[rajeevyes]

While this incident clearly brings out the judgemental nature of us humans based of pre-conceived biases/notions such as dressing sense, body-language etc, what is surprising is that how can that farmer pay entire 10 lakhs in cash? Isn't it illegal to pay more than 2 lakhs in cash? If the farmer managed to ask his friends to transfer 10 lakhs to his bank account in such short time, then its possible. But I have a doubt that would have happened.

[rsjagtap]

Sharing some positive experiences here as well.

1. Jan-Feb 2021 Auto Expo in Mumbai

I am just a normal guy with a normal car and a normal family yet I was interested in knowing more about the Toyota HiAce in an auto expo. I sat in the vehicle, checked the dashboard, seating, etc and I am sure even though I did not look like a prospect the guy on the counter was proactive enough to give me all the details of the vehicle along with finance options and even suggested multiple ways I can still make use of the vehicle. It was a nice experience.

2. Dec 2021 R City Mall in Mumbai
I was in my pyjamas and t-shirt just returning some items to one of the stores in the mall when the top end new jeep compass caught my eye. The usually only had a mid end model on display but this time it was something new. I checked the car like a 10 year old ogles on something shiny, the attendant came up to me and without asking any details about myself just opened the driver side door and invited to sit in it. He then provided me details about what the car does and then inquired about what I drive. He then insisted that I take a test drive from his showroom location and the topic of finances never came into picture. He was calm and polite and treated me as any other customer he would.

3. Jan 2019 Shreem Hyundai Mumbai
At that point I was in desperate need of a Creta mid model diesel as I had just sold my Ritz diesel and did have any mode of transport. And also hefty discounts were going on and I was calling every Hyundai dealer in the radius of 250 kms to get me the cheapest Creta possible and Shreem Hyundai had exactly what I wanted. I rode up on my Suzuki Access to the showroom, the valet still asked if I wanted him to park by bike, lol.
I spoke to them as discussed on phone and booked the car. Till the time of delivery which was 18 days later the sales guy was very assertive, persistent in the most polite way possible to get me to opt for the top end one. But it wasn't in my budget. The delivery was excellent and the entire experience it never felt that I was being judged in anyway possible. I even took test drives of Tucson and Venue whenever I went to them in those 18 days. To conclude, I ended up giving them 3 referrals and all have had the same experience.


To conclude my supposedly boring thread

Here is a video clip about a similar incident from one of the famous TV shows called White Collar where a normal looking guy ends up buying a Gallardo just because he was respected in the showroom and given a test drive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW8iq3_T26A

[Tuborog]

Well, I had an exact opposite moment with Mercedes Benz.

My wife likes E-class a lot, and we saw it on display in one of the prominent malls here. We were very plainly dressed and since this was some years back, both of us looked young (under 30 at that time). We went and started looking at the lovely car. Salesman, Babu, came up to us and walked us through the entire car, offered us to have a feel of all the seats. We fiddled with the car's audio and all the other amazing features. He was extremely polite to field even the regular middle class questions, like "kitna deti hai" and avg service costs. He took my number and next day we did get a call for a TD. I did not have any intention of changing car at that time, so declined. Keeping temptations at bay, you see .

Merc will defiantly be on top of the list, whenever I convince myself to put in 80-90 lakhs in a car.

[Peri_patetic99]

I have two experiences to share here:

1. When I( along with my family) was taking delivery of my cb350, the salesman was explaining all the features to us when suddenly a madman(crazy/extremely agitated customer, not sure) walked in and started making a scene. He was uttering words none of us could understand, and waving his hands all over the place. The security and sales staff somehow managed to deal with him calmly and in a rational manner and take him out of the showroom, which was commendable. So, i believe sometimes it makes sense to take a harsh stand and keep such people outside ( of course, i don't support the attitude of the salesman in this case) but customer is not always king, as there are different types of customers and a salesman only has the tact of dealing with such people( again, not all have this tact).

2. When i was young, me, my dad and my younger brother had time to kill and there was an Audi showroom nearby, so we visited it just to have a look at the cars( my dad's friend had recently bought a Q3 at the time). The sales staff approached us politely and even when we made our intentions clear( we weren't there to purchase), he was quite enthusiastic and let us look at all the models, i might say the experience we had was even better than the time we were looking at the ecosport. He also asked me if i had any questions regarding cars, but of course since i was young i was just too stunned by all the cars( i remember the gleaming RS7 in red) i didn't ask anything and just kept sitting inside all the cars. This experience has stayed with me since then and if in the future i have the money to buy a car from the big three, Audi will be at the top of my list just because of that experience ( even though BMW is my favourite of the three). Just goes to show how treating all types of customers with a good attitude can go a long way.

[Aviator_guy]

A long time ago, probably late 2000s, I recall an incident which left me feeling humiliated and I woved never to consider that brand in future. It was one of the EU brand which came out with a hatchback which was their first foray into mass market. I was in the market for a premium hatch and called up their showroom. Instead of showing any willingness to answer questions /arrange for test drive, the SA had the audacity to tell me that their car is not just some Maruti which can be bought by any common person. He went on to question me whether I had the money to even consider their car! I hung up the phone in disbelief

No wonder they never sold that particular model in good numbers and even today the sales numbers are unimpressive! It's high time the companies pay attention to soft skills of the showroom staff who make the first impression about the brand!

[Mortis]

Frankly both parties are idiots and it's just a matter of overinflated egos on both sides. Such articles need not be given any attention.

