Stories from the Sales Frontlines

snakeweasel

I have a theory.....Every dealership in Dallas FT Worth is with in a 2 mile radius of a Hooters or a Strip club.

You either have a lot of Hooters and strip clubs in Dallas Ft Worth, or not that many car dealers.

tsgeisel

I'd bet on the former.

Although I'm told that Houston has the highest per capita rate of strip clubs and such in the US.

british_rover

I would belive that. A couple of my co-workers at my old shop went to Houston for a confrence and well they had some stories...

1racefan

"You either have a lot of Hooters and strip clubs in Dallas Ft Worth, or not that many car dealers"

Well, I live near Charlotte and think I know which Ford dealer "blkandblu" was referring to. In Charlotte, it seems like you don't typically see just 1 car dealership, you end up seeing a row of them.

If Dallas Ft Worth is like Charlotte, you can literally have 5-15 dealerships all side by side (and across) from one another, with 1 Hooters and a strip club in the same area.

exb0

I spoke with stripper who does bachelor parties and such. She said that her best customers are dealerships. She usually gets invited to Saturday morning sales meetings.

snakeweasel

it seems like you don't typically see just 1 car dealership, you end up seeing a row of them.

Yep thats pretty much how they are around here, clumped together in groups. But still there are a lot of those groups and not that many hooters and clubs.

jipster

She(stripper) usually gets invited to Saturday morning sales meetings.

Why's that? If you exceed your monthly sales quota you get a free lap dance?

bigdveedubgirl

Speaking of.....

Is it just Texas, but are all wheel,leather, aftermarket girls look straight out of the strip clubs? We had a spoiler girl who every month end would come in and beg for business and say "I would do anything *wink wink* if you bought just 3 more spoilers so I can make my numbers....." Now we do have some professional looking and acting female vendors, but its like everystore I go to the accessory girls look like flotation devices and are as smart as bricks...

british_rover

Nah never had that problem.

How is your month shaping up so far?

I have eight used vehicles and one new vehicle out so far which is an overall record for me.

Our directors have set new goals for all of the dealerships and if you meet those goals a lump sum bonus will be paid to the sales staff.

We have to do 40 new and used cars and we will get around about a 1000 dollars each for a bonus.

denver_nissan

Nice spiff there. I only have 2.5 cars out so far. The first half paycheck could be pretty lean.

tayl0rd

No they're not. My girlfriend's '05 Pilot doesn't have voice activated nav, and all functions are available while flying down the freeway. (I wish mine were. ['02 Chrysler 300M Special])

I must be missing something. Can you explain to me why you feel it is necessary that "all functions are available while flying down the freeway". Don't you consider this to be just a little unsafe?

It's unsafe for Darwin's Finest. Good common sense goes a long way. I would say that if a person doesn't have sense enough to know that he shouldn't be STARING at the nav system while putting in a destination on the move, he probably shouldn't have a nav system at all; or a radio for that matter. And unless the front passenger has no arms, I don't see any reason why they shouldn't be able to put in a destination while on the move. :confuse:

bigdveedubgirl

I have 5 out for this pay period. It is like we have 2 months with in a month. I am just concerned that the last part of the month will just DIE! Also foot traffic has reduced GREATLY this week.

Re: YOur spiff as the great Napoleon Dynamite says "LUCKY!"

To all the dealers, Have you heard of AUTOSOFT? We just dumped R&R and got this new System and it sucks, I have to recontract 2 people and The cutoff is at 10 tommorow, so I might get screwed out of some deals, or have to Sand Bag.

jmonroe

Good common sense goes a long way.

I have noticed over the years (I may have a couple on you here) that common sense isn’t as common as some people think it is. Since I’m forced to share the roads with everybody how am I supposed to identify, the ones with fully active Nav Systems, have this trait or not so I can put my head on a faster swivel cycle than what I normally use?

I would say that if a person doesn't have sense enough to know that he shouldn't be STARING at the nav system while putting in a destination on the move, he probably shouldn't have a nav system at all

Same as above.

...or a radio for that matter.

How many people do you know that STARE at a radio while flying (your word not mine) down the road but I may have to give you this one since I know there are some pretty sophisticated radios on the market today and those without common sense may be intrigued by all its features so as to command extended viewing. If you know many people that do stare at their radios, then I’m all for getting rid of these types of radios as well. However, in these cases it would be preferable to have their licence yaked, but I know this isn't going to happen.

Sometimes legislation is good and I feel this is one of those times.

