Speaking of Salesmen . . .

Since I brought it up, this seems as good a place as any to give you my take on salesmen who tell customers, “I am not making a dime on this sale.”

Bull feathers. That is the most ridiculous statement a salesman can make. Another car story close to home: I was doing some research on buying a new vehicle. (This time I ended up with a Chevy Silverado 2500 HD, but that’s another story.) One dealership I decided to browse in was a nice, comfortable setting to spend $30,000; free coffee, soft music in the background, very relaxed atmosphere. A young salesman approached me and asked if he could help. I did my usual routine: Told him exactly what I wanted and let him know that he had a very short time to give me the best deal of my life and I would walk out with a new truck and he would walk out with a commission, blah-blah-blah.

So far so good. This guy started using his calculator at 100 mph, then leaned back in his chair and became real sullen. He lowered his voice a few levels and said, “I really should not do this, but I am going to give you the truck for $200 over what you said was your bottom line.”

I looked at him and said, “Really? Do you think that’s a good deal?”

His voice became even lower. I thought the guy was going to cry. “Yes, it is a great deal. I’m not making a dime off of this sale.”

I just started laughing. End of negotiation, end of sale, end of story.

Let’s face it: If you can find someone who’ll spend all day away from his family and sit in a car dealership and not make any money, I want him to come work for me. My house needs painting, and I don’t feel like paying very much.