In the dealership, Mrs. Miller is nearing the end of her negotiations with her salesman. He organizes some paperwork to hand to her and says, “Congratulations on your new car, Mrs. Miller.”
“Oh, thank you!” she responds. “I’m so excited.”
“Is there anything else I can get for you today?”
Mrs. Miller thinks for a second. “You know what? How about a spoiler?”
Dread passes over the salesman’s face; the word “spoiler” echoes in his head. This was the last thing he wanted to hear. “A spoiler?” he asks.
Mrs. Miller nods, smiling.
“Do you know how hard it is to get a spoiler around here?”
A little taken aback, Mrs. Miller shakes her head no.
The salesman continues, “First I’m going to have to call parts. They put me on hold every time. Eventually, they tell me the spoiler’s going to be $399. Then, they’ll transfer me to service.”
“If Chuck answers, it’ll probably only be $100 in labor. But if Matt answers, it could be $200 in labor, plus! I’ll just quote you around $800 for your spoiler.”
Mrs. Miller is completely shocked by that amount.
“Once they get the part in, you’ll drive all the way here, just for the parts department to tell me it’s the wrong color. You just missed little Suzy’s soccer game, and she’s upset.”
“And do you know what happens to my commission?” the salesman asks, getting more agitated. Mrs. Miller looks a little worried and says no.
“It goes flying out the window! You’ll come back to get your car,” he continues, in a mocking tone, “and you and little Suzy will be on your merry little way.”
“Meanwhile,” the salesman starts to talk in a matter-of-fact tone with his chest puffed out, “my dealer’s lookin’ over the books and says, ‘Who authorized this spoiler? That was supposed to be four hours, instead of two!’ ”
The salesman stands up and leans over the counter. Mrs. Miller recoils with fear in her eyes. “Well guess what?” he says. He points to himself, “I’m upset too. Who’s going to pay for it? Me!” Mrs. Miller fearfully nods her head. “It’s all your fault because you wanted a little spoiler on your car!” Mrs. Miller looks around for help.
The salesman is sitting in his chair with a blank expression on his face. He had imagined the entire interaction. Mrs. Miller is still sitting across from him, smiling cheerfully.
He smiles and pulls out a business card. “Why don’t you go see my friend, Bob? They do all our accessories work.”
Mrs. Miller nods. “Great! I’ll do that. Thank you so much!”
They shake hands and close the deal.
Rethink accessories selling with AddOnAuto from Reynolds and Reynolds.
