Getting the dealership run-around on test driving

DYNAZOR

I have a similar story. When I was about 35 I was interested in buying a new Corvette. One cold, sleety day at the beginning of winter of '86 I went to a local Chevy dealer to see if I could make a deal on a new '87 coupe. I was dressed according to the day's weather, i.e. faded jeans, ratty winter coat, and the same type of work boots I wore when I used to drive a truck (at this time I was a technical support engineer for Sony). The dealer had a convertible on the floor, same color as what I wanted in the coupe. I walked right to the 'Vette and walked around it, checking things out for a few minutes, and not a single salesman acknowledged my presence despite every one of them looking at me when i walked through the door. They quickly went back to reading their newspaper or whatever (it was a very slow day due to the crappy weather). Finally, one salesman came up and asked if I had any questions he could answer for me. I told him I was ready to buy if they came up with the right price. This salesman was a tall, thin, near-the-end-of-middle-age black man named Wally, the only non-white person in the place. We retreated to Wally's cubical and after about 30 minutes and several trips to the sales manager's office I wrote aout a check for $1,000 to order the car I wanted. The other salemen who neglected me were watching me like hawks writing out that check, in total disbelief. After making the deal Wally confided to me that he had been laid off at another dealer and was at this dealer for only 2 weeks and had not sold a single car until I came in, and he said it with a big grin on his face while his hands were shaking.

I guess reading the newspaper on a cold wet day and whatever was more important to the other salesmen then tossing me a simple "Hi, can I help you with something" when I came in.