Lexus Salespeople Never Heeard of Club Lexus?
06-22-18, 07:46 AM
#16
Lexus Fanatic
Ever talk to a professional driving instructor, say at Porsche / PCNA, or BMWNA? That's their job. They are not on forums nor do they usually drive the car personally that they drive for work. When we were doing a hot lap in a Panamera Turbo, one of the passengers said I wish I could afford this car. The PCNA driver said you and me both.
06-22-18, 08:14 AM
#17
Lexus Test Driver
i work at a dealership. used to be in sales but moved to service -im an enthusiast, and i was a great salesman to another enthusiast. to everyone else? .....horrible. the masses that buy a new lexus are not interested in specs like what exactly a TVD does, or electric power steering systems, how many ECUs are in them, how many electronic processes have to happen before the car starts, what the frequency range is on the key fob is, etc. its way cool stuff for folks like us, but for the masses its, "oh, pretty car with an L on the front thats fast and feels nice" and thats all they give a damn about. truth be told these cars sell themselfs, and the more you run your mouth, the more of a chance that buyer is going to get overloaded with crap and walk away.
however, when a customer came in and drilled me on all kinds of weird stuff the avg. joe dont know, it was good to have that in my back pocket, but those kind of folks are rare.
ofcourse the salesman wants to make as much as possible of the sale, because thats how he eats. most of these guys have a family to feed and bills to pay, and may only get one or two ups a day. in a system with 30 sales people, everyone takes their turn, and when someone shows up, salesman dont run to the car like roaches, so thats the only shot they get. contrary to popular belief, lexus salesmen dont make huge money unless they have been doing it for a long long time and have a steady stream of buyers coming in all the time. plus they have to sell atleast 12 cars a month before they make real money which doesnt sound like much, but when you are competing with 30 other salesmen, its a real challenge.
guys here are pretty enformed. they know the cars and most have been here awhile, and if they dont know something, i will always stop what im doing to help.
please dont crap too hard on salesmen. unless youve walked the walk, do not judge.
however, when a customer came in and drilled me on all kinds of weird stuff the avg. joe dont know, it was good to have that in my back pocket, but those kind of folks are rare.
ofcourse the salesman wants to make as much as possible of the sale, because thats how he eats. most of these guys have a family to feed and bills to pay, and may only get one or two ups a day. in a system with 30 sales people, everyone takes their turn, and when someone shows up, salesman dont run to the car like roaches, so thats the only shot they get. contrary to popular belief, lexus salesmen dont make huge money unless they have been doing it for a long long time and have a steady stream of buyers coming in all the time. plus they have to sell atleast 12 cars a month before they make real money which doesnt sound like much, but when you are competing with 30 other salesmen, its a real challenge.
guys here are pretty enformed. they know the cars and most have been here awhile, and if they dont know something, i will always stop what im doing to help.
please dont crap too hard on salesmen. unless youve walked the walk, do not judge.
06-22-18, 08:26 AM
#18
Lexus Fanatic
i work at a dealership. used to be in sales but moved to service -im an enthusiast, and i was a great salesman to another enthusiast. to everyone else? .....horrible. the masses that buy a new lexus are not interested in specs like what exactly a TVD does, or electric power steering systems, how many ECUs are in them, how many electronic processes have to happen before the car starts, what the frequency range is on the key fob is, etc. its way cool stuff for folks like us, but for the masses its, "oh, pretty car with an L on the front thats fast and feels nice" and thats all they give a damn about. truth be told these cars sell themselfs, and the more you run your mouth, the more of a chance that buyer is going to get overloaded with crap and walk away.
however, when a customer came in and drilled me on all kinds of weird stuff the avg. joe dont know, it was good to have that in my back pocket, but those kind of folks are rare.
ofcourse the salesman wants to make as much as possible of the sale, because thats how he eats. most of these guys have a family to feed and bills to pay, and may only get one or two ups a day. in a system with 30 sales people, everyone takes their turn, and when someone shows up, salesman dont run to the car like roaches, so thats the only shot they get. contrary to popular belief, lexus salesmen dont make huge money unless they have been doing it for a long long time and have a steady stream of buyers coming in all the time. plus they have to sell atleast 12 cars a month before they make real money which doesnt sound like much, but when you are competing with 30 other salesmen, its a real challenge.
guys here are pretty enformed. they know the cars and most have been here awhile, and if they dont know something, i will always stop what im doing to help.
please dont crap too hard on salesmen. unless youve walked the walk, do not judge.
however, when a customer came in and drilled me on all kinds of weird stuff the avg. joe dont know, it was good to have that in my back pocket, but those kind of folks are rare.
ofcourse the salesman wants to make as much as possible of the sale, because thats how he eats. most of these guys have a family to feed and bills to pay, and may only get one or two ups a day. in a system with 30 sales people, everyone takes their turn, and when someone shows up, salesman dont run to the car like roaches, so thats the only shot they get. contrary to popular belief, lexus salesmen dont make huge money unless they have been doing it for a long long time and have a steady stream of buyers coming in all the time