BTW, are you upset with me that you have to yell like you do (use of all bold-type)? :surprise:

jmonroe

michaellno

We just dumped R&R...

So sorry to hear that ... as a support engineer for the division of the company that provides the database software that R&R bases their application on (think HAL minus 1 letter), it's good to get some positive independant feedback about the quality of their software.

mazda6iguy

(think HAL minus 1 letter)

I think you mean HAL plus 1 letter.

snakeweasel

(think HAL minus 1 letter),

HA?
AL?
HL?

What is it?

Kirstie_H

HAL + 1 = IBM

I'm not just a pretty typeface, you know.

bigdveedubgirl

Autosoft is 10% the cost of R&R. I am still bummin about it. Everyone here knows R&R in their sleep so it is kind of difficult transition.

kyfdx

I don't get it.. :confuse:

tayl0rd

THIS IS YELLING. Since we don't have a quote feature here, I use bold and italic to differentiate quoted text from my current text.

But why would you have to be any more alert on the highway than normal simply because somebody else may be using a nav system in their car? :confuse: I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill. IMO, thinking active nav systems is a bad idea is almost as ridiculous as thinking HID headlights are bad "because they blind oncoming traffic." I love HIDs and they can help me better see Darwin's Finest veer into my lane as they stare directly at a bright light source.

"Like a moth to a flame, burned by the fire..." :sick:

tayl0rd

Me neither. :confuse: :confuse: And I'm a tech head.

oregonboy

I get it. I think Kubrick did that on purpose. (Maybe it was Asimov)

robr2

HAL = 1

Go one letter beyond H = I
Go one letter beyond A = B
Go one letter beyond L = M

You get it now?

Kirstie_H

H (plus one letter) = I
A (plus one letter) = B
L (plus one letter) = M

Just move one letter ahead in the alphabet to solve this mindbender. Any other simple tasks I can help you with, kyfdx? :P

(...running off into the sunset with robr2)

kyfdx

Hmmm.. okay... Now, can you explain the rest of the movie? :surprise:

michaellno

Guess I should have my propeller beenie revoked, or start working in binary ....

Um, yeah, I work for that company. They bought my company about 5 years ago, and we provide the database software (called UniVerse) that R&R uses for their application.

I got confused with that episode of "West Wing" where the White House folks were peeved that a company called JCN was going to outsource a bunch of work to India. JCN minus 1 letter is IBM.

:sick:

Back to our regularly scheduled debate...

graphicguy

I'm a proponent of NAV systems (sorry j....).

I travel to different cities, a lot. I've got a portable unit (Nuvi=great). I do use the voice features because it's hard enough knowing where I am without taking my eyes off the road to read the NAV map. That said, program the destination while stopped, not while moving.

I DO have an issue with those who want to watch a movie on their NAV systems while driving, however. There isn't one good reason I've heard (and no, entertaining your passenger isn't a good reason)to have that capability in any car, for any reason. It's flat out dangerous....to the driver, the passenger(s) and those who are driving around you (who are hoping you aren't looking at the screen as you're weaving and getting ready to slam into the person in front of you).

As you say, though....there's nothing common about common sense.

jbollt

Off topic, but some might find this site interesting.

2001 explained

wlbrown9

Defensive driving in hard enough just dodging the fools. Then when you add in the wild and crazy low flyers, cell phone distracted, etc. you really have to be defensive. Now if you add in another few percent of drivers distracted by nav systems, that is more that I have to dodge. If they come out of a side street missing the stop sign and broadside me and I am seriously injured or killed, that is pretty serious in my estimation.

A little off the subject...left work yesterday. Going east on a divided parkway street. See fire trucks, police cars. Westbound is blocked off. It's dark but I can see remains of a car in the trees on the far side. Get home and turn on the news. Corvette apparently going too fast, out of control and slams the rear of the car in a large tree. Residents said he was trapped and could not get out before the fire got him. It seems that he was the only victim, but he could have easily taken others with him. Most of us survive the daily adventure, but those innocent victims that don't are more than a molehill, IMHO.

snakeweasel

It was Clarke and he denies the IBM reference. HAL is supposed to be for Heuristic ALgorithmic Computer.

tayl0rd

Why didn't he call it HAC instead? That's what happened to it in the end anyway. :P

tayl0rd

Don't see what a Corvette knocking somebody into a tree has to do with nav systems. But a nav system is no more distracting than someone being enthralled in a cell phone conversation.

