Postcards from the Lake: When Salesmen Blow It

Rick and I had an interesting experience during one of our summer lake visits. It was a bit of a gloomy day -- one of those "will it rain or will it shine" sorts of days. Since we had to go the store anyway, we went into town and wandered around.

Our first (and most delightful) discovery was seeing a series of reproduction paintings that the Detroit Institute of Arts was placing in smaller communities around the state.

This is an outreach effort to both encourage people to visit the beautiful DIA (Here's another post about that spot HERE) and to enjoy some of it's remarkable collection if a visit isn't an option. This one was in front of the courthouse.

 This was another. It was rather lovely and the woman quite beautiful.

There was much detail in her face...

... but the toes could have used a little work!

The mattress on our bed is an old one, brought up from home. If I told you the original year it was purchased, you'd think me awful for not replacing it sooner. Let's just say mom was still alive -- and she died in 1977. Ultimately, it became cottage-worthy because, well, no one was sleeping on it at home!

So, as we were wandering we decided to check out a furniture store on Main Street called "Great Rooms." Looking at mattresses wasn't our reason for going there -- we were killing time till the weather decided what it would do. But as long as we were there...

The salesman we met with first, Doug, was terrific. He was just the right kind of guy for this. Friendly, knowledgeable, well dressed but not overdressed, well spoken with excellent grammar. He was funny but not inappropriately so, smart and well informed, not at all pushy. We probably tried out every mattress and he was patient (OK, it wasn't a busy day, but still...), not pushing a pricier version over a less expensive one but making sure we knew the differences. He was 64 and this was part time for him -- otherwise he worked in insurance sales.

In short, everything you could want in a sales guy.

I even told him that I really appreciated his style and way of working with us, how good he was and I was really impressed. I asked if he worked on commission (he didn't) and praised him well. We were "this close" to getting one of the mattresses but were going to talk it out.

Now, that cottage is about one mile, no more than two, from the city limits. We asked about delivery and there was a $20 difference in the delivery fee once you were out of the limits. We asked if that could be adjusted and he said he'd have to ask his boss, who was nearby.

Well, the boss came in and was quite possibly the worst asset this business could have. Not only was he unyielding on that, but it was how it was stated that was particularly jarring. He had no sense of grammar at all -- double negatives all over the place. "Don't got no idea" is not good grammar. He was wearing a printed blue t-shirt cut off to be sleeveless and jeans and looked as sloppy as all get out. And this guy was the boss?

Rick asked about how long they expected the mattress to last (remember, we've been on the current one for a long time. This one was to be just for the cottage -- and last year I spent a record 55 nights there. So, we're not talking a lot of use.)

And the guy says. Ten years. That's how long the warranty is and that's what it will last."

Now, that was dumb. Everyone knows the warranty lasts way less than the life span of anything -- electronics, car, refrigerator. There are so many better ways to state it -- "Well, the warranty is ten years, but we all know mattresses last much longer, especially if you aren't using it daily." Doesn't commit but answers nicely.

He was essentially the stereotypical bad car salesman (apologies to car salesmen, not all are this way!)

We couldn't get out of there fast enough. Essentially, this guy, through demeanor and not even considering reducing the delivery fee -- basically blowing it off and not politely -- cost his store a sale. A big sale, at least $700, maybe more, because mattresses are not inexpensive. All for $20.

I feel like finding Doug  and taking him out for coffee and saying "you are so much better than that place you work. You should find a new job that is worthy of you."

A lot of us have done sales or maybe customer service. Every client is different. But here was a case of where "the customer is always right" had most likely never been heard.

I'm glad Doug wasn't on commission.

At least this one doesn't care about the mattress!

Linking to:   Share Your Cup