A Bum In The Car Dealership
Years ago, I was at a local car dealership shopping for a pickup truck. The salesman told me a story about something that happened at the upscale auto dealership next door.
One day a man walked into the office of an upscale auto dealership. The man was carefully observed by each of the veteran car salesmen. Each, one by one, decided to ignore the potential customer. These salesmen had several years of experience dealing with customers. They could tell that this guy would never buy a car.
Most people, at least ones who have the means to buy a car there, came in neatly dressed. Obviously they were the sort of customer with good credit and and a good down payment. They had good jobs because they were “our kind of people”.
The man who walked in that day was definitely not one of those. Not having bathed for days, his hair was unkempt and his face was unshaven. Clothes torn and stained. And he smelled.
Must be a bum.
Each of the salesmen observed the bum and dismissed him as a waste of time. Finally, the newest salesman in the dealership said, “I might as well say hello and find out what he wants”. The new salesman asked the bum, “How can I be of service?” The bum replied, “I want to buy this car.” pointing to the top of the line model on the showroom floor. “OK”, said the salesman, “Lets start by running your credit.” “No credit… CASH!”, said the bum. The bum took out brand new hundred dollar bills out of his wallet. He paid cash and drove the car off the lot.
See, the bum had just com back from a fishing trip.
He was really a multimillionaire who wanted to test the the salespeople.
Because the salesman was willing to take a chance on a bum, he not only made a sale, but gained a faithful customer.
The customer came back each year and bought a new car from the same salesman – cash.
