After four weeks of correspondence through phone calls and e-mail, this customer finally made an appointment to come to return to the dealership and evaluate a car. My notes from the experience read accordingly.
He simply could not decide on a car. The primary factor that seems to be whether or not his wife will become car sick while riding in the vehicle, and this appears to be largely contingent upon the size of the dashboard and the angle of the windshield. Of course, his wife could not be persuaded to attend the appointment, nor be otherwise present to actually offer any input, thereby leaving both of at somewhat of a disadvantage. I offered a test drive several times so that he could more accurately asses the various features of the car not related to the potential nausea his spouse may experience, but he advises that that all other considerations are secondary to how sick his wife may or may not get.
After learning that we did not have a 2010 model year of his specified vehicle on the lot, he proclaimed that that he would like to purchase a 2010 model of this particular car, but we have none in stock. Of course, had he chosen to actually purchase the car six weeks ago, he would have been able to select from a variety of colors and trim levels, but alas - he who hesitates is stuck buying from dealer inventory. I am uncertain if this was some sort of negotiation tactic, but if so it is of dubious efficiency.
He also expressed interest in an 2011 Limited trim package with cloth seats, and/or a 2011 GLS preferred package with fog lights and a sunroof. Unfortunately, neither of these options are compatible trim packages and therefore do not exist, thereby greatly reducing his purchasing options and placing him at a further disadvantage. I briefly considered expounding upon the issues particular to cleaning both cloth and leather seats, but thought better of it.
After spending no less than half an hour in the blazing hot parking lot explaining to me (in great detail) the subtleties and nuances of each vehicle he had considered, including the one that we do not have, cannot get and are therefore incapable of selling to him, it became evident to me that I can offer him no assistance whatsoever, as he had absolutely no questions about any vehicle on the lot, didn't want to test drive, discuss financing, or otherwise engage in any activities pursuant to actually purchasing a vehicle.
Ostensibly he'll be getting back to me when he determines his wife's proclivity to motion sickness relative to surface area, geometry and general overall angles of visibility respective to the interior of said vehicles.
I haven't gone THAT long without blogging in years, I don't think. But now (finally) I'm only working closer to 50 hours a week than 70, and lo and behold - I have a few hours.
I shall begin with some perceptions regarding work, and the car selling business in general from the perspective of the salesman. The most notable one is this: people will unwillingly, unflinching & very vocally demand honesty & respect from car salesmen, but are only too willing to be dishonest & profoundly disrespectful to me. You might be astonished at how often *I* am flat-out lied to. Now, while I understand they are lying out of a sense of fear and, to a lesser extent, a sense of financial self-preservation, it doesn't make it right. Additionally, a disturbingly large proportion have no qualms whatsoever about coming in, spending an hour or two (or three, or four) not only allowing, but demanding my utmost service, honesty, respect and and then not only returning my efforts with lies, rudeness or outright hostility, but ultimately deciding it's perfectly acceptable to respond with anger when I have the audacity to inquire - in any way - about their intentions, ability, or desire to actually purchase a vehicle. Would you go into McDonalds, demand to know how much everything on the menu costs, why it's better than Burger King, and then get mad if the poor guy behind the counter asks you if you actually want to but a burger today? Of course not - but Lordy, Lordy, folks will do the same thing at a car dealership in a heartbeat. You know what, though? I have found that despite all of this, I really like selling cars, and those misguided folks aren't going to rob me of my joy.
On a more personal note, I played a double-header of softball yesterday and had a great time. I even ended up scraping my knee, which is a sign that you actually played, and akin to coming home after a day of paintball with paint actually on you. Let's face it - if you went and played a day of paintball and returned home in pristine condition, it might be a safe assumption you didn't really invest yourself in the game. However, if you come home covered in sweat, dirt, welts and stinking so badly the staff at The Cotton Patch seats you in the back so that you won't offend the other customers, then you can count the day a success, even if you didn't score a point. Man.....I miss paintball.
The temptation to actually buy a new paintball gun and pick it back up again is fairly strong, as is the notion I need to rebuild my gun collection again. It's funny how after being in such terrible and dire financial straits for so long my first temptation isn't to rebuild myself and my family into a more financially secure stronghold, but to replace the things I've been forced to part with along the way. I'm sure some of that is human nature, though I'm sure a large part of that is a sense of restoring myself in a way; to reassure myself that it's OK for me to do something for ME. I have to confess that's been a struggle for me; I think I've had a sense that's it's OK to sacrifice yourself until you have nothing left, but that it's not OK to pour anything back into yourself. I'm glad the First Rule of Pathways is this: Take care of yourself so that you can take care of others. I still have to find that happy medium again.
For the record, though, we're looking at four acres instead of two, so that I can have two things in my back yard - #1) a small shooting range #2) a paintball field so my friends and I can play for free on a field of our own design. I'm looking forward to having those things.
What else? I ran on of Celexa on last Wednesday, and the doctor's office has been a bit pokey about getting it refilled. Aside from an overwhelming urge to grind my teeth accompanied by a bit of lightheadedness, vertigo and a slightly distressing emotional lability, it hasn't been that bad. Oddly enough, playing two games of softball helped, as did chasing it with a cayenne Monster from Freebirds. I think Freebirds makes everything better. I think Freebirds ( a burrito place, for those of you who don't already know) was a staple of our after-paintball outings for years, far surpassing the Hooters experience of 1992.
I have a few new pics for you guys - this one was over the weekend. It's similar to one from years ago I really liked, and I figure it bears posting.
As usual, I feel like I have a lot less to say when I'm not engaging in the documentation of some kind of personal trauma, but let's face it - everything is going pretty well with me, and that's what this blog is about. About the only complaints I have is the house being a bit warm at the moment, and my knee hurts a little, and I need to figure out a way to keep it from sticking to my pants at work.
Today's musical offering is a something called "Return of the Tres" from a band called Delinquent Habits. I make no offer that it's in any way edifying, and it makes me wish I was a Mexican so I could be cool enough to sing along with it. I hereby dedicate it to My Favorite Mexican - you know who you are, chica. In the event it's offensive, I'm sorry. Mi espanol is muy mal. It's catchy as anything, though. Bask in the Mexicanness of the hip-hop. Bask, I say!
Play it loud and inflict the 90's upon others.
Ok - see you guys (much sooner than) later.
Have a Godzilla.
Also this cat.
And a lizard, because it's been such a long time.
I think Facebook and Twitter have ruined blogging, man. Also working a lot. And not really wallowing in despair, loss or a failed relationship. These are blog-killing things. On a related note, I think my next tattoo will be "SAINT" - it speaks to my identity in Christ, as well as a reminder of how I need to act, think and otherwise love on other people. Coming this fall, eh?
Ok - I gotta eat, and Mom made bacon during the time she wasn't lurking over my shoulder to see what I was writing. HAH - thought I didn't notice, huh? WRONG! I saw you there, trying to steal a glance, watching, reading. But you made bacon, so I shall let it pass.
See you guys soon - thank you again for stopping by. If you're not my friend on Fcebook, become one, as that's generally how I notify you guys I wrote something. It'll spare you from feeling like you have to check back so often. It seems abit cruel to either never update or never let you cats know when i do. And pass the updates on to whomever might be interested, too.
