In a post titled, "Car salesman talks himself out of a sale," which racked up over six thousand upvotes, u/senadi1 detailed how he and his wife had done thorough research before scheduling appointments at both a Kia and a Ford dealership. Their experience at Kia went smoothly, leaving them optimistic as they headed to Ford, where they actually preferred the cars. Unfortunately, things took an unexpected turn when they encountered a salesperson who didn't seem to take them seriously.
Salesman who refused to sell car to couple thinking they were too poor gets taught lesson
The salesman judged the couple by their age and thought they did not have the money to buy a car.
Salespeople, especially those in high-end stores, can sometimes be too quick to judge customers based on appearances—a habit that often backfires. Just ask Reddit user u/senadi1, who shared a story about a car salesperson who missed out on a sale by doing just that.
"We both had well-paying and stable jobs and, additionally, had the support of a low-interest loan from our parents to fund a purchase. We did our research extensively and decided that there were two options for us: a Ford Mondeo or a Kia Ceed with our preference for the Mondeo. We’d worked out all the financials, we could afford both (secondhand). At this point, we found our local dealerships and booked appointments with both to test drive the cars so we could make a final decision," they shared.
Here's how the Ford meeting went: "[We] were met by John the salesman. John was an old white salesman who had clearly been selling cars for years and he had clearly made a snap decision about the young couple in front of him." John sat them down and inquired about their budget, which they gladly shared. However, the salesperson did not appear to believe their response and insisted on knowing their salaries, as well as other financial information.
The couple told John that they didn't want to share their personal information and only asked to test drive the car, which the salesman then refused. He wouldn't even let the clients see the interiors of the car because they were, according to him, "not serious buyers."
"We left and walked back into the Kia dealership and bought the car we test-drove earlier and were very happy with it, keeping it for the next 6 years!" the user added, sharing that this discrimination was not based on race since John and the couple were white.
However, the Reddit user explained how they had the last laugh. "This wasn't enough for me though! I took a picture of the Kia and sent it to the manager of the Ford branch to say that we had bought the Kia because of the actions of John. The reply from the manager was surprising. He replied that he was devastated because their margins were so tight and explained that John would receive a reprimand for losing them money. Moral of the story: Don’t judge a book by its cover!"
People in the comments section could relate to the incident very well. "Had a salesperson ignore my wife when we bought an extended cab pickup in 1993. Another focused on highlighting the mirror on the visor on the passenger side. 3rd dealer was great. Idiots at the 1st and 2nd dealers didn’t realize my wife would be the primary driver," shared u/Fast_Fee517.
"This happens to my wife and I frequently, not just with cars but any large purchases. We've both been working for 40-plus years at well-paying jobs. We are comfortable in jeans and T-shirts. We pull up in a 91 square-body GMC and salespeople run in the other direction. We laugh about it now but it took some time to figure out what was going on," u/ohmaint chimed in.
This article originally appeared 1 year ago.
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