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Smart Shopper Stories from the Sales Frontlines
47366 messages, Last post on Nov 10, 2009 at 6:41 PM
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Replying to: graphicguy (Jan 05, 2009 7:19 am) Before the holidays, I started to feel like I'd lost touch of some of my closest friends, so I made a point to contact them. One of them is a good childhood friend who I hadn't spoken to in more than 6 or 7 years. He lives in Sacramento with his wife and two kids. When I called - mid afternoon on Christmas Eve - he answered the phone himself. First words out of his mouth after our greetings was to tell me that he's been out of work for the past 14 months. He was the deputy director of a parks and recreation district and made the unfortunate mistake of violating some of the spending guidelines - nothing illegal, but somebody there had an axe to grind with him, and they used this knowledge to get him to resign. In addition, every time he interviewed for a new job, his old supervisor was giving information out on the reference checks that prevented him from ever getting an offer. He had to bring a labor lawyer in to get the district to provide a 'neutral' reference going forward, so I'm hoping his future prospects are better. While they still have their house, I gotta believe it's getting close for them. Last time I saw him and his bride, they had just bought a new '97 Camry ... I wonder if they still have it. Puts things in perspective for me ... I surely hope that everybody here had a great holiday and will experience a better '09. Nobody I know is sad to see 2008 put behind them. To keep this post on topic, I've got a question for the salesfolks here - the dealer in my town is holding their annual "equalization" sale -- what exactly is that supposed to mean? Or is it a fancy marketing term? |
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Replying to: graphicguy (Jan 05, 2009 11:29 am)
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Replying to: driver100 (Jan 05, 2009 1:57 pm) I wasn’t taking it tooo personal.  I’m a firm believer in safety but I’m not fanatical about it. As for all the bad drivers out there, I think we know how many there are when we see our insurance rates going up and we haven’t had accidents and our credit scores are in the very good to excellent range. Talk about a bunch of thieves; the insurance companies are at the top of the list and the one I have is supposed to be one of the better ones. When I’ve talked to my agent he’s said, “you’re lucky, you should see what some of my other clients are paying”. Like that’s supposed to make me feel better.  jmonroe
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Replying to: jmonroe (Jan 04, 2009 2:01 pm) My bad  Went back and re read it..... Everyone once in a while I expect some abuse from ya That would be one heck of a omelette....  GP |
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Replying to: joel0622 (Jan 05, 2009 12:17 pm) We are having the same thing here also. Market share is up but gross profit is down  We are having more ups come through the door. This is how it has been through this whole economic crisis... GP |
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Replying to: isellhondas (Jan 05, 2009 4:08 pm) |
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Replying to: roadburner (Jan 05, 2009 12:44 pm) My college ride was the definitive stripper: a late 60s Rambler American with only 2 options: cigarette lighter & AM radio. Everything else about the car screamed cheap: 3 on the tree with non-synchro 1st gear (had to learn the fine art of double clutching), drum brakes all around & absolutely no power assists for steering, brakes or anything else. Didn't even have electric windshield wipers, which were a $25 option. Instead, the wipers ran off engine vacuum. As I drove up a long hill (plentiful in upstate NY), I'd watch the wipers slow to a standstill, only to see them make up for lost time as I drove down the other side. The car did have an undocumented safety feature. On cold nights (even more plentiful in upstate NY), the door locks would often freeze, forcing me to stay home & thus preventing accidents.
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Replying to: jimbres (Jan 05, 2009 6:49 pm) I remember my mom buying a new car after years of dad's $150 specials. A 66 Chevy Biscayne. A transmission just as you described and apparently the electric wipers and lighter were standard. The only two options - and they were options - was a heater and an AM radio. Exactly what mom wanted in a car. The next year they picked up a 67 Pontiac Tempest wagon that someone had defaulted on. It had like 8K on it and a ding in the front. It did have an automatic. I learned to drive on that an eventually it became "my" car as the folks moved up the ladder. Had one of those overhead cam engines that weren't the best design GM ever came up with. It died at 56K and got replaced with a Buick 6 that worked much better. |
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| you are truly a generous person. I commend you for reaching out to your neighbor with no reservations or judgements. | |
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Replying to: golic (Jan 05, 2009 12:02 pm) "At Toyota Motor results were even worse. December sales were down 37%, while sales for the full year were down 16%. " Good post and reflective of current conditions. Shows that sales leaders suffer more in economic downturns.Logical. Hunker down salesmen, this too shall pass. gg :great post as per usual. Human kindness always repayed ten fold. Would have expected nothing less from someone as well balanced as yourself. No arbiter of who is a good poster vs. not. Who would I be to make that judgement ? Best wishes for karma to repay you in '09. |
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