Twenty-five years ago in Kentucky I was looking at cars when a salesman, an older guy in a seersucker suit, put a patronizing hand on my arm and said, "Well now honey, why don't you come back when your husband can come with you?"
I didn't, needless to say. I bought a car elsewhere. But that was 25 years ago! In Kentucky! Surely times have changed!
Not much.
So I'm trying to buy a car. My Volvo's transmission is getting ready to fail (maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, maybe next year) and while I love my Volvo, I draw the line at putting a new transmission in a car with 258,000 miles on it. (And no cup holders.) So I have started looking for a new(er) car, a process that might take months but that starts with visits to a few car lots so I can see what's out there at what kind of price.
I intend to do some serious online searching soon, but first I wanted to get some face-time with various models, to get a good look at back seats and slam some doors to see how solid the cars feel. So I went to a used-car lot, where I got a lot of attention from a very pleasant salesperson who actually listened to what I was asking for (unlike the guy back in Kentucky, 25 years ago, who, after I told him I wanted a used minivan, showed me a new Thunderbird).
Then I went to the local Toyota dealership. Big mistake. I wandered around looking at very nice cars for a good 20 minutes, and I even told an official-looking person that I need to buy a car (in case it wasn't obvious from the rattletrap nature of my current ride), but he just smiled pleasantly and walked away. I assumed he was going inside to alert a salesperson to my needs, but no one ever came anywhere near me.
It's true that I was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and it's true that my husband didn't come with me (because this is my car I'm looking for--and besides, he's out of town), and it's true that a person who drives an 18-year-old beater might not appear to be in a position to purchase a car, but guess what? I'm still a customer.
Or I could have been if they hadn't ignored me.
2 comments:
A bunch of my colleagues and I all drive the same brand of car, in part because the dealership has a great reputation for treating women like human beings. Go figure!
I think I need to draw on the wisdom of the sisterhood...I'll ask around and find out where colleagues have had success in getting respect from car dealers.
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