Kirstie_H

A new tv show seeks bad drivers who want to receive free, unique and, yes, televised, driver training. Please respond to jfallon@edmunds.com no later than December 15, 2006 with your city and state of residence and a few words about why you think you or your loved one will be a good fit for this opportunity.

snakeweasel

Don't know you have to ask Arthur C. Clarke.

jmonroe

THIS IS YELLING. Since we don't have a quote feature here, I use bold and italic to differentiate quoted text from my current text

OK, if that’s the way you want to do it. Most people here use italic only for what they are quoting/responding to without the bold-type. For someone that likes to cover all the bases, why are you not willing to pay a little MORE attention to the road when driving rather than a little less?

But why would you have to be any more alert on the highway than normal simply because somebody else may be using a nav system in their car?

It’s just one more challenge that I now have to deal with as a result of this new technology. I know I don’t have a prayer of changing the rules but I am allowed my opinion ain’t I?

IMO, thinking active nav systems is a bad idea is almost as ridiculous as thinking HID headlights are bad "because they blind oncoming traffic."

Hey, now that you brought it up, what do you suppose is the best way to get rid of these things too? I’m thinking put it on the same legislative bill as the ‘Nav System Ban.’

BTW, see how nice that italic only method works?

Happy motoring,

jmonroe

madmanmoo

I support his choose in using Bold and Italics.

Humbly yours,

Moo

explorerx4

i've heard the IBM was oneupsmanship on NCR.
National(International) Cash Register(Business Machine).
fwiw.

bigdveedubgirl

Are we just going to stay off topic all day today??? Hee Hee should we now talk about the evolution of the Apple II series and Microsoft????

tidester

Hee Hee should we now talk about the evolution of the Apple II series and Microsoft????

Only if salespeople have used them for promos and have a tale to go with them!

tidester, host

explorerx4

when i bought my focus, i was offered a dell computer or $500. i wonder how many took the computer?

jmonroe

I'm a proponent of NAV systems (sorry j....).

No need to be sorry, we just have a different opinion about this. Nobody can always agree with someone else. Heck, I can show you remnants of what happens when I disagree with Mrs. jmonroe and I really try to agree with her since I know the consequences but sometimes I just forget myself.

I do use the voice features because it's hard enough knowing where I am without taking my eyes off the road to read the NAV map. That said, program the destination while stopped, not while moving.

If I could be assured that everyone operated their Nav System like you do, I wouldn’t be so concerned. I’m sure you know people who are not as conscientious as you are. Those are the ones I’m concerned about.

As you say, though....there's nothing common about common sense.

See, we do agree sometimes.

Till the next disagreement,

jmonroe

tsgeisel

Don't get me started... :P

(I actually worked at Apple in the early days of the Mac, in the Apple II forever days.)

marsha7

on the tech side of life, I continue to be impressed that my first computer, in 1987, had a hard drive with 20, count 'em, 20 megabytes, and, I believe, an 8086 chip...this was before Windows 3.1, which later took up, I believe, between 15-20 MB for the entire operating system...

I think Windows XP now takes up, by itself, 100-120 MB...oh, for the days of 3.1 ...

british_rover

we brought over all of our cars to the Hartford Auto show today.

One Range Rover Sport in Red

One LR3 in Green

and one Range Rover in white

Christmas colors.. :P

Of course because we still don't have 2007 MY cars we had to bring 2006 MY vehicles. :sick:

We also brought our 1959 Series II so that should be the star of the show. We had half of the autoshow staff crowding around it as I drove it in and everybody that walked past had to stop and look at it.

I will try and get some pictures for tomorrow.

graphicguy

tg....I actually worked for Xerox (at PARC) when they "GAVE" the OS to Apple.

Shows you how old I am (and how stupid my then employer was).

british_rover

Might just be the absolutely worst move in modern business history.

explorerx4

did you bring any boulders to drive over?

graphicguy

BR...none of us realized it at the time, but the eventual Xerox (Apple and windows) OS "toss-away" was one of the biggest blunders of modern American business. I've got plenty more examples that came out of PARC (Xerox PALO ALTO RESEARCH CENTER) while I was there...but never given any "weight" by Xerox.

How about computer networking (ethernet)?....or "point and click" computing?....all developed out of PARC while I was there, but never fully realized by Xerox.

But, those are different stories, for other places and times.

explorerx4

great idea, but need someone to promote it? kind of like some cars, not the innovation leaders, but end up being the sales leaders. :surprise:

british_rover

I wanted to get an articulation ramp but cost and space constraints kept us from being able to do that.

You should swing by again though. We are all the way in the back corner by the bathrooms... :confuse: