Team-BHP - Comedy of Errors at Indian Dealerships

Mine is a little different, not technical gaffe, but marketing gaffe.

Two years back, after I test drove the Grand Vitara, I was inspecting the GV all around. One of the sales guy who had brought the TD vehicle started off...

SG: Sir, I have a sincere request.
Me: What is it?
SG: Why don't you seriously look at SX4?
Me: What???
SG: It is an excellent product, very new in the market, will suit your need.
Me: Excuse me. Here I am, evaluating a SUV that costs 16.8L, and you want me to seriously consider a sedan at half the price.
SG: No, I am just saying it a very good product.
Me: What kind of sales guy are you, forcing the customer to buy a cheaper product from a different category? I want a SUV and you want to force a car on me. Don't you know I just sold the Baleno recently, why would I replace the Baleno with SX4 when I am looking for a SUV?
SG: hmm...sorry.

Two days later I called him...
Me: I have decided on the Grand Vitara.
SG: What? really?

Quote:

Originally Posted by raj_5004 (Post 1547765)

i have said this in some other thread but will repeat it here-

one of my friend went to a maruti dealer 1 year back to enquire about the swift ZXi. now all of us know that how these maruti dealers try to push the swift VXi sales, whatever the reason.

so,

my friend: i am looking for ZXi.
sales woman: why dont you opt for VXi sir? it is cheaper.

m.f.: No, i want ZXi because it has airbags & ABS.
s.w.: sir, thoda bahut ABS to har gaadi main hota hain! which when translated in english means "sir, every car has a little bit of ABS"!

yes even a friend of mine was quoted the same thing on dzire vdi and zdi.

Quote:

Originally Posted by siddhu_engg24 (Post 1547777)

I went for TD of i20 CRDi just after it launched.

Dealer : Panchavati Hyundai, Nashik

Sales Rep told me all the Spec's of Petrol i20.
He even gave me Petrol i20 brochure saying that "Tech Specs" for CRDi would be more/less same.:uncontrol

yes actually its all the same the only difference is one runs on diesel and one runs with petrol, so only fuels are different.WOW ha ha.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdp1975 (Post 1547793)

The salesman showed me the engine guard on the Punto and was explaining me the benefits :

Saar, if the parts fall of the car you will find them here :Shockked:

ha ha ha wow, did anyone knew those guards are kept for this purpose till now.

You get the same class of Dumbos globally. Most of these guys are not at all knowledgeable about cars, and not over-bright. They would not recognise Power & Torque even if they stood in front of the chap in coat tails with big banners. Get the spec sheet (paper or web) and get the data. Do not trust anything the salesman says.

I've had my share of dumbos and clowns too. But I must say the sales person (Dinesh)at BU Bhandari from whom I bought my Linea was able to demonstrate almost each and every feature of the Linea and the differences between all the variants. ( Okay he did not know about the rear a/c vents under the seat). Yesterday I took a friend for a TD of the Punto and again he did a pretty good job of explaining the different variants. What I liked best was in all cases, when asked about Fuel economy, he shows you the average consumption on the screen and points out this is the "mileage" on a TD vehicle. Anything he does not know, he finds out and gives you the answer. ( like month of manufacture).

Before the TD of the Punto, wanted to TD the Ritz Petrol at Kothari wheels(TD vehicle not available). Asked about the length of the Ritz. Reply: WagonR se lamba hai, lagbhag Swift jitna hai). Saw the diesel Ritz and asked: isn't this the same engine as the Punto Diesel? Reply, Yes it is bought from Fiat but improved by Maruti to make it quieter than Puntoclap:

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajmat (Post 1550910)

Sales girl selling Lancer

Our car is smoother and more economical than the Honda City since there are no extra valves adding weight to the engine

Our paint has wax lining

There goes my theory about women being better informed :Frustrati

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgiitk (Post 1550973)

You get the same class of Dumbos globally. Most of these guys are not at all knowledgeable about cars ...

The same crowd in the HiFi shops, too (probably goes for ICE as well) telling people that 150W speakers will be louder than 50W speakers. That's passive speakers, of course...

The reason why we find car salesmen funny is due to our indepth knowledge of the subject. Still good for laughs though!

Some from this end:

- Baleno has the most powerful engine. 1,600 BHP!

- Was ripping the Logan 1.6 and thought that the engine drone at high rpms was a tad on the higher side. Commented to my brother who is sitting in the front seat. Pat came the reply from the salesman on the back seat "Saar, diesel engines make a li'l noise at high rpms" We were like :Shockked: "Dude do you even know what engine we are testing!"

- "Saar, ABS is not suited for India. It is good only for foreign countries. That is why we don't offer it"

Gems I heard at MPL Mahindra and India Garage while trying to buy a Xylo from them.

