Rumors of new stuff...

Junkman · Sep 20, 2003

My local dealer is 90 miles away, because the more local one couldn't be bothered with me. Guess that he thought that I was just a tire kicker in a old beat up car. I just bought a new BX22 with all the trimmings and paid for it without financing. I guess that first impressions do count. He just looked at what I was driving and decided that I couldn't afford his nice orange tractor. Never judge the book by the cover. I left my shinny new car at home that day for just that reason. His loss, another dealers gain. In my business the way a person dresses or what they drive isn't any concern of mine. My concern is that they get the best product at the best price with the best service the first time and every time..... been that way for over 40 years and that is what I call success....

rosey · Sep 20, 2003

Amen to that Junkman....ROSEY

cowboydoc · Sep 21, 2003

You play games with the dealer and expect him to treat you seriously? Besides I really don't think what you drive or what you wear makes any difference at all. I see farmers coming into John Deere and my office for that matter driving their beat up farm truck and dirty from the days work. They may own 10,000 acres or 100 acres. If you go to a real ag dealer they don't care what you're wearing or driving.

Henro · Sep 21, 2003

You play games with the dealer and expect him to treat you seriously? Besides I really don't think what you drive or what you wear makes any difference at all. 

I think that was Junkman's exact point...

Would be curious to know what the game playing being referred to is...

Edit: Whoops...I read an extra should into cowbowdoc's sentence...I guess Doc is saying something different than Junkman and not making the same point at all... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

What we look like or drive should not make a difference, but unfortunately too often it does...

Bird · Sep 21, 2003

( don't think what you drive or what you wear makes any difference at all )

I tend to (partially) agree, in this day and age, but it sure used to make a difference in lots of places. I'll never forget stopping at the biggest Cadillac dealer in Dallas one day a little over 40 years ago to inquire about a used Cadillac I had noticed on the lot. I was on my way to work and wearing khaki shirt and pants, clean and fairly new clothing, and no one in the dealership would speak to me; just turned and walked away as I approached, so I finally cornered a salesman and asked how much they wanted for that particular car. He promptly told me it wasn't for sale, belonged to an employee, turned, and walked off.

Several months later, I had a very minor accident with my '55 Cadillac; barely bent one small piece of the grill. I had already learned that a local body shop would fix it for $115, but through my Dad's auto parts store, I could get the part for $15 and replace it myself, but I just happened to be driving by that Cadillac dealership, and was wearing a suit and tie, so out of curiosity, I turned into their service department. You've never seen a service writer get outside so fast to open my door, ask what they could do for me, ask if I'd like a cup of coffee while they were doing the estimate, etc. And they wrote up a real nice estimate to do the work for $380. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Egon · Sep 21, 2003

Doc:

The real ag dealers may not care what you drive or what you wear but after 20 seconds their sensory perceptions will tell them if your'e a real farmer or wanna be and probably treat you as such.

When you see a patient he's diagnosed . The Dealers do the same with their customers.

Egon

Egon · Sep 21, 2003

Bird:

How you look still makes a difference today. Remember a few years ago when I walked into the backcountry section of a sports shop in Banff several of the young staffers kinda deciding on who's turn it was go waste their time on the older fellows questions.

Turns out the old fellow walked out with the latest and lightest of mountainering ski's, bindings and boots. Knew how to use them too.

Egon

TresCrows · Sep 21, 2003

Well unfortunately looks do count much of the time, always have, let's see, several old sayings come to mind, "You can tell a lot about a man from his shoes" and "a suit makes a man" etc. Nowadays cars, watches and cloths do make impressions. Me, I was never into impressions. I suspect some of those crusty old farmers are quiet wealthy.
You know, I find myself often judging people, especially other men, by their handshake and eye contact. If they won't look at me or they have soft "girly" hands I am immediantly suspicious of them, I know that is wrong cuz they may just be shy and use lot's of hand lotion or something. One thing I learned from my grandfather and I observe it always when I am with associates, do they treat waitresses, waiters, service personal, underlings with disdain and rudeness and then turn to you you/me and then smile and are all nice acting? Yeah, well then those are people to be avoided and like the dealer mentioned who treated junkman with disdain, best avoid them as well. J

NewTexan · Sep 21, 2003

Way off subject.

A short true story about old men.
I year or so ago my dad (now 78) asked me to go drink coffee with his moring coffee drinking buddies. I could not decline since he very seldom asks for me to do anything for him. We made it down to a little coffee shop that most people would never be able to find and enjoyed about an hour of conversation with 5 old guys dressed from kaki pants to overall's. There were several names in the group that I recognized from when I was growing up but all in all I did not know them and for about an hour I got to be one of them. I really enjoyed the conversation and the stories about back when. When we left the coffee shop and headed towards my truck my dad said "Say would you believe that everyone at that table this moring was a millionaire or better" I told him I hadn't given it much thought but they all seemed nice enough and plain and simple folk. He said they were all millionaires from hard work and hard lives. The last question I got to ask on the subject was " Did you include yourself in your original statement?" He grinned and told me to get in the truck. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Bottom Line: The richest man I have ever met climed out of a 10 year old Lincoln, One jean leg stuck in the top of his boot and his shirt tail hangin out. He could have bought and sold most of Oklahoma without ever battin an eye.

NIXON · Sep 23, 2003

When I made my decision as to make and model , I went to the two dealerships that handle that brand . ( Kubota )
I went in at the end of the workday . Naturally I wasn't very presentable as I build Pole buildings . The closest dealership recieved me about as well as getting news of the Plague /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
The dealer i went with just talked tractor and price . The salesman gave me a tour of the shop .
The first dealer looked at me as if to say " you're embarassing us . " The salesman at the other dealership looked at me and just said " Hard Day , ??? "
The guy I went with isn't a polished as some salesman are . He tends to say what's on his mind at the time . And He's young . But He's Been straight up with me . That goes a long way . I have every confidence that if something goes wrong , He'll do his best to rectify matters . John