Rudest dealer ever

cdlaine wrote:
Mike,

I have a tale that absolutely does not relate...but does....

Years ago the Princess and I were in the market for a new
SUV... being young and naïve we stopped in at a local Scottsdale
Mercedes Benz dealer... were led into the Manager's mahoghany lined office
(should had been a clue), were offered coffee in China cups,
and seated at a huge leather topped desk in over-stuffed leather chairs.
(smaller then the Managers... and lower.). After more then appropriate delay
the Manager (God) arrived (suit,tie,Rolex,humidor). Polite enough, but it was
clear we were out of our element... when I tried to price offer ...was met with a terse...
"we don't haggle". And, the interaction promptly (uncomfortably for us)ended.
Wife and I drove home in silence... appropriately embarrassed. Now that we can
afford their gilded offerings we have never returned ...remembering how we were made to feel.

morale to the story... wrong place , wrong time. But worth remembering. We have
voted with our wallets and choose not to give them our business...ever.

Doesn't effect them in the least, but makes us feel better.

I suggest you do the same.

Charles

What is wrong with any person or business having nice things? I have almost all of the things you mentioned that the dealer had, sans a humidor, since I don't smoke. I wear the watch frequently, prefer to drink my coffee from a real coffee cup instead of Styrofoam (better for the environment too) and the suit goes on when the situation calls for it. Would it make my business any more attractive if all I had was ratty t-shirts, mis-matched socks, a trash can full of paper coffee cups and judged the time of day by looking at the sun? If a person's wardrobe or a business's furniture and fixtures can intimidate you out of making a purchase the problem probably resides in the mirror.
As for not negotiating, one of the biggest complaints you see with automobile dealers and RV dealers and Boat dealers is that you have to negotiate to get the best price. In your example, the dealer holds firm to their pricing, no haggling necessary and now that is a problem. Not sure it is possible to have both fair pricing and a horse trading environment.