- No need for side impact bars sir, the car is so tall. (thats a first)

- The difference between E2 and E4 is the A/C. (I thought all xylos had ac)

- It is the same engine as in Scorpio. (Mhawk MEagle... rings any bell?)

- They cant incorporate ABS in future,the design is like that sir. (???)

- You can surely add a LPG kit sir. (WHAT???)

The same time i went to MPL Ford to look at Ikon for my friend. I by mistake blurted out that i had booked a Xylo at MPL Mahindra.

The guy was at my neck the next second, 'Why dont u TD our fusion sir, its the same like Xylo, only a bit shorter.'

I asked him 'What? this is a car and moreover I thought u would offer me Endeavor when u heard that i was going in for a MUV.' He - 'Fusion is a SUV sir, that why it is called Fusion'.

Showroom: Fortune cars
Model: Tata Manza

Me: can I have the specs pls?
Exec: Will you have tea or coffee

Me: I would like to have the brochure.
Exec: You want original or xerox. I will give original, the colour of vehicle can be seen.

Me: Can I have a test drive.
Exec: TD vehicle not yet avail. You can try Linea, we sell both Manz and Linea

Me: What is the deivery time of Manza.
Exec: Once you book, then it will take 3 weeks min if available.

:Frustrati

I just walked out of showroom and went to nearby chemist of a Dispirin.

sad but true
most brand owners do not have idiotproof training systems in place for the dealer sales resources. they arent for the most part willing to even invest in such.
dealers are too busy worrying about money and margin to bother investing in proper training for their staff.
net result is that we guys who go to buy cars get fobbed off with foolish statements.
therefore, i think Forums/ Fora like ours are invaluable to the potential car buyer.

I would really like to know more about what the sales resources are like in the Jag/ LR showroom in Bombay and the Bentley/ Rolls showrooms in Delhi. Can anyone share?

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 1553150)

Maybe a bit tangential, MODS please delete if inappropriate.

Three or four years back, I was interviewing a candidate to join my team. The candidate was employed by Bosch, where he was working on writing the software for engine control units (ECUs) and he was looking for a change. The interview started as follows:

Me: What do you do at Bosch?
Candidate: I write software for engine control units, blah blah blah.
Me: Ok, what is the difference between power and torque?
Candidate: Uh, Ah, Hem, Haw, I don't know!

Needless to say, he did not get the job.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archish (Post 1553217)

- No need for side impact bars sir, the car is so tall. (thats a first)

tell him a truck is taller, what then?

Quote:

- The difference between E2 and E4 is the A/C. (I thought all xylos had ac)

maybe he meant the AC vents for all rows.

Quote:

- It is the same engine as in Scorpio. (Mhawk MEagle... rings any bell?)

the difference is visible even if the salesman cares to open the bonnet!

Quote:

The guy was at my neck the next second, 'Why dont u TD our fusion sir, its the same like Xylo, only a bit shorter.'

maybe he was desperate to sell the fusion!

Quote:

I asked him 'What? this is a car and moreover I thought u would offer me Endeavor when u heard that i was going in for a MUV.' He - 'Fusion is a SUV sir, that why it is called Fusion'.

great, i wanna see that chap!

Showroom: Global Galleria, Thane
Model: Renault Logan 1.5 DLS Diesel

The moment I entered the showroom not one but 4 sales guys approached me and started debating who should attend me. Finally after 5 min one Sales guy approaches. I told him I want to check the Diesel Logan. The conversation goes as below:

Me: I want to check the Diesel Logan.
Exec: Diesel Logan delivery time is very high, no stock at godown.

Me: what?? I just want to test drive the Diesel Logan
Exec: Sir main aapko Diesel Logan dikha doonga but aap Xylo bhi test drive karlo

Me: Why Xylo??
Exec: Is se mera test drive ka count badega aur mujhe incentive milega.

Me: Toh mujhe kya milega??
Exec: Apko gaadi de denge.

I felt giddy by the attitude of the exec. I asked for water and left.

I am test driving the Swift Dzire;

Me to my mother : "Is the legroom sufficient?"
SE : Immediately takes the codrivers seat to the front most position." Saar, the leg room is good".
Me : That is not the normal position. pls put it back.

Me: Is there no remote boot release?
SE : Snatches the key away from me,"Saar, its very simple just insert the key and turn it right to open the boot lid".

Me : What is the power?
SE : "Saar, same as Swift Diesel".
Me: Ok, what is the value?
SE : "saar, I am only for Dzire".

Me: What is the waiting period?
SE : "Saar, around 4 months".
Me: Why is it so long?
SE : "Saar, Maruti makes the car on order and a lot of bookings"

I decided on GP.