boat show salesman again

[Guest]

I met a chap on hol last week. All of us were in this hotel by the sea with loads of sailing boats. I confessed to one or two people that i was a closet motoboatie. Some others admittted the same, and also just here for rum punches and sunshine and only racing the kids if they are rubbish at dinghy sailing.

One chap described how he'd bought his Sunseeker 36 last year, at the boat show. He'd visitied the Fairline stand first of all. They wanted a day cruiser from their home in Poole. Some years earlier, this chap used to be world champion offshore powerboat racer, but packed it in with kids etc. He's in old crummy clothers at the boat show. The salesman spouts forth without asking questions first: "It's great boat, but safety is important" says the salesman. "Trust me - you'll definitely need some lessons before using this boat at sea". "Trust me," says the potential buyer "I won't".

At the sunseeker stand, one of them recognises him, and took him to the sales manager. "This chap knows more about powerboats than all the salespeople on the stand ever will. See if you can answer his questions and he might buy a boat". And he did.

 

[Guest]

Sorry Matt, but what is your point?

 

[Guest]

Re: How To Win Friends And Influence People

There was an earlier posting about he subject. The boat show starts today. This is a boat forum. I met the chap recently. And it's a moderatley interesting/amusing story illustrating how dramatically the buying experience influences the choice of boat - and hence often the next few boats too.

But postings don't have a "point", do they? They can just be interesting on their own, requiring no response at all - it isn't (always) a "Gardeners Question Time". Not sure that the response of "what exactly is your point?" is the best way to roll encourage a diversity of inputs, will it?

Anyway, praps you can tell us why on earth you were made redundant recently. Or shall we just guess?

 

[ToMo]

Re: How To Win Friends And Influence People

Oooh Matts, OUCH!......was the holiday all it was cracked up to be? or maybe you should be off to Paris now!
<G>
TôMö

 

[Guest]

Re: How To Win Friends And Influence People

I missed the earlier postings.

So there was a point after all. You see, I thought it could also have been about a has-been superstar p****d off at lack of recognition type of story.

But I wasn’t sure

So I thought I would ask

And got an explanation - thanks

And a personal attack…..

No thanks.


<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by nipper on Sat Jan 5 16:02:58 2002 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[DepSol]

I see your point Matts I had a freind whose Dad was a coal delivery man but owned a very large business in Surrey which had 8 delivery trucks and a yard.

As he built the business from scratch he used to still do deliveries. One day after his round Dave stopped outside a Jaguar agency and walked in. Eventually a salesman asked if he could help and Dave said that he would like to test drive this car. The salesman said 'I don't thinks so sir!' so Dave apologised and said I'll wash my hands and take my overalls off. the salesman retorted 'sorry sir I dont want to waste my time with someone who obviously would find it difficult to afford a car like this' so Dave storms out of the showroom jumps into his truk and does a u turn in the middle of th road and parks next to the Mercedes dealer opposite. He then leaves 5 mins later in a brad new Merc for a test drive comes back and buys it.

He then does another uturn in the Merc parks outside the Jag showroom minus overalls and walks up to the salesman and ushers him out to see his new cr plus the salesman over the road who just sold it to im is waving a cheque in the air with a big grin on his face. He then pulls out a roll of cash, about £1200 flicks down to the tenners and gives the salesman a tenner and says 'here mate get youself a decent haircut' and drives off in his new merc.

I think the whole moral of the story is just cos someone doesn't look the part doesn't mean they cant afford it or don't know what they are talking about.

Similar thing recently with some guy asking Matt why, if he has all this money is he mucking about on this forum, WHY NOT!

 

[Guest]

Re: Scruffy billionaires

Well said.

I met some monstrously rich people on holiday. They are ordinary really. They complain at bar prices, and of being overcharged the wrong amount, just like anyone would do, cos even if it's 10p, it's the principle.

I do wonder what on earth boat salespeople think that the ideal Rich Punter should look like. A dealer confessed that they'd have a stupidly large leather or cashmere coat, a large cigar, a large age gap between themselves and the woman (if any) that they are with. They smoke the cigar all over the carpet whilst offering to replace the carpet. I got some cheap cuban cigars at the caribbee, so will test this theory this afternoon, sans Mrs S, at LBS and report back of any findings.

 

[kimhollamby]

Re: How To Win Friends And Influence People

Yellow card Matt....unnecessary!

Associate Publisher ybw.com websites kim_hollamby@ipcmedia.com

 

[Guest]

Re: sorry ref

"what exactly is your point?" seemed to read rather badly. I must have been in a bad mood. Sorry, TrevorH.

In fact, I was in a bad mood after writing a lightly-stinky letter to sunsail about their crap beach club with flies in the bar and dogs roaming around on the beach. I told the General managar about the dogs and he said if I could alert him and point them out, he'd get them thrown out. So I toldim that they'd be the ones with four legs and a tail.

Sorry again.

 

[Guest]

Re: sorry ref

No sweat, mind you if I had written 'exactly' I might have read it the wrong way also.

The real point, not my facetious (I failed English so could be wrong word?) one made in anger, is that no one wins.

The salesman is left to upset someone else because he/she is an unimaginative twerp and fails to see what he or she is doing wrong, so the next punter suffers. The guy who voted with his feet, along with all the other subsequent punters, may end up with an inferior product because it was easier to walk and they didn't look for an alternative source for the same product. The company the salesman works for loses one/several/loads of sales, & goes down the tubes despite the fact that the rest of the company may be flogging their collective guts out (this will answer, in part, your question about redundancy - Oh, & I am NOT the salesman).

The above may be a bit extreme but attack it differently. The punter says politely, and more importantly -quietly, so the salesman has to shut up to listen "Excuse me but I find your assumption/attitude/indifference insulting. Please pass me on to another member of sales or your manager....." If one person does it, the salesperson will probably think 'tosser'. If it happens a few times then they might get the message and learn the error of their ways, or the company will become aware and sort it themselves. The punter then learns that this company will deal properly with any problems/complaints raised and that is surely a lesson best learned before you pay your money to anyone. Subsequent prospects will get better treatment and the employees’ jobs may be a bit more secure (this pre supposes the product is not crap). Finally, the original punter gets the satisfaction of knowing that he did his bit for his fellow - in this case - boater.

Yes I know it sounds a bit of a fairy tale, but it works.

Hope you enjoy the boat show, I went yesterday and I'd like to compare notes.

 

[ROSSCO]

Re: sorry ref

Which Sunsail Beach Club was that then?

 

[ArthurWood]

Re: Be nice, Matt NM

.

 

[ArthurWood]

Re: MattS

"Similar thing recently with some guy asking Matt why, if he has all this money is he mucking about on this forum, WHY NOT!" Possibly because no-one else will talk to him ( just kidding, Matt)

 

[andyball]

Re. assumptions

" you're not interested in buying a boat, are you "

A sort of rhetorical question / statement from the salesman at Powercraft world when my wife and I looked round last year.

We were, and said as much, but after waiting 6 weeks for a "sea trial" of 1/2 mile(!) on a boat that was on a trailer 200yds from the slipway, and then they'd lost the keys and had some bare wires poking out from the outboard....and even then we said "yes,nice boat, what's the price with a fourstroke?"......we never heard from them again.

I had the impression we needed a large 4x4 or BMW to get any interest from them at all.

 

[Guest]

Re: Salesmen generally

Nice to talk again Matt - I've not been around for a bit but your tale reminds me on a personal experience. I was asked by my firm to take over as managing partner in the North of England some years ago and I was looking for the nice bits around Manchester in which to buy a house. My wife is one of those disgustingly nice people who would'nt offend a fly (this is essential background info).

Anyway, we had been at a do in Lincoln on Friday night and drove back to Manchester intending to do a bit of house hunting that weekend. We drove at random into a new estate and thought we did'nt like it much but as we were there, we would look anyway. We were dressed in jeans and teeshirts and walked into the showhouse where we were confronted by a matronly blue rinse lady who was with another potential buyer. She looked us up and down and said "this is an executive estate you know!" Well, if we had wanted one of these houses, she would not have stopped us so we looked around on our own. We definitely did not like it - too small, too close to the adjacent houses, no view (does anywhere around Manchester have a view?)

Anyway we are leaving, by which time Mrs Blue Rinse has spotted that we had arrived in a car which was probably equivalent to several years of her salary and had decided that maybe we were worth an effort. We are stood on the front door step and the house was on a slight rise, at the bottom of which there was a canal with a basin and a pub/restuarant overlooking the basin. There are some pontoons in the basin.

"Do you like boats?" she asks. "Yes" I reply. "If you buy one of these houses you get free use of one of the pontoons" Before I can say a word my normally docile wife says "Sorry, no use, our boat is much to large for that" and we walk off to the car. I was proud of her that day!

Nick

 

[hlb]

Re: Salesmen generally

Where the hell have you been Nick. You've not been locked up for funny accounting have you?

I have the same problem when looking for cars or houses.
Always seem to get the inspiration just in the middle of a building job, or mucking out shed.

I was once looking at a new jeep. The sales man asked what I wanted for my present Trooper. I said that I did'nt know what it was worth. He then proceeded to call me all the names under the sun and tell me what a fool I was for not knowing. Well I was foolish. To foolish to buy his Jeep.

Haydn

 

[jfm]

Re the guy was Pauline

Depsol, you said "Similar thing recently with some guy asking Matt why, if he has all this money is he mucking about on this forum, WHY NOT!"

It wasn't a guy, it was Pauline, wasn't it, tho she hasn't confessed yet......right?

 

[JohnR]

I asked the same question of the man who is selling me the 64 - and in essence his reply was "today's time waster could be tomorrow's customer, so I treat them all as if they are my most important customer"

 

[DepSol]

Re: Re the guy was Pauline

Dodn't realise it was Mrs B in disguise. Does she also dress up as a bloke and wear a false tache?

 

[lanason]

Similar situation when I was a kid - Dad asked me to call into our local Luxury car dealer and get a stock list. Parked up outside in a Vauxhall Viva (yes I know what I just wrote) - Tee shirt, jeans, 20 something - went in looking round - I was "watched" by the Salesman - but not approached until I opened a door and sat in - Creep then came over and told me to be careful as the cars were expensive !!! He then suggested that I leave.
I then asked him for a "Stock List" - which he showed no interest in getting for me.
Until I said my Dad already owned one and wanted to upgrade.