer you the same thing on the same vehicle, but they may offer you better rebates, service or warranties. When buying a vehicle, that’s what you are really shopping for. You’re not even shopping for better interest rates on the loan. They all use the same thirty or so lenders. Whatever lender A quotes at dealership A, they’ll quote the same at dealership B.

When you walk out, though, expect the dealership to call you with an offer you can’t refuse. At that point, you need to decide if their lie to you on their original “best offer” is worth overlooking for their “new best offer”.

My last two weeks have taught me one thing. I need to pursue a career in local politics. The Bay is dying and our farmlands are disappearing. Big city companies are moving in. The trend needs to stop. The Bay needs to be revitalized; restrictions on the family farmer or independent watermen needs to be lifted; and big city companies need a crash course on the Eastern Shore culture before they can open their doors.

© 2007
Mark Darien
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