[FiatDiesel]

I can relate to this experience though not in showroom but at International Airport in India back in 2004. It was similar scenario of a “desi” guy being judged if capable to travel abroad.
Most recent, around 4 years back, again in International flight with crew member threatening to off board me when I politely challenged his unprofessional and rude behaviour.

I was not wrong in both cases but it left lasting impression on how different and difficult people can be in not so complex situations.

I guess, we all face it at some point in time because chances of meeting someone frustrated and with questionable moral values at places we don’t expect to experience such behaviour’s are very much there.

“The language we use gives insight to who we are and how we think as individuals.”

[Miyata]

This is yet another social distancing that's quite viral in its spread and pandemic in nature!

More training in the job and soft-skills can bring in the external polish, but the core needs changing too - polished personality on the inside and out!

[vinu_h]

Originally Posted by fine69

If I was in such a position then I'd rather spend 5 mins getting my Form 16 on my phone

The farmer is here to inquire about a car that he may or may not buy. Why is it necessary for him to demonstrate his ability to pay or go to the extent of sharing something as private as his salary slips/Form 16 ?

Originally Posted by Vyas

In my opinion, a happy ending (from the customer's point of view) would be to demand an apology letter and demand (negotiate) a 30-40% discount

Oh no. That would mean he's done this for a discount and that his dignity can be bought for a measly 30% ? I sincerely hope our farmer friend doesn't opt for this.

[jalex77]

Originally Posted by srini1785

Only one point: Is it time to start taxing farm income?.

Case in point : I won't be able to muster that cash at such short notice.

It's not a big deal these days for an average person to cough up 10 Lakh rupees. He can get a personal loan(under farm schemes also for vehicles that aid and are required in farming, i.e, farm equipment as well as SUVs) in under 30 minutes If he simply pledges the gold ornaments in his family and considering the price of gold these days, he won't need a lot either. People in India own more gold per capita than anyone else on the planet probably.

And tell you what, better than taxing farmers who lead lives full of insecurity and at the mercy of nature and climate change, it would be a better idea to consider cutting salaries of overpaid government employees and the perks of the ruling class. In many states a major chunk of government revenue goes into paying salaries and pensions of government servants and come rain or shine, their salaries and allowances only get hiked on a regular basis while every one else mostly takes a hit or a pay cut.

[deetjohn]

I don't know about this case, but I have been treated badly once by showroom staff. And true, its often an idiot having a bad day and usually not the brand to be blamed, but when you are on the receiving end, it's very had to disassociate that employee from the brand itself.

My experience was with Ducati at UB City, Bangalore may a decade or so back and I still remember it.

I was asked not to take pictures of the bike in the showroom very rudely by a sales guy. He was standing at the other end of the room and he raised his voice to make himself clear. I was well dressed and I didn't even touch the bike, was just trying to take a pic.

He didn't even bother to come close to me and state their policy, which would have been the ideal way to do this. I was with some of my relatives and that was embarrassing to say the least though everyone quipped about his idiocy & extreme arrogance. Needless to say, we left the place quickly.

I am not a motorcycle person, far from it. But I see a Ducati now and this sore experience comes back every single time. Though I want to forget this and remember catching Casey and gang in person at Leguna Seca. Anyways, that's life I guess.

[RavSam]

Wow! On the contrary to this incident, I and my friend on Activa while riding in Mumbai saw a Jaguar F-Pace in 2017 and started clicking pics.

The product manager who came out of the restaurant, gave us his card and asked us to visit his showroom in Pune!

So when we went there, we were given the entire range of Jaguar and Land Rovers to drive and experience. Were invited to Jaguar performance drive and Land Rover Above and Beyond Tour and all that for free!

We had no intention of buying (obviously) and were not even prospects but damn! those events I can never forget!

[Venkatesh]

Veejay Nakra, CEO, Mahindra & Mahindra Auto Division responds to the incident



Link

[car love]

These instances are indicative of not just bad manners by the showroom staff but also deeper social/cultural problems that we have. I went once to a Bajaj showroom with a white guy who was interested in the two wheelers on sale here in India. The staff were falling over each other trying to please this guy. They voluntarily wanted to become slaves of the white man and in reality this guy had no intention whatsoever to buy a motorcycle in the first place.
Another instance I vividly remember was at the Chennai Royal Enfield factory tour. There was this arrogant German guy who was whining away to glory because the program was 10 minutes late. Another co-attendee who was apparently a manager in some local factory and who was also attending the program used to open the door for this German guy. He did it a couple of times. It was cringe worthy to say the least. He had again volunteered to become his man servant.
On the other hand when many of us perceive someone to be "lower" than us then the superiority force that is exerted is at the maximum. We need to learn neutrality and treat everyone equally. Long way to go I guess.

[Slick]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

...

My experience was with Ducati at UB City, Bangalore may a decade or so back and I still remember it.
...

I can relate, I had a similar experience with Kawasaki, during the launch of Ninja 250.

Me and a friend rode (on our Rx100s) to a Kawasaki showroom to checkout the very recently launched Ninja 250. To be fair the bikes had been unloaded and put on display only minutes earlier so the staff were right to be on the edge.

We waited to see that happen and wanted to take pictures of the bike.

We were basically treated like flies. It was painful.
We were young and probably not best dressed and also too shy to shootback.

Of course, didn't enjoy the treatment, and this post is testament that didn't forget either .

Though I don't mind buying a Kawasaki, no such problems.

We went back a few years later, in my car, and test drove the Duke 390, totally different experience.

- Slick