Do you remember the phrase “the customer is always right”? Despite the fact that it is quite often an unrealistic statement, because there are also clients who abuse it, the truth is that everyone who sells a product or service is looking for money that is still in the consumer’s pocket and treating it badly is not precisely the best strategy. However, at least since the pandemic wreaked havoc on vehicle inventories and their auto parts, the consumer has been mistreated with some frequency, in an abuse of power that, although it is true, today is on the side of the brands and their distributors. , this is not normal nor will it last forever, as much as some would like it to be.
A very common mistake in sellers of expensive products, like automobiles, is to treat customers as if they, the sellers, were people with the economic capacity to buy what they sell, which is rarely the case. Also, even if it were, economic superiority over someone does not make them better, in fact, treating them that way dwarfs the one who feels superior. In short, many sellers, agencies, perhaps even some brands, have been treating customers for nearly three years as if they were doing them a favor to sell.
It is true, in some cases, yes “do you a favour”. Because cars are still scarce, at least in many cases, although that shortage is less and less. When you have more clients who want a certain car than the amount you will receive, the now famous and hated waiting lists are created, which are not as easy to manage as some think, nor as fair as they should be, but this, well, It is only for those who still think that life is fair. Because imagine if it was your turn to decide who’s at the top of that list and all of a sudden, an aunt of yours, her mom’s favorite sister, turns out to want that car. To avoid a family problem, the aunt probably receives that car before the one that was already savoring the premiere.
Today you look bad, tomorrow forgiveness will cost more
In most cases, waiting lists are managed like any business, that is, the one who pays the most takes the job. As in Mexico, the policy of the vast majority of brands is one-price., the way to pay more is to buy on credit, with the house finance company. Those who are willing to pay the interest on the loan will be paying more and will have a better place on the waiting list. If you also leave your tow truck now, do not demand color and accept that it comes with some accessories, you will be paying more than most and your waiting time should be less, even if this annoys the person who pays in cash, than before the pandemic had, in some agencies, priority. To be honest, it was the client who, knowing that he would pay cash, posed arrogantly before the vendors.
As understandable as it is to seek as much money as possible for the car you sell, often the attitude of salespeople, even managers of some dealers, is sowing future animosity. When they have cars again, they will seek to exercise the humility they did not have now, and many customers may not forgive them.
There is an important detail that you have to see as a customer: the price is not everything, it is just one of the points to consider at the time of purchase. Toyota, for example, has lower prices than virtually all of its rivals. The detail is that it is a price for cash operations and those, in today’s Toyota in Mexico, are almost impossible to achieve. On credit, a Rav 4 Adventure of 655,000 pesos will be more expensive than a Nissan XTrail Advance of 683,000. And for the X-Trail there is no waiting list.
Many want to perpetuate the situation we are in. For the dealer, saving the financial cost of having inventory is great, as well as earning more per car sold. Just don’t forget that if the sales department is the one that makes the first sale, it is the service department that manages to keep the customer. And today, even sales people don’t treat customers well. Tomorrow, when they want to do it, it may be too late.
