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Smart Shopper Stories from the Sales Frontlines
36722 messages, Last post on Dec 01, 2008 at 8:16 PM
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Replying to: graphicguy (Aug 25, 2008 6:51 am) I'm sorry, I just don't agree. I have no idea what 'new tech' is coming that will knock oil down. Our electricity is generated from coal 49%, natural gas (essentiall 'oil') 20%, nuclear 19%, and hydro 7%. Taking electricity from these sources and then storing in batteries to run autos is a very inefficient energy use. A Prius battery pack has an expected life of 60 or 70,000 miles, then it's replacement cost is $6,000! The environmentalists worry about us putting AA batteries into land fills. Where are the hundreds of pound auto battery packs going to go? And, aren't these 'new tech' batteries even more nasty to get rid of than the alkyline???? We can't pull hydrogen out of water without a huge net energy loss of electricity to drive the process. The hydrogen that is produced in natural gas is already being extracted and used for various chemical processes. This pretty much make 'fuel cell' tech an big looser. Here is my guess as what is coming. Oil/natural gas is going to continue as the main energy source. It is going to get more and more costly, mainly because the 'third/second world' countries, namely China and India, are moving quickly toward 'first world' status, sucking up large amounts of the world supply. Coal will continue to increase as a source of electricity generation. It is dirty, and cleaning up its burning will make it more and more costly (current third world countries don't worry about cleaning it up, this is where most pollution increase is coming from). Only after energy gets significantly more expensive, nuclear will step up and will probably be used for most electrical generation. France already generates something like 75% of theirs via about 50 nuclear installations. They don't do much right, have delicate sensitivities about what the USA does in the world, but the French have build a nuclear system already. It will take people in the US being hot in the summer and cold in the winter because of high energy costs, but people will then accept widespread nuclear electrical generation. Or continue to be hot and cold. Our engineers can probably currently over-engineer a nuclear plant that will be 'safe'. The US will accept burying the spent fuel under some desert region. Then, long term, our only hope is that the little silver colored aliens will stop with their anal probing and show us what powers their flying crafts.
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Replying to: traindriver (Aug 24, 2008 7:21 pm) |
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I looked at a a few cars on Saturday at a BMW dealer... CPO units, so I worked with a guy that specialized in the used car department.. Stopped back on Sunday (when they were closed), so my wife could check out what I had driven (the car is for her).. Called the guy back today, and he almost fell all over himself, thanking me for asking for him, specifically..  Gee, I test-drove, and you gave me your card... who the heck else was I going to talk to? I was kind of surprised that he gets stiffed that way, very much... a really, really nice guy with no BS..... that's hard to find! (no offense...lol) |
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Replying to: chikoo (Aug 23, 2008 11:39 am) i would tell them a secret shopper reported it. it gets you off the hook regarding the video, thus not showing your hand, so to speak. also, every customer potentially becomes a secret shopper. if the clerk just doesn't care, that's another story. |
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Replying to: mackabee (Aug 25, 2008 6:50 am) I agree, that's a great idea. Maybe a bottle of Jack Daniel's. He did get me to decide on a $28,000 vehicle which I loved. I should have done that. There are lots of things I wish I could do over again and that is sure one of them 
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Replying to: driver100 (Aug 25, 2008 1:51 pm) I had several customers who would bring in Christmas "gifts" for me while I was with BMW. I remember one guy in particular who would always bring in a big bottle of Crown Royal for me. Funny thing is, I made a lot of money off the CPO 5-series I sold him. It's been said before, but it seems like my best customers were the ones that paid the most profit. He was extremely happy with his car and me. Other than the bottles of alcohol I would get (and I'm not that much of a drinker), people would drop off gift cards to restaraunts and stores.
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Replying to: kyfdx (Aug 25, 2008 1:21 pm) I'm of the same mind as you. If you showed me the car, if you gave me your card, and I enjoyed talking to you, why on earth would I not come back to you? It's a shame that some don't feel the same way. I don't know if BMW stores have much in the way of turnover. But, that might explain part of it. You buy/lease a car from them. 3-4-5-6 years later, you go back, and you don't recognize any of the sales staff. I was over on Stewart a couple of months ago. But, it was to look at Minis, not BMWs. I have to admit, their sales staff, in both stores, are probably the most knowledgeable and professional than any other store I've been to, regardless of brand. They do a good job over there. |
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Replying to: graphicguy (Aug 25, 2008 6:51 am) It's funny, I would have said the same thing until my son rescued a 1988 Plymouth K car from the junkyard. All of a sudden I noticed quite a few on the road. As cheaply as it was made a K car would last a long time with proper care. Most rusted out long before the drivetrain died. My son's needed a new floor under the front seat. He ran it up to 140K with very little maintaince. Then he ran over a rock and tore the oil pan out. I would think a modern version of the K car would do Chrysler a world of good these days. |
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Replying to: bolivar (Aug 25, 2008 12:54 pm) I bet that is the only place their environmentalists will let them drill. 
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Replying to: bmw3434 (Aug 25, 2008 2:29 pm) I've received cookies, coffee (Starbucks coffee for home from a guy that didn't buy), fruit platters and chocolates from a customer that we got approved when no one else did, vodka (from a customer that had 2 previous cars on his current loan and wanted out of his 3 month old car to lower his payment by $80 month, and now he's waaaay upside down even when I advised him against it), exotic tea, gift cards. One guy gave me a bottle of Alize, bag of herbs for smoking , and a cash tip of $50, all for one car he bought. Other folk gave me carton of smokes, ex-girlfriend (to who I'm married now ), cakes, gift cards, and more chocolates, movie tickets and so on....... The best one by far was the Alize and herbs customer who also gave me some other stuff that people use at a rave. 
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