Stories from the Sales Frontlines

sterlingdog

I just had to pop in to congratulate you on your son's wonderful success. How proud you must be---and with absolute justification. You have to realize that the parents have much to do with this accomplishment, plus the fact that you have such an outstanding son. I have noticed over the years how successful the children of our posters have been. It's an indication of the fine posters that we have here. You have all been such great parents....and caring, contributing citizens yourselves.

I have been on a roller coaster as of late. I'm rewriting and updating the personnel manual for our church employees. It involves changes in policies, new evaluation instruments, job descriptions, and one-on-one interviews with the employees. I'm also volunteering at a local school here, as well as the local food bank.

In addition, we're very involved with this house sale---more complicated than any of the 14 I've experienced. To our surprise, three couples went into a bidding war over our house. We finally accepted the top offer from the owners of a horse farm who wanted to move into the village. Then, there was a dispute over a land boundary from the buyer of the horse farm. It is now holding up the works. We went back to the other two bidders to see if they were still interested. One had purchased their second choice and the other one is in a "pouting mood" because we didn't take his offer. To complicate matters, the three month contract on the brick Georgian ran out last week. We had to negotiate a three month extension by sweetening the pot. We now remain in a holding pattern. Life remains interesting.

Hope everyone stays well, especially Fezo. I'm happy to see that he is moving along the course in good fashion. I noticed lots of car posts---the way that it should be here. Mike, sounds like you're enjoying the cockpit of your new "747". Hope you learn all those controls. Driver, keep these guys straight and stay out of trouble yourself. I'll be lurking even when I can't post. Will touch base soon.

Richard

roadburner

Thank you Richard. We do have nice group here, don't we? You have respect and sympathy with respect to the personnel manual, that is a tough job to grind out. And still volunteering too- wow. Here's hoping that your house sells soon. We have several other friends who have endured similar trials.
Check in more often- as time permits!

houdini1

Man I love those Italian burgers !

My recipe is mix a little sausage in with the hamburger and grill to taste.

driver100

what I get when I tried talking to her car. Pardon…Pardon...

At least it doesn't say.....Please take the marbles out of your mouth so I can understand you better. :P

driver100

I have been on a roller coaster as of late.

Sounds like you have a lot on your plate these days. Thanks for keeping us up to date on where you have been, we'll try to keep things rolling around here.

Be sure to check in and let us know what is happening when you get a chance.

mako1a

Pardon…Pardon...

They say you never really learn to curse until you learn to drive, but it may go further with the advent of voice to computer devices.

abacomike

learn to curse until you start driving

Tomorrow morning, I'm going down to the car, taking the navigation manual out of the trunk (that's the one that "guides" you through voice recognition) and tackle this problem once and for all! I'm going to locate that expanded voice recognition submenu and master this function even if it kills me, which in all likelihood is a distinct possibility.

In every car I've owned with voice recognition, if you say "RADIO ON", the radio goes on. In this car, all I get is "PARDON, I DIDN'T GET THAT"! So it would appear I need to take "take this system to school and teach it a lesson!"

I WILL PREVAIL! IT WILL DO WHAT I TELL IT TO DO! AND INSTEAD OF SAYING PARDON, IT WIL SAY THANK YOU!

imidazol97

> "I DIDN'T GET THAT."

What! The car doesn't speak in formal proper English. That sounds too colloquial to suit me. Why not, "Please repeat" or "I did not understand." I thinks even my OnStar says proper things like that when I used to use in in the '03.

oldfarmer50

"...would have stood behind the cop..."

It is a shame when fellow officers back an obvious wrong doing by a cop. Up here if you get run over by the police they usually rule it a suicide. I've worked with a number of retired state troopers and all but one was a stand up guy. That one was probably the kind to pull the stuff you talk about.

I know it offends our sense of fair play when the police break the law but what would you do if someone was breaking into your house....call a lawyer?

oldfarmer50

"...instead of having to navigate with the mouse..."

Speaking of mice, I discovered that one crawled into the Corvette over the winter and croaked. Now I have a funky smell and I can't find the darn critter. I don'k know how that happened. I put enough mouse bait in the barn to kill a zoo and threw boxes of moth balls inside and around the car. I didn't even like going in there myself because of the moth ball smell so what's a poisoned rat doing climbing around. :mad:

Oh yeah, and I found the roof leaks on the passenger's side. :mad: :mad:
So much fun owning old iron. Especially when for a measly $42k I can get that sweet V- 8 from mako1a's list.

fezo

You mean the car doesn't just say "huh?"

abacomike

doesn'say huh?

