[Sebring]

I asked to Test drive the Diesel XUV 700, they handed me the keys to the Petrol model. When I looked at them quizzically, they say 'It's all the same, Sir'. This happened a lot with me. Best SA I met was at VW Palace Road, he really knew his stuff and I hope he is still around.

[GeeTee TSI]

Although my experience has been with mass market brands and I agree with the general sentiments in this thread, I wonder how is the experience at the premium end of the market, given margins are high and customer profile quite homogenous (as I assume)

[rsjagtap]

When anyone mentions their experience of purchasing a new car I think 30% effort and energy just goes in aligning yourself with the SA. The cat and mouse game, customers requirements vs. SA's targets. IT IS EXHAUSTING!

I purchased my Creta 1.6 E+ Diesel in Jan 2020. Not oblivious to such SAs I asked him a simple question about what 16V means that's written on the engine, and the SA said its similar to V6, V8, V12 and such is derived a V16.

I did not ask anything else and just took the delivery. I did not have any energy left to talk to them at that point.

[VER_10]

The perennial problem with dealership staffs usually is attrition. The staff don't stick with the company for a long time. The company gives lots of training for the sales and service staff on a new product- Key features, talk points etc. Then they leave. I have heard many from my region go abroad (Middle East) for better opportunities. The new guy needs to learn from his colleagues and on the job may be.

[Emvi]

Originally Posted by Thilak29

Opinion : I felt, we in our day jobs too may not be as thorough as expected, same is the case for them possibly! They’re in those roles helping keep meals on the table for their family. Find a job you love doing and you don’t have to work a day in your life, wish at least few of SA had bit of inclination towards world of automotive.

I second your opinion. I have rarely come across a sales advisor/service advisor who is passionate about his/her job. As rightly cited by you, if not all, most of them take up this career just because the circumstances force them to.

If you are passionate about what you do, the job becomes that much easier, and it does reflect on the result. Edd China and Mike Brewer of Discovery channel's "Wheeler Dealers" fame are two of the many such good examples.

[Raghu M]

I had my fair share too. BUT, I chose to ignore. Let's say for example, you want to buy a new house. You like the plan, the interiors, the locality and the pricing. Will you not buy because the sales representative was not cordial enough or did not share information correctly? I would still go ahead and buy if it ticks all the boxes and I have information through a brochure or the executive's higher ups.

Sales representatives do not have formal training (proper and thorough training). Ask an executive about the torque figures of a car you are interested in buying, 99% will draw a blank face. BUT, again 99% of the customers hardly ask anything like that. They are interested in the price, FE and the music system (huge nos. ask for speaker brands and no. of speakers). So, while an executive is expected to have great information on a car he is promoting, he has information that is enough to handle 99% of the customers. The other 1% are the ones who discuss these issues on forums like this! Well, we have information that is enviable to even car manufacturers. Bottom line - we buy what convinces us. I don't think an executive can lure us to buy something which we are not sure of. At least not people from this forum!

[Livnletcarsliv]

The increase in ignorance/limited knowledge of SA's are nothing but the repercussions of 4 major factors
1. The increase in the number of graduates with disparities in their living style, economic, educational, and geographical base, and background
2. The increase in the middle-class income at the disposal
3. The increase in the number of auto brands in India
4. Technological advancements in the automotive world

The limitation is not just limited to the auto industry. This is an industry-wide/economy-wide scenario.

This knowledge sharing/gaining should be the responsibility of every part of the automotive ecosystem in India. (Individual SA, OEM, Dealer, Customer, etc).

It is not fair to expect a SA, who has never owned a car (some of the SA's never even owned a two-wheeler for that matter) to have the same knowledge as that of a car enthusiast. And it is not fair to expect a SA to be technically sound (comparing DSG vs TC, what is DSG, why Turbo's instead of NA's) when the automotive platform itself is not the same for everyone from different geographies, different economic backgrounds, etc.

So it's equally OUR responsibility to improve the knowledge of the SA's and lead them to the right path.

[vinya_jag]

Originally Posted by aargee

Basically, such things are bound in any verticals regardless of whom we deal with, it's the knowledge & experience of the person whom we deal with.

Being a BHPian, obviously our knowledge on automobiles are significantly higher than the commuter generic population in which most folks basically care for are...

Absolutely agree. I work on Mac machines for a living, what machine, which year model, how many cores, what graphics card on which model, M1 chipset, etc are at the back of my head. But when I go into an Apple showroom to buy a personal Mac, I am sure that the salesperson would sound foolish to me trying to sell something where he/ she is going to get commission.

