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Topic: Does what you wear affect how salespeople act?
| Author | Message |
| sallyherigstad | Posted – 5/27/2008 6:37:26 PM | show profile Does it matter what you wear when you show up to a car dealership? Will I get a better deal if I look prosperous or more like I've been doing my own yardwork? Has anyone found it hard to even get a salesperson's attention if they venture forth without makeup and hair done? |
| foto | Posted – 5/27/2008 8:19:24 PM | show profile Sales people definitely pick up on all those things. When I first moved to NYC the sales people from a particular camera store always tried to rip me off because I had a midwestern accent and so they took me for a rube. |
| UGoGirl | Posted – 5/27/2008 11:43:14 PM | show profile I know sometimes when I've been in a more expensive store with kind of crappy clothes on, I've felt paranoid that they think I'm a shoplifter... but car buying is probably different... harder to shoplift. I was totally paranoid about buying a car a few years ago, didn't want to get screwed, so what I did was solicit a few quotes for a very specific car (model, year, color) from a few dealerships. And I told them I was asking a few other dealerships. When I found a price I liked, I just took it there and that was that. One place didn't want to give me a quote (just come on in!) but when I said no thank you I have received quotes from others, they immediately sent a quote. For me, doing that away from the sales floor was much less stressful. |
| lifeisbetteredited | Posted – 5/28/2008 12:18:34 AM | show profile Don't flaunt it, even if you have it When I was car shopping, I read a great article that said dressing down (but not down and out) works better when it comes to haggling. Walk into a dealership wearing expensive clothing and the salespeople will assume you can afford to part with a few extra dollars. |
| pamelabeth | Posted – 5/28/2008 1:10:05 AM | show profile on the other hand, if you're in regular-person clothes and go into a chi-chi women's clothing store, the salespeople will ignore you. if you force their hand by asking a question, they will look pained. at least that has been my experience. |
| Thabit | Posted – 5/28/2008 7:22:52 AM | show profile My gran always told me to dress decently when shopping -- otherwise you can't forgive sales people from thinking anything they suggest would be an improvement... The only time I've found this not to be true is with a beautiful (ex-model) friend of mine who almost always goes shopping scruffy. Assistants seem to think beauty is as good as being well-dressed, plus her attitude is "why should I care what sales people think?" and she gets away with it. |
| voracious reader | Posted – 5/28/2008 8:16:35 AM | show profile I can't believe you're asking this specific question. Years ago, I drove up to a dealership in an old beat up Chevy looking to buy a very expensive car. The salesman saw me get out of my car as I approached the dealership. I had done all my homework and was SERIOUS about purchasing a vehicle that very day. I asked if I could test drive the model and the salesman said to me, "Mam, you can't afford this car, would you like to see something else?" I guess he had met his quota that month and wasn't hungry. I simply turned around, walked out the door, drove down to the next dealership and asked the same question, "Can I take the car for a spin?" This time, the response was different. While he, too, had seen me drive up in my Chevy, he asked, "Sure you can take the car for a spin - and if you don't like the feel of that one, there are plenty more to try." I bought THAT car that very same day! Afterwards, I drove past the other dealership and then honked and waved!!! I don't think what you wear is all that important when it comes to striking a deal. Since you are the buyer, you are holding all the cards. So if you do your homework diligently, you will strike a favorable deal regardless of your attire. However, when it comes to dressing.... As far as "dressing up" or "dressing down" is concerned, my sage aunt used to always say, "Dress like a lady." I always believed that when you dress like a lady, you are more inclined to act like a lady and people will respond to you more favorably. Same for gentlemen. I wouldn't even leave the house in a pair of sweats to buy a roll of toilet paper! And I've taught that ideal to all three of my adult kids. Never go outside dressed like you've just fallen out of your bed. And if you're going to do yard work before heading "out," afterwards, rinse off, and change your clothes. Isn't that what a wardrobe is for? You don't have to dress like you look propsperous or like the lawn doctor. Just remember, before getting dressed like a "lady," gather all the information you need to close the deal! Also remember, you can do what I did with the first salesman, walk away and look further. Good luck! |