I'd settle for "huh"! Anything is better than PARDON! I think tomorrow morning I'm going to threaten the darn thing by holding a pair of wire cutters next to the battery cable and say to it, "...GO AHEAD AND SAY PARDON - GO AHEAD AND MAKE MY DAY"!

jmonroe

"...GO AHEAD AND SAY PARDON - GO AHEAD AND MAKE MY DAY"!

You know what you're going to hear don't you? PARDON...I DIDN"T GET THAT. :surprise:

I hope you have a pair of sharp wire cutters. :sick:

jmonroe

tjc78

I've given up on voice commands...

that is all.

imidazol97

>You know what you're going to hear don't you? "PARDON...I DIDN"T GET THAT."

Is this a case of the Japanese toyota company overcompensating for the usual manuals that came with things they produced and the manuals were almost unintelligible because they were written and then translated by someone who didn't understand the nuances of English?

The "pardon" bothers me too and the "I didn't get that." Of course the car didn't get that: you didn't send it anything.

This reminds me of a Chrysler New Yorker loaner I had long ago. Everything had a female voice talking to you, e.g., the windshield washer fluid is low. The lights are on...

I had the car in the garage and started it. A female voice came out of the radio telling me it was cloudy and a chance of rain. I thought to myself, "Darn, how did this thing know the outside weather while it was still in our garage?" Of course, I just happened to have the radio station come on as the female weather talker was giving the forcast. But the car had so many things voice linked, I just assumed it was the car.

abacomike

a female voice came out of the radio

Well, that's one thing that has not yet happened to me. I have to press the voice button on the steering wheel before I get "Pardon Me's from her!kk"

abacomike

I've given up on voice commands...that is all

EUREKA!, EUREKA!, EUREKA!

Well, went down to the car this morning, as promised, and decided that, one way or another, I am going to master this Voice Recognition thing, once and for all! So, I go down to the car, start her up (notice the "her" because that's the only voice I hear on the voice recognition, a lovely young woman saying pardon, I didn't get that, so the is a female) and go into the main menu. I select SET-UP, then voice recognition, then ADVANCED VOICE RECOGNITION, and turn that feature ON. Low and behold, I said, "..RADIO ON" and the radio turns itself on. I then say, "...SAT RADIO" and low and behold, XM Radio comes on. Then I say, "...COOLER" and the climate control system drops the temperature 4 degrees Fahrenheit. I then say, "DIAL DAD" and low and behold, Dad's phone number appears and and asks if this is the number I want to call, and I say YES. And then, Dad is being called.

So all that time, all that I needed to do was turn on advanced voice recognition. Why wouldn't that be turned on at the factory or at the port of entry? Why frustrate one of your new customers?

I then want to play Pandora Radio in the car. It is supposed to be linked from the phone to the car. I try, and it doesn't work. I call the number given on the screen for Lexus Help. A nice young lady walks me through it, but first I had to go to a PC and link Pandora to MyLexus.com. Once that was done, I go back to the car, turn on bluetooth, open the Lexus Ensure Mobile Application, go to the screen in the car and click on Pandora Radio, and low and behold, I'm getting beautiful music.

So, it would seem that if I were a Geek, it could have been figured out long ago, but since I am not a geek, thank goodness Lexus has a hotline for help with your new car.

No, I haven't given up on voice recognition! In fact, I'm just getting started with it in this Lexus. It is working great, and you can adjust the following using voice recognition:

Heating, ventilating and air-conditioning, including temperatures
Audiio systems (disc, radio broadcasts and XM, channel selectons, etc., even track changes on a CD, volume, etc.

Blue tooth phone - dial, answer, disconnect cal

And other things I haven't discovered yet.

One thing that was great this morning in the car - I did not hear "pardon". I

Kirstie_H

We do the same, but a little fancied-up:
1/3 to 2/3 mix of italian sausage to ground beef

mix in:
shredded parmesan
minced garlic
finely-chopped onion
snipped basil & sun-dried tomatoes

in the center of each burger, we put a slice of fresh mozarella, then grill. We never even need to put condiments on the burgers.

