Gotta love dealerships:
I went down to a big Mazda dealer in town yesterday, to ask some questions about the MSP and the 2003.5 model.
"Do you guys know yet when the 2003.5 Mazdaspeed Protege's are coming in?"
"2003.5?"
"Yeah. The updated model with new bumpers, spoiler, two new colours-"
"-There's another model? Where'd you see that?"
"Mazda revealed it at SEMA a short while back. I've seen pics on the net."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"...well...we haven't heard anything about any new models."
I suppose it's not as bad as when I was looking at the Nissan Spec-V. That salesman knew NOTHING about the car, other than that it had 17" rims and a 2.4L engine...
I bet most of us on this forum know more about the MSP's than many of the people selling them, and that's pretty sad. How hard was it for us to learn about the car? A few minutes on the net every once and a while?
It should be mandatory for car salespeople to join at least one message forum related to their products.
I don't understand the ineptitude. If I were a car salesman I would be ashamed if every car enthusiast that came to my dealership knew more about the car's I'm selling.
I'm a furniture salesman, and if I ever encounter a customer who knows more about my product than me, I help them as best I can and when they leave I learn as soon as possible whatever I was lacking. That way it won't happen again.
And you know what? After several years on and off, it hardly EVER happens anymore. It's a simple, cumulative process and I'm pissed off that these salesman don't do it.
All right, I'm done. Sorry for the rant.
Disclaimer: Notice I didn't say ALL salespeople, just many. I don't want to be accused of making gross generalizations here.