| caitlinkelly | Posted – 5/28/2008 12:33:50 PM | show profile When I bought my car I test-drove 10, taking voluminous notes on every single one of them -- not letting the salesman "sell" me on them. After I decided which I would buy, I went with cash in hand, but looked like hell that day -- sweats, etc. The dealer treated me poorly and started talking to my boyfriend instead...I really wanted the car so bought it, and enjoyed the look on the salesman's face when I pulled out that much cash. I think some ignorant salespeople make snap decisions about your appearance -- but some people keep their money in the bank, not on their back. In general, dress normally but do a lot of homework and rely less on a salesman than your mechanic and others' recommendations when it comes to what you eventually buy. With car sales down nationwide, they should be nice if you show up in a garbage bag... |
| PluckyPane | Posted – 5/28/2008 1:35:03 PM | show profile lol @ voracious voracious, ot, but i hope that you are a freelancer. if you saw the way that half the people i work with are dressed you would probably cry. my boss, who makes more money than god, is wearing a holey pair of princeton sweats and a pac-man t-shirt today (a true classic, not the lame knock off). his sneakers and watch are more expensive than my car, but the rest of the outfit i wouldn't even clean the yard in. he's the only guy i know who can walk into a 4-star restaurant and get seated in those ratty sweats. his clients love him (he's the owner of an ad agency) because he is so generation y and thumbs his nose at those who try to put him in a suit. oh, the world is a-changing. |
| sallyherigstad | Posted – 5/28/2008 1:42:12 PM | show profile So dress well but not too well? If I dress sloppy, they won't take me seriously. If I dress too well, they'll think I'm made of money. Alas, the second scenario is not too likely, since my idea of dressing up is something new from the sale at Macy's. |
| KC4 | Posted – 5/28/2008 3:44:11 PM | show profile Sally, I say dress casually but put together - like you probably normally would. I think middle of the road will encourage the salespeople to take you seriously without assuming that you've got a briefcase full of hundreds in your trunk. If you feel you're getting the runaround, you can always adjust your style and try another dealership. I think being friendly also helps. As Caitlin noted, I've had similar experiences with salesmen addressing my boyfriend and not me. In the last instance my phone was acting up and the guy at the Sprint store gave my boyfriend all of the instructions, so I had to ask him to repeat himself. Ugh. |
| nandy | Posted – 5/28/2008 5:12:29 PM | show profile I was car shopping in earnest last summer after my 11-year-old car died. I took my 89-year old father with me to one dealership because he wanted to go in half-sies on the car. After going for a test drive, and sitting there talking car-deal for an hour with the salesman, my father stood up and said, "OK let's go. I'm tired." And walked out. No deal. I must have looked like the idiot-daughter, picking up his forgotten sweater, calling for my daughter at the other end of the showroom, thanking the stunned salesman?taking his card and promising to call. Now, if I was playing, I would have gone back to see if the salesman felt sorry enough to give me a better deal. But it wasn't really the car I wanted (Dad was dictating the brand at that point). I ended up looking at cars at other local dealers online, saw the one I wanted, went to the dealer in Bermuda shorts and a polo shirt, and bought the car that afternoon. More important than what you are wearing is the timing in your car purchase. Go at the end of the month when they will do almost anything to make the sale and make their count for that month. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 5/28/2008 5:53:24 PM | show profile | email poster We've all probably seen Pretty Woman, and the shopping scene that has been copied by a couple dozen movies since. It's the one where to the tune of Roy Orbison, Julia Roberts gets greatly fawned over by sycophants (which was fun) after being snubbed by snotty socialites snits in a Rodeo Drive boutique. There's something very satisfying about surprising snobs, whether it's by having more education, more smarts, more money, a better job, having written a book, whatever. |
| voracious reader | Posted – 5/28/2008 7:39:48 PM | show profile Pluckypane...I'm getting the feeling, though, that your boss, along with the nice watch and footwear, also does maniqueres too, so that kind of cancels out the rest of the ratty nouveau outfit image. Believe me, when I travel to some offices and see what people are wearing, I do want to cry. But I've gotten over it since seeing what's permitted to wear in public schools. Geeze - I wanted to send my kids to school blindfolded! Believe me, I'm over it, but I still think it can't hurt to dress like a lady or gentleman. :) |
