Coffee is more $'s than gasoline!
Is it unethical to walk to a bike dealership and....?
- Thread starter sid_for_speed
- Start date
Coffee is more $'s than gasoline!
It was at a boat show but the guy took about a half an hour of the reps time asking detailed questions about the particular 35 foot sailboat worth half a mil IIRC. The the rep asked what boat the guy had at the moment. It was a wind surfer. If looks could kill.
IMO There's nothing wrong with tire kicking especially if you're up front about just looking. Then it's up to the rep whether he / she wants to waste time on you.
As a customer, am I entitled. I am spending MY (hard-earned) money on a companies product; I am entitled to do with it as I please. If all I want to do to is browse around and gain some information on a few bikes, learn a little bit about the shop/dealership and the type of attitude I could expect if I decided to invest, then I certainly will.
As well, I am under no obligation to make a purchase when walking in; I mean, this is why there are sales floors. If all I was interested in doing was making the purchase, I'd walk right into their back office and make the deal. It is not the fault of the customer that commission driven sales result in sales people who will only show interest in the bottom line. It shows disregard for the customer and only putts eyes on their wallet.
GentlemanRacer
Well-known member
My friend, you are a rube. 
Margins on bikes are so slim that most shops break even on higher margin merch like clothes, gear, parts, services and fluids. A good salesman knows you are a tire kicker from a mile off and he will still part you with at least %50 more than you intended to spend in there.
A really good salesman will see you wrestling with your conscience and try to get you into the highest margin thing they can because you feel guilty and feel like you need to buy something. If they give away 100 weak instant coffees at a cost of maybe $5, and sell a single $75 pair of gloves at a $70 profit to some guilty schmuck, they are doing ok. Nobody has ever not bought the motorcycle they wanted because they had to wait 5 mins for the rep to ditch a tire kicker. Plus, if you are the buyer, he saw you come in, and the longer you wait around to buy the bike, the more he knows he doesn't have to discount it to convince you.
I've had car dealers call friends to pretend they are customers and test drive the used car I was negotiating to buy. If you want to know how sales really work, forget Glengary Glen Ross, watch Inception and you can begin to understand how business works. Their job is to sell stuff, and if you take up their time, it's their job to ignore you and move on.
You can know this stuff and keep being a good person, just don't ever expect it from anyone else.
Margins on bikes are so slim that most shops break even on higher margin merch like clothes, gear, parts, services and fluids. A good salesman knows you are a tire kicker from a mile off and he will still part you with at least %50 more than you intended to spend in there.
A really good salesman will see you wrestling with your conscience and try to get you into the highest margin thing they can because you feel guilty and feel like you need to buy something. If they give away 100 weak instant coffees at a cost of maybe $5, and sell a single $75 pair of gloves at a $70 profit to some guilty schmuck, they are doing ok. Nobody has ever not bought the motorcycle they wanted because they had to wait 5 mins for the rep to ditch a tire kicker. Plus, if you are the buyer, he saw you come in, and the longer you wait around to buy the bike, the more he knows he doesn't have to discount it to convince you.
I've had car dealers call friends to pretend they are customers and test drive the used car I was negotiating to buy. If you want to know how sales really work, forget Glengary Glen Ross, watch Inception and you can begin to understand how business works. Their job is to sell stuff, and if you take up their time, it's their job to ignore you and move on.
You can know this stuff and keep being a good person, just don't ever expect it from anyone else.
My friend, you are a rube.
I've had car dealers call friends to pretend they are customers and test drive the used car I was negotiating to buy. If you want to know how sales really work, forget Glengary Glen Ross, watch Inception and you can begin to understand how business works.
You can know this stuff and keep being a good person, just don't ever expect it from anyone else.
Really, you've had car dealers call your friends and pretend to be customers? Thats really weird dude. I've been in sales for 20 yrs, I just keep learning new stuff from the interweb.
GentlemanRacer
Well-known member
Can't tell if just being dry or ESL...
The scam is, in the middle of a negotiation, the seller txts or secretly phones friends of his, asks them to show up and take the car for a drive to make it look like there is interest in the car and make it seem like he doesn't have to budge on price or options. If you buy the car, the "test drivers" get a small commission from the seller.
Compared to the way people negotiate in other cultures, Canada is Palookastan.
Boulevard12
Member
It took me two visits to a dealership to decide on buying a bike. I had been outta the loop, so to speak for so long that it took me a long time to realize exactly what I wanted.I also had to ask a lot of questions to and look things over and make sure I was making the right decision. I could only research so long online.Luckily, after asking questions I felt more comfortable making the right decision and thankfully I dealt with a salesperson that didn't want to make the quick sale for the hell of it but who cared what was best for me. I know they aren't out to make friends but in the meantime if they are dealing with customers with respect they will get return customers and a happy buyer will refer their friends there too. I do see the saleperson's side of it, of course, but we are talking about thousands of dollars, not a couple of bucks on a chocolate bar here are we?!!
Last edited:
Happens at auctions too. A stooge ups the bid or the seller "Receives a bid by phone from Montreal". Con game.