Sadly, we have been grill-less for about a week - powerwashed the deck, let it dry out, then stained it yesterday.

michaellno

kristie, we love italian burgers at our house, too, and your recipe sounds delish!

However, the statement in the center of each burger, we put a slice of fresh mozarella is a bit confusing.

Are you suggesting that you make the patties with the cheese in it?

Kirstie_H

Not exactly - I divide each burger into two parts and make a patty out of each. Then, in the middle of the bottom burger, I put a slice of fresh mozarella. Then, I put the other patty on top and pinch the edges together. Kind of like a pie with filling inside. The patties are the crusts, and the mozarella is the yummy filling.

This is quite possibly my SO's favorite meal. In the winter, I use the same recipe to make meatloaf - a dish he previously absolutely would not eat, but now loves.

tjc78

I will be making these. I like the two patty idea, instead of trying to stuff the cheese in the middle as you are forming it.

kyfdx

Just copied this into an e-mail to the wife... :P

michaellno

Not exactly - I divide each burger into two parts and make a patty out of each. Then, in the middle of the bottom burger, I put a slice of fresh mozarella. Then, I put the other patty on top and pinch the edges together. Kind of like a pie with filling inside. The patties are the crusts, and the mozarella is the yummy filling.

Got it ... two 1/2 thickness patties with the cheese in the middle.

Grill as normal, I presume?

Kirstie_H

Yup. If you pinch the sides together and kind of roll it in your hands, pat it & such to make sure the edges are sealed, you're good to go and grill like you would any normal burger. FRESH mozarella (as opposed to the regular kind, in a block or slices) doesn't really get runny and liquified, so there'd not a big danger of having it leak out. Some may leak into other parts of the burger, but it won't leak all out onto the grill.

nyccarguy

mako1a

I know you don't have to impress anybody but yourself. That's how ALL people should be.

Whatever happens, keep us in the loop. We're excited for you.

fezo

Between kirstie's burgers and all the car talk I'm going crazy....

I'm on this really restricted diet that has me eating mostly nuked dinners and it's coming up on two months since I drove.

This, too, shall pass....

sowongfarewell

Those burgers are called, "Juicy Lucy's" up here in Minneapolis. Two bars have been fighting over who was the first to come up with the idea for quite a few years, now.

One bar uses just American cheese, while the other bar offers a whole multitude of choices. My arteries have certainly taken a beating with all of the comparison taste tests I've conducted over the years.

One of the locations is home to an impromptu "classic car show" every once in a while. I was very disturbed when a Fiero was classified as a "classic" car.

Kirstie_H

Welcome to the group! See, I guess you never know what conversation is going to bring out whom from the woodwork... or the abyss of the internet.

My dad swears he could eat a burger every single night, but this may be because he's had a few heart events related to cholesterol & arteries, and rarely gets to eat red meat. When my parents visit us, that's actually what he wants for dinner, as a treat.

American cheese is no more cheese than the Fiero is a classic car, btw.

fezo

My arteries have certainly taken a beating with all of the comparison taste tests I've conducted over the years.

We thank you for your dedication to this important work....

tjc78

Those burgers are called, "Juicy Lucy's" up here in Minneapolis. Two bars have been fighting over who was the first to come up with the idea for quite a few years, now.

This sounds very familar. I think maybe Guy Fieri was at one/both of these places and mentioned it on the show.

abacomike

With all these recipes and cooking discussions I decided to become adventurous and prepare chicken parmesan for dinner tonight. Just put it in the oven to bake for 35 minutes after frying the chicken I battered for browning. After 35 min., I put mozzarella cheese on top of the chicken cutlets (I bake them covered in marinara sauce) and cook up some fettuccini to accompany the chicken. Of course I serve dinner with broccoli as well.

Some people batter their chicken with seasoned flour, but I find that Italian flavored breadcrumbs work out better.

Now, if I've got you interested in my recipes, I have others. The key to making great chicken Parmesan is to make sure you slice the chicken breasts no more than 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch thick.

Bon appetit!

fezo

Send some here!

Do you do veal as well?