Rarely would have sales people driven the variety of cars that we would have all driven, and their experience with cars would rather be very limited (Living with a car)

But one thing I fail to understand is, why would you let a single sales person handle a customer fully? Most car showroom these days have a lot of staff, and I am sure, there will be one person heading the showroom, who is the most knowledgeable, and one who has seen and been in Cars. Why don't these people jump in and do the selling? The end sales person should be there to assist the potential buyer with procedure, test drives, booking etc, but the selling and talking should be left to the few experts.

[vredesbyrd]

I'd say don't even bother with the sales executive if you've done your homework. Make a decision, take a test drive, book it or leave it be.

Let the sales guys handle the common folk who want the best mileage, free service, air purifiers, social media integration, ability to play bollywood videos on the infotainment screen and see virat kohli's belligerent mug while driving on the highways.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by vinya_jag

But one thing I fail to understand is, why would you let a single sales person handle a customer fully?

Because each person has their own job to handle; when they're able to do their job & a little more, they're promoted where they're uncomfortable with their new role until they're able to do their job & a little more, they're...

Like wise, a fully technical person cannot do sales, if he's able to, he'll no longer be in sales

[BrabarusMark]

For me, whether it is shopping for a car or a laptop, a well-versed salesman who knows the product well is a major factor in me buying from them.

I remember going with a friend to ask about the EcoSport. The SA there was barely interested in showing us the car and just ran through the brochure. Both of us had already read the brochure, but his lack of enthusiasm in explaining anything put us off.

The opposite happened at Honda, where the SA there managed to get us excited for the CR-V when we went in to check out the BR-V. All of that stemmed from their knowledge of the product and how much they wanted us to try their products.

I think most SAs know that the customer today has ready access to any information they need. This includes the lay-person who may not know every feature but knows the essentials. In this scenario, it comes down to the SA to flex their knowledge and highlight why their car is the better product to make that sale.

[deltasierra]

I don't know when was the last time I was able to gain any useful or sensible information from a car salesperson. The most you can expect is for them to parrot off the spec sheet.

The other thing that I have noticed is usually the salespersons for big bikes are decently knowledgeable about the product. Most of them being enthusiasts themselves.

They do provide you with good information, but for a layman, they won't shy away from making tall claims, for example - exhaust note shattering glasses, the engine making the ground tremble, etc.

[saisree]

Last Sunday, we were out to check Suzuki Ertiga for my friend at Vishnu Cars Chromepet-Chennai.

Friend - How many Airbags are there?
SA - All Suzuki's come with two Airbags and since Suzuki uses high steel, its enough to have Two Airbags.
Friend - That's nice of Suzuki
SA - Blushed and he was proud

[wadewilson]

Was reading this thread yesterday and came across this post today Apparently, a Tata Sales Executive filled the TD car (Tata Punch) with diesel and had to tow it out by flatbed. Link: Sales Executive fills Tata Punch with Diesel. This was funny to read about, that the Sales Executive who is supposed to inform the customer about the new car was himself so clueless about whether the car takes diesel or petrol

[arnav17]

Recently, my friend and (yet to be approved) BHpian hondasamarth were calling few company showrooms to enquire about cars in the 7 seater segment. I have listed below about how each company were updated about their car.

1) Tata Safari - The salesman was very updated, and answered with sureity to every question asked. Extremely polite and was quite well informed. He was proud and excited when my friend praised the sumo used by his parents.


2) Maruti Suzuki Ertiga - The salesman spoke politely but did not know about the basic features of the Ertiga! My friend asked him if it had LED headlamps, and he was unsure about it. He promised a callback within 5 min, but inspite of waiting, no one called.After us calling once more, the same person did not even know who we were . Feel that maruti suzuki needs to keep their employees informed.


3) Mahindra XUV700 : They took a while to respond, promising a callback but again, it never came. After repeatedly calling, they finally assigned an official who was well informed and knew all facts. Appreciate his patience and willingness to sell the car. Very polite and informed but could have connected little earlier.


4) Kia Carens - Very quick and informed sales officials. Answered all queries pertaining to the carens.

5) Hyundai Alcazar - Very friendly sales staff, was informed well but made a mistake when he said that the alcazar has a 4.9 Gncap rating . Overall, happy with the way he spoke.


Overall of all the brands we called, we both were particularly impressed with the way Tata Motors sales team handled the call.

Please do pen down below your experiences in showrooms