In 2011 I went to kahuna to have my bike serviced(2009 model year), while waiting I was checking out another bike. Norm walked over and I let him know I was just killing time I was welcomed to try the bikes(sit/test ride) even explained a lot about various bikes. 3 days later I went back to buy a new bike.. simply because norm was courteous he was able to get me thinking about the bike even after I left the dealership.. be respect full to all who walk in and you will have the sale when its time Simple
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
SimpleSent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Last edited:
I have been selling for over 31 years, and fairly high end product for the last 18 of those years.
I think it is just polite - wherever you go - to be upfront and tell people that you are browsing or at the early stages. I do this if I am shopping for a washing machine, a computer, or whatever and generally find that I get taken care of well. Most sales reps will understand you need to learn a bit about the product and touching and feeling is a big part of things. And professional sales rep knowe that if they are nice to you then there is a better chance of you coming to see them wen it comes time for you to purchase. I have never been upset with people telling me they are browsing or at the early stages and I will do my best to help anyone that comes in my showroom. The only time I get annoyed is when people try and pretend they are something they aren't.
..Tom
I think it is just polite - wherever you go - to be upfront and tell people that you are browsing or at the early stages. I do this if I am shopping for a washing machine, a computer, or whatever and generally find that I get taken care of well. Most sales reps will understand you need to learn a bit about the product and touching and feeling is a big part of things. And professional sales rep knowe that if they are nice to you then there is a better chance of you coming to see them wen it comes time for you to purchase. I have never been upset with people telling me they are browsing or at the early stages and I will do my best to help anyone that comes in my showroom. The only time I get annoyed is when people try and pretend they are something they aren't.
..Tom
Dave L
Well-known member
I have been into a certain dealership a couple of times, always dressed in business casual (I go at lunch from work sometimes) I have always been ignored on the sales floor. Even when I tracked someone down and asked about costs for PDI, freight, admin fees I was completly blown off and told that I have to make an appointment. I should mention that this was in December, hardly the busy time of the year. I was intent on buying a bike and did, but certainly NOT at that dealer.
Idiots that go to dealerships to waste salespersons' time are called wonks. They go from dealership to dealership, always talking crap, never buying. Professional salespeople soon learn who they are, and let the unexperienced sales people deal with them so they can waste their time. To a commissined sales person, time is money.
Don't be a wonk. If you want to window shop, that's one thing, but taking up a saleperson's time and mooching free coffee is something else. In the age of the internet, there really is no reason why anybody can't find out just about everthing about almost any bike without setting foot in a dealership. When you are ready to buy, then take up a salesperson's time and coffee. Otherwise you can easily say, "Just looking", or "Just killing some free time" etc.
Don't be a wonk. If you want to window shop, that's one thing, but taking up a saleperson's time and mooching free coffee is something else. In the age of the internet, there really is no reason why anybody can't find out just about everthing about almost any bike without setting foot in a dealership. When you are ready to buy, then take up a salesperson's time and coffee. Otherwise you can easily say, "Just looking", or "Just killing some free time" etc.
Funny you should say that. My local dealer doesn't post prices or any other associated costs on the website. I had a ballpark in mind from other dealer sites and asking around but was forced into the local dealer to get a close number. He practically forced a test ride on me. I ended up having my son bring a bike up from Stateside. A big waste of time for them, what can I say.
Face
Well-known member
I've test ridden 4 different bikes at GP. They were bikes I had read about, and were interested in, but I still wasn't in a rush to trade up. But riding other bikes definitely got me thinking more about buying. I ended up buying a bike I rode at Kahuna, not because I was trying to jerk GP around, but because it was the bike that just felt right for me, and Norm offered me great sales service and a very fair deal. If you want to sell me a bike, I need the full package, test ride, right bike, good service, good price. If not, there is always another shop to go to, or I can continue to enjoy the ride I'm on.
When I show up at GP on my Kawi, I get the same great service I had before when I was testing. They didn't take it personally because they didn't carry the product I finally decided on. I've bought lots of gear from them, both before & after this process, and I will certainly look to them when it comes to my next bike.
As others have said, its about building relationships. If a shop makes you feel guilty, or has you questioning your ethics just because you want to sit on a bike & ask a few questions, you should probably move on to the next shop.
When I show up at GP on my Kawi, I get the same great service I had before when I was testing. They didn't take it personally because they didn't carry the product I finally decided on. I've bought lots of gear from them, both before & after this process, and I will certainly look to them when it comes to my next bike.
As others have said, its about building relationships. If a shop makes you feel guilty, or has you questioning your ethics just because you want to sit on a bike & ask a few questions, you should probably move on to the next shop.
Boulevard12
Member
Internet information will only get you so far. I did do a lot of research before I bought my bike but I did go to several dealerships to see what I liked best in person, and how it fit and how it handled for starters. Being a short person, even with online information I found some bikes extremely uncomfortable even though at first glance looking at it online thinking it would be the right bike to me.
Carmen
Well-known member
You should never feel guilty about browsing around a motorcycle dealership. If the sales rep isn't busy chances are he'll enjoy the interaction. Sales is about forming relationships. Car salesmen sell cars to make a living, not necessarily because they love cars. Motorcycle sales people are enthusiasts like you. Yeah, they are there to earn a living, but they love bikes as much as us and often ride when they have the time.
