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The Joy Of Sales People
Blog Date - 24 September 2012
The Joy Of Sales People
I have been considering the possibility of purchasing a different bike. Maybe a brand new one, maybe a second hand one. I am however a miser, I hate to spend my own money so it's going to take something quite special to pry the cash out of my hermetically sealed wallet. My search has placed me in the path of several sales staff, which has lead to some interesting experiences.
Will your experience within a bike shop be a positive or negative one?
In my humble opinion a sales person should be there to assist a potential customer with any questions and queries they may have. I accept it is in the interest of the business to "encourage" your purchase rather than merely answer questions correctly. I am no salesman myself, not by a long shot, but I do understand people buy from those they know, like and trust. I prefer the sales person to build a relationship with me, take the time to listen to what makes me tick and what I want which then places them in a position to offer goods that I may actually purchase and be happy with.
One salesman decided he knew what was best for me. I'd arrived at the shop on my dirty old 125, wearing my dull and faded jacket. I was looking at the mid range motorcycles so he calculated I was looking for my first big machine after recently passing my test. I inquired about the fuel consumption of a particular machine, he gave me an enthusiastic lecture about how motorcycling is about power, performance, style and fun, I really should not concern myself with such irrelevance as the cost of fuel. Anyhow, how many miles was I planning to do, not so many, surely!
I pointed out I do 15,000 miles per annum between my 2 bikes. During the rest of the conversation I took great pleasure in finding excuses to mention my 22 years of riding experience as well as my 5 years as a motorcycle instructor and 3 years as a dispatch rider. It was all rather immature of me, I should have just walked out the shop but my ego got the better of me. My experience did not leave me with a positive impression of the salesman or the shop.
On the other hand at another shop the salesman took the time to listen. Because he listened he soon worked out that things like fuel consumption and long distance comfort are important to me, not hyper performance or wheelies. What impressed me more was that I did not part with cash but he still greeted me warmly when next our paths crossed. I have still not parted with cash, but as and when I finally open my wallet it's much more likely to be with this shop than another. I'm also more likely to recommend this shop to my friends who do spend.
Some shop staff are clueless. I'm in the market for a small tank bag, something for the phone and the camera. In one shop I enquired about the cost of such a bag, I was told by the feckless youth "About £70, I think". I took my phone and checked the store chain's website. The bag was listed at £37.99. I pushed him for a definitive price, it took him and another disinterested youth 15 minutes to agree "about £39.99". The store manager was unavailable, she was out for the day.
The experience a potential customer has in a shop must greatly influence whether or not they purchase. Price is always an important factor too but as most prices these days are fairly similar then a shop can stand out from the crowd by providing outstanding service.
Reader's Comments
Tom McQ said :-
Ren, please don't buy a small tankbag for ur cam and fone - I have one here u can have.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Tom McQ said :-
Sales & Service - Never The Twain Shall Meet!
Call me a whinging old git, but as far as I'm concerned, all the emphasis is on selling you something, not on being of service to you. In fact, they're not even good at selling!! I used to be a salesman and I shake my head at the pathetic efforts of today's salesmen (oops, I mean salespersons).
In 2006 a friend and I went into ESB in Bolton (yes I'll name and shame) to buy a new bike each. I wanted the new CBF1000 and my mate wanted a VTX1800. There were 2 salesmen sat at a desk chatting away about football. I tried to catch their attention but they were engrossed in the footie talk. Eventually I went over and interrupted them. They scoffed and told me I had no chance of getting one. I walked over to my mate who was sat on a VTX1800 and the salesmen carried on chatting.
We drive over to Wyda Honda and I bought a CBF there and then and my mate bought a VTX. Your loss, ESB!!
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
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