Ok How do I begin to tell the story of Me, the Lexus salesman and the emergence of my inner bitch? Sing this line as in the theme from Love Story, (LOL).
Let me set the stage.
My car ( a Lexus) was not behaving well and I took it in this morning for a quick once over. I did not have an appointment. I inquired at the sales desk as to who could help me. As I was speaking, an employee ( don’t know what he was as he did not introduce himself or tell me his name), walked by. He said that he would take a look.
I asked him if he wanted the keys. He did not respond, instead he said ” open the trunk.” I opened the truck and he fiddled around. He closed the trunk and went into the interior of the car and fiddled some more. At this point I sat on a bench at observed. He then held out his hand and I imagined that he meant ” give me the keys” so I gave him the keys. PLEASE note that about 7 minutes have passed and still not a single word spoken to me.
He took the keys and sat in the driver seat, turned on the car and showed that the issue was fixed.
He exited the car and was giving back the keys and I asked ” What was the problem?” He explained the problem and reached into his pocket and extracted what looked like his wallet. He ( with head bent looking at his wallet, not at me) said ” Your salesperson is no longer here so here is…” and he began to extract his card.
If I were you, dear reader, I would be asking
“How does he know Indrani’s sales person?”
“Does he know Indrani?”
Glad you asked, because those were my internal questions exactly.
I stopped him from retrieving the card and said ” I want to speak to the manager, because I would like a female sales person.”
He kept out the wallet and said
” I have been here for 10 years and I can very capable. Would it help if I spoke in a high pitched voice?”
Dear reader, you have read this correctly. I was taken aback for about 30 seconds and then I decided to explain what had transpired over the last 15 minutes or so.
I said ” You have not told me your name, you did not answer me when I asked you a question and you never shook my hand”
He then TURNED HIS BACK IN A HUFF and walked away saying “I DON’T NEED TO DEAL WITH YOU”
AND THAT’S WHEN SHE APPEARED, THE NY BITCH!!!…
I then ( in a raised voice) said ” This is exactly why I want a female sales person”
I followed him into the dealership, he walked away, I stopped at the desk to ask for a manager. The receptionist took me to the sales manager and the huffy salesman was there telling his story, ” she said that I…” and I walked on in.
I walked right up to the managers’ desk and raised my voice over Mr Huffy and said ” Yes, this is the SHE and I will also tell you what happened”.
The manager listened and was delightful. He could not believe that Mr Huffy had asked if he could use a ‘high pitched’ voice. I wondered to the manager if he ( Mr Huffy) also wanted to grow breasts. We both howled out loud at my musing.
Ok, so are you divided on how to take this? Do you think I made a mountain out of a mole hill?
Here is my breakdown:
Mr Huffy, even though he helped me fix my problem, never created the beginning of a relationship. He did not introduce himself even after he had fixed the car and had already stepped into the helper role. The business of sales is to create relationships. He had a perfect platform to do so and instead he treated himself like a non professional.
He clearly expected me to just take his card and give my undying devotion ( I have owned Lexus cars for the past 12 years).
He was disparaging to the way he thinks women speak, as in high pitched voice, even as he knew I wanted to deal with a female. Therefore he was insulting to me!
He could not listen to me as I told him about the manner the past few minutes had transpired, and he very rudely turned his back and walked away as though he could dismiss me.
Here is my unshakable truth:
I expect to give respect and to get respect from each person I encounter.
If someone wants my business ( read money) I expect that person to look me in the eye, introduce himselfherself and ask my name. I expect to create something that is unique before they expect to receive money from me.
If I want to be dismissed, I could get that from my own family, I certainly don’t need to seek it from strangers.
Whether you agree with me or not, I urge you to STAND FOR YOU RIGHTS AND CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT that supports your right to be respected and not dismissed.
Let me know what you think.
love and light
Indrani