I am on (and will be for most of a year) a low microbial diet. No raw anything other than bananas and oranges. Meat has to be well done. Ugh.

abacomike

do you do veal too

Yep! I can, but we prefer chicken. Just finished dinner and it was great. I make enough for two meals - just have to heat the chicken up along with the pasta. I buy fresh Parmesan cheese and we grate it right over the past and sauce. I put lots of mozzarella cheese on the cutlets because we love mozzarella cheese.

abacomike

I have had some problems with my Apple 3GS iPhone over the past few days. Prior to last Friday, my phone worked perfectly since I went with AT&T Mobile in December. They provided a free 3GS with a 2 year contract which seemed fine. Don't need anything more than a 6 gigabyte phone so long as phone calls are clear and I am alerted when new email arrives at my Comcast email server. Then, beginning Friday, the alerts stopped so I had to go into my mail application and retrieve it manually.

After working with 3 different Apple techs out in Sacramento to try and solve the problem. The reset the phone 3 times but that did not solve the problem. All the settings were set correctly, so they sent me to the Apple Store in Boca Raton - set me up for a 2:40 PM appt. time, to replace the phone with a new 3GS.

I arrive there at 2:35 PM yesterday. They had me sign in, gave them my incident number, and told them I was there for my 2:40 PM appt. They escort me over to a wall (there were over 100 people in that store at the time) and told me to wait there and someone would be with me shortly. I wait, and wait, and wait, and after 35 minutes, a young man comes over, introduces himself to me and asks what he can do for me. I asked him if they were in the habit of keeping their customers waiting for 35 minutes - especially those with appointments. He tells me my appointment was for 3:10 PM and he apologized for having me wait 10 minutes past the appt. time, but that they were very busy. I explained that my appt. was made for me by Sacramento to replace the phone, and that they told me it was for 2:40 PM. He insists it was for 3:10 PM. I then ask him why, when I was signed in, they didn't tell me that the appt. was not for 2:40 PM as I had stated. He shrugs his shoulder and takes my phone. He checks the settings and tells me there is nothing wrong with my phone. I tell him I was not very happy with the way I had been treated in the store, and told him the history on the phone and that we were trying to solve this problem for 4 days. He told me that there was nothing more he could do.

So, after driving 40 minutes in thunderstorms and flooding, I had accomplished nothing. So later yesterday I get this survey in email to rate my experience with the Apple store and another one to rate my experience with Apple phone techs. Ahhhh, there is true justice in this world if you have the patience to wait for these opportunities.

I completed both surveys, each taking 3000+ words to describe my true feelings about my experiences, and I return the surveys.

I get a call from the "TEAM MANAGER" (love the team reference) of the store today who goes deeply into the history of the case, and wholeheartedly apologizes for my unfortunate and horrible experiences with the phone techs and the poor performance of THE TEAM at the store. He asks if there is anything he can do to make me happy. I say yes, get my phone working so I can be alerted when emails arrive at the server. He says he might not be able to do that - but what if he could get me a free Apple 4S to replace my 3GS. I state I don't need a 4S, just a 3GS THAT WORKS. He says he is going to meet with his team to decide what would be the best way to solve the problem.

He calls me back an hour later and says he and his team decided to order a new 4S for me and that they would make sure my 2 year warranty on the 3GS is transferred to the new phone. Further, that they would take as much time as needed to make sure the alerts worked properly on the new phone.

I thanked them and we will see what happens.

The reason I brought this up is because sophisticated technology and systems just don't get along with me. From computers to iPhones to Lexus buttons and voice recognition, I am truly a DUMB BUNNY!

Kirstie_H

If it makes you feel better, you are not just a dumb bunny when it comes to Lexus nav systems. One of our Directors recently described it as having "a horrific user interface."

Even Lexus knows - they're starting a training program for personnel at dealerships to teach them how to teach customers to use the technology: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/lexus-crafting-a-new-approach-to-customer-relat- ionships-2012-03-29

imidazol97

Ohio is wiggling up to passing a bill to ban using electronics while driving as a secondary offense, for those over 18. I just see people driving through being stopped for speeding (lots of the Ontario cars) and getting a ticket for fiddling with their nav and control systems.

"But officer, I was trying to read the manual and learn how to use this setup. It takes a while."

Primary offense if under 18.

abacomike

even Lexus knows...

What a relief! I thought it was me. They even mentioned th GS350 in their PURSUIT OF PERFECTION! Like I said, I've had lots of cars with NAV, Harman/Kardin sound systems, voice recognition, etc, but this car is over-tech'ed with bottoms, computer controller, and a ton of different settings.

