Ah! Salesman. They're a unique breed. Always over-friendly, smiley and will bend over backwards to help prise money out of your wallet.
Some are cheap, tacky and smell oddly of camomile tea, whereas others are more geniune in their approach to help.
If you follow me on twitter you'll know that recently i've had a few car issues. I was naive enough to buy a car privately, and what I thought was a really good deal ended up being a total nightmare!
I turned to a local car dealer to "quote me happy" and found the perfect car. A VW Golf 1.6 FSI. Lovely! The salesman was considerably older than myself (an observation probably not helped by the caterpillar on his top lip) but friendly. He wasn't pushy, but did make me aware of all the options I had on the car, and the experience was actually quite pleasant.
After being chauffeured through the paperwork like a member of upper-class Britain, he then led me to the Silver Fox (as conned by a fellow tweeter @mrqwest) to wish me on my way. But not before absolutely murdering the experience...
Having not had a typical sales experience throughout the whole process, this lovely chap absolutely obliterated any chance of me wanting to recommend him. How, you might ask, did it go so wrong?
Up to the point of going to the car, I was riding a bubble of sales experience. It was nice; a floaty sensation that just went like clockwork. Until...
"Enjoy the car Mr Thompson, and remember, when your friends get in and enjoy the car, remember to tell them where you got it, and more importantly who you got it from".
He continued...
"It's a competitive market this, and if you've liked the service, be sure to recommend me. Not only that, for every car sold through your recommendation, i'll give you £50".
Murdered.
Shattered.
Cold.
The whole experience ruined by piling his entire repertoire of old-school selling into about 30 seconds of dialogue.
I felt cold and just wanted to flee the scene like I had accidentally bumped a supermarket trolley into my head teacher's car.
He had managed to turn what was a really pleasant, softy-softy sales experience into a cold-hearted "give me more leads" demand.
Needless to say, he's lost out on the recommendation, as it was quite off-putting how he suddenly flipped.
Is this experience common? Let me know your thoughts below!