Sailing Snobbery

In my youth I confess I tried my hand at selling cars for an Austin/Morris/Landrover main dealer near Lichfield. One Sat mid morn I was in the sales office when this rather rotund older gent wandered into the show room. I kid you not his trousers were held up with a length of bailing twine. His boots had no laces and his flat cap looked like somthing you would find in a field full of cows. None of the other "experienced" salesmen made any move so I joined the old chap as he stood next to a new SWB Landrover. "Ah much is that there lad?" (I think the price was about 1400 quid at the time) "cud yer knock owt off fer cash" Terribly sorry sir but I dont have that authority. Back in a tic. Sales manager said I was wasting my time but to ammuse him offer to forgoe dealer prep and delivery charges as it was a cancelled order we had sitting there. Upon my return to the customer who was now esconced in the cab I informed him of the figures and he produced a wad of white ten pound notes that would choke a horse."Ok lad let's do it. Salt off the earth those old time farmers were.
 
I agree with what you say Birdseye, they have to use some sort of filter to sort those who can afford from those who cannot, else they would be inundated by gawkers and find themselves in the free entertainment business.

If one wants attention one just has to dress and act the part and advise your intentions (Like "I am in the market for a boat", "I am not currently in the market for a boat but I want to stay in touch with your new models as I will be buying in the future."). Most often, the guy in the singlet and old jeans, driving a beat up bomb does not have a spare million or two and will get the bum's rush.

Remember discussing similar to this with a custom boat builder some years ago - he reckoned over 95% of people who came in the door asking about getting a boat built had no comprehension of how much it cost. Some apparantly lacked so much comprehension of that, that they went ahead anyway and ran out of money during the build leaving the builder with a part built boat to dispose of.

Unless one is really just in the free entertainment business then one needs some way of filtering out those who can and are likely to buy, from those who cannot or are unlikely to buy. If you must wear tired/overly casual clothes, at least wear your Rolex and drive up in a new Merc or whatever.

John
 
Just reading my way through the log - excellent reading

Have to say the website design is excellent - reading the log on dialup connection, and it's blisteringly fast - as only the text for each page updates, not the whole page. Excellent, and just the way sites should be designed.

Quite like the Flash photo gallery, but that's not quite as good, as would prefer a set of thumbnails, and just look at the pictures interested in rather than having to scroll through one at a time
 
Do you realize that if he had large amounts of cash, he was not declaring income for tax purposes meaning that you and I had to pay more....? The rotter...!! << Salt off the earth >> harummph

The white notes were fivers were they not?

John
 
[ QUOTE ]
I agree with what you say Birdseye, they have to use some sort of filter to sort those who can afford from those who cannot, else they would be inundated by gawkers and find themselves in the free entertainment business.



[/ QUOTE ]
I used to do a lot of photography of showhouses for builders like Barratt.
The sales people referred to the gawpers as "carpet treaders".
"All they do is come in here and wear out the carpets." they would say. Unfornatunately in house sales it's very hard to weed out the messers. Some would get right through the buying process until they got to a point at which cheque books were required before slinking off, never to be seen again.
 
When I first arrived in France back, flush my expat bonus from Africa, I needed a car. To go round the various showrooms, I decided to rent a Solex (the mobylette thing with the engine on the front wheel). Dressed in my best jeans I saw a lovely Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé. Naïvely I asked the salesman if I could take a test drive. He replied that if I guaranteed that I would buy it, I could..... "Er what does "test drive" mean then?"

I went round the corner and bought a nearly new (2000 miles) 504 which was really a much more sensible car for the family.

John
 
Re: Not just sailing...

In any area of life.

Say you don't want to be a scruff anymore. I doubt that the average employee of a "designer" emporium would make you feel comfortable.

A night in a fivestar hotel. Ditto.

Buying a Mercedes. There it is again.

Sailing is snobbery central because of it's very loose structure. Anyone with even a small snobby bone, or a reverse one, abhores loose structures. They like hierarchies. Then you know where everyone fits in. Snobs are detail men. They know which sailing club is worthy, what boat out ranks another and what Sir Golden Nuts sails.

Most snobs and reverse snobs have no links to the aristo's or the working classes. They are wanabee's.

I'd be a snob, and lord knows I've humble roots, if I could be bothered with doing the homework.
 
I an certain your memory is better than mine re. fivers. However, it's not fair to accuse a chap of tax evasion just because he pays cash. Maybe he had just sold a bunch of cows at Litchfield market?
 
Cos I can't get broadband! Stuck out in rural sticks, so no cable, and too far from exchange (on nasty crackly overhead tel lines). Did think when they Tele2 put up a microwave mast that my problems might be solved, but no line of sight
 
Re: Not just sailing...

This reminds me of something my girlfriend was telling me:

She was talking to a girl who had studied at Cheltenham Ladies College. This girl was the daughter of a v rich Bahrani oil tycoon or something but wasn't the slightest bit snobbish. The girl explained that the snobs were those whose parents were middle class. It seems they felt the need to associate themselves with the real rich kids.
 
Re:Snobbery is everywhere

A story in the local press amused me. A tramp took up residence in some woods next to the golf club.No problem there until he was spotted with an old set of clubs playing a few holes early in the morning. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

not sure how they dealt with it,like to think he wasc given honorary membership for crack of dawn golf only,I doubt it somehow.

I remember as a young soldier we would go out in a group of 6 or 8 to local restaurants on a quiet night.On the way we would spot the local tramp and invite him to join us for a few drinks and a slap up meal.a couple of empty seats around him were needed.

Restaurant owner in a dillemma ,turn away one tramp =lose 8 hungry /thirsty diners on a quiet night. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
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