They are beginning to realize that they need someone in each Lexus dealership who is specially and specifically trained to present customers with their new technology-rich vehicle. I wish they had them at the dealerships down here!

tjc78

you are not just a dumb bunny when it comes to Lexus nav systems

The cars are getting downright complex and harder to use. I'm a self confessed geek and love technology, however, I can easily see how people get confused.

My car has almost 50 buttons on the center dash/console area, plus a knob, and a full touchscreen. It gets to be a bit much. My fiance (who isn't that bad with tech) gets confused as to what is where.

At least the HVAC has dedicated controls and what you change shows up on any screen you may have up at the moment. My mom drove the car once and she was amazed she figured out how to turn the defroster on.

roadburner

If it makes you feel better, you are not just a dumb bunny when it comes to Lexus nav systems. One of our Directors recently described it as having "a horrific user interface."

Toyota obviously didn't learn from BMW and Ford. One of our local Ford dealers actually advertises Saturday morning classes for customers on how to operate their system.

nyccarguy

I've told this here before. Way back when BMW was to launch the previous generation 7 series (the original iDrive), I interviewed for a position at the BMW dealership in Manhattan to teach people how to use iDrive in the then new 745Li.

I ended up not getting the job. They wanted me to work on salary + CSI rated commission. Way too risky. I didn't want to not get paid because people's IDrive systems started to crash. Plus they asked me where I wanted to be in 5 years. I told them I wanted to be the VP of Marketing for BMW of North America. They envisioned me as a sales person.

abacomike

BMW 745i and the new I-drive

When I was managing a dealership, I hired 2 people to physically deliver cars to customers and to carefully follow-up with them to make sure they were completely satisfied with their new car and with the manner in which they were treated by dealership personnel. Selling cars was the most important dealership activity, but CSI was a close second because of all the money involved from the manufacturer for maintaining excellent CSI.

All my sales personnel were paid bonuses each month is their CSI was 95% or better and special bonuses for each perfect CSI survey on their name. They also were charged a penalty against salary for a poor survey if it could be determined that the cause of the poor survey was linked directly to their poor performance. If the survey was bad due to non-sales related reasons, it was not counted against the sales associate.

The fact that the salary they offered you also included CSI in determining your pay is NOT uncommon - but rather the norm for the position you would have held. But if CSI was low due to a situation(s) that had nothing to do with YOUR performance, it should not have an affect on your income.

You have to understand that maintaining excellent CSI at a dealership means thousands upon thousands of dollars per month in cash incentives to that dealership. With the brand we were selling, it meant $500-$750 per new car sale in incentives (included sales and service CSI as a result of customer surveys.

So rightfully, the salary paid for that position should be tied to CSI since the reason for the position was to improve customer satisfaction with their new car. I paid my delivery specialists based in part on their individual CSI ratings.

nyccarguy

I understand how weighted CSI scores are, but living in Manhattan on $200/week plus CSI bonus wasn't going to cut it.

abacomike

a horrific user interface

I just spoke with my dealership and they told me they are hiring now for two specialist, one for deliver, the other for technology. Effective June 1, 2012, they will be on board. So I told my sales associate the I would contact him on June 1st so someone could redeliver the car to me so I could fully understand and use all the technology offered in the car. His response was - it will take you months to fully understand everything this car has to offer.

Interesting, very interesting. Most of you who responded to my SOS's said the same exact thing - it will take at least until 2014 for me to grasp the intracasies of this car, and by then I should be ready for a new car.

LAUGHING OUT LOUD (lol)

abacomike

living on $200 a week in Manhattan

Let's face it, living on $2000 a week in Manhattan won't get anyone very far. I lived in Manhattan when I attended NYU back in the '60s and $200 a week at that time wouldn't even pay the rent - and that was 45 years ago.

It all depends on how the CSI is applied. If a poor survey came in with you as the principal employee, but the complaint was about the I-Drive malfunctioning, I would not have counted that survey for or against you.

But you understand why salaries have to be tied in some way to CSI if that is the main reason for the position - maintaining high CSI ratings!

tjc78

but CSI was a close second

I'll start this out by saying I'm a very easy customer. I usually know what I want and have my lease more or less worked out. In other words, educated.

I have a little bit of a problem with the whole survey BS we are subjected to when buying/leasing a car. It's pretty bad that the manufacturers put so much weight on these that essentially the salesman not only has to sell the car but the "perfect 10" survey as well.

I've made 3 purchases since 06 and on each the salesperson explained "you'll take care of me on the survey right?" "you know anything less than 10s is a failure for me correct?" It just isn't right. There should be some sort of way that the survey actually means something. If every customer answers all 10s that truely means that the salesperson/dealer is perfect. You, me and all here know that isn't true.

I don't even read the survey. If I'm happy I just go down the list and mark 10/extremely satisfied, etc. When I bought the Genesis I never got a survey and when going back to the dealer the salesperson asked me about it. I told him I can't fill out what I didn't get.

driver100

Penalty for the offense in Toledo will continue to carry a fine of $1,000 and a maximum sentence of six months in jail.(texting)

That's pretty heavy but probably the right move. As long as my passenger can work the GPS. I don't mind if I have to pull over if I am on my own. Cars can travel a long distance in 5 seconds when the driver is distracted.

As long as you can still change channels on your radio, although with satelite, am, fm, cd, etc even that is getting pretty complicated and distracting.

driver100

With the brand we were selling, it meant $500-$750 per new car sale in incentives

When I go to buy my Passat (have to keep mentioning that...sorry Fezo), could I get $500 off the price if I promise to give them a 100% score on the CSI?

abacomike

perfect scores on surveys

I certainly can't argue with you about anything you said. This last car I bought (Lexus GS350) was the first time in a long time I actually felt I was expected to give the sales associate (I worked with him at a dealership 10 years ago and I really like him. Besides he was professional and I enjoyed working with him. But right on his desk was a copy of the sales survey I would be getting in the mail filled in with perfect 10's with a sign stating that if I couldn't complete the survey exactly as it was filled out on his desk, he wanted me to call him BEFORE sending in the survey so he could have a chance to correct any problems or issues.

Since I bought the car Sunday, I've received 2 emails and one letter about my experiences and the importance of filling out the survey wiyh all 10's. Funny thing is that I would have given him all 10's anyway without the pressure - all the pressure has done is put a bad taste in my mouth about filling out the survey. Most manufacturers who get wind about dealerships pressuring customers to give perfect surveys penalize the dealership financially - in other words if you put pressure on customers or even discuss the survey in any manner, a dealer can lose CSI incentives for 30 - 90 days for the first infraction, and up to a year for further infractions. But who is going to rat out the dealership? Certainly not the customer who feels the dealer could make his/her life miserable in the service department after the sale.

So I'll give the salesperson a perfect survey only because he deserves it, not because he sent me 3 or 4 communications.

At Mercedes and BMW, the survey was never discussed even after buying a new car every year from them. Besides, I know how important perfect surveys are to these hardworking people and hoe it affects their income so I would never give them a bad survey - but I would let them know if I was unhappy and what I need them to do make me happy!

Yes, these surveys are intended to fairly measure customer satisfaction, but in many cases, it does everything but what it was intended to do!

driver100

If I'm happy I just go down the list and mark 10/extremely satisfied,

Some very good points made. For one thing, some people are just nasty and will probably give a bad report because that's what they like to do. Then, there are people like me, the salesperson would have to be very bad for me to give a bad report....do I want to be responsible for someone losing money or their job? Do I want someone finding out I gave them a bad report when they know my address and where to find me?

I had an excellent salesperson this time and I gave him a perfect score. I had a salesperson last time who couldn't find stuff on the computer, took a long time to figure things out, didn't do much of a discount (I believed him but now I don't think so since I saved $5000+ on this car when I went to another dealer) and didn't do much teaching when I picked up the car - I don't think he knew how to work the electronics himself. So, what should I do! I gave him 9s and 10s, I am not going to be the one to get someone in trouble....I may have to buy another car from him one day.

abacomike

$500 off for a perfect survey?

No, but they might refuse to sell you a car with the fear you might SKUNK them on the survey!!!!

The owner of the dealership I worked for as manager made it perfectly clear to me and every employee - if you get an SOB for a customer and you have done everything in your power to make him/her happy, but they are still SOB's, YOU ARE NOT TO SELL THEM A CAR!. Even if they promise to give a good survey, I could not sell him a car. His philosophy was simple - he does not want unhappy customers. There were times when negotiations went back and forth for an hour or two. All that resulted in was a frustrated customer who feels he was beaten up by the dealership - so shy should we sell a car to someone who may have gotten a great price, but is still unhappy. I must admit that he had a good philosophy - never sell a car to someone you know will be unhappy no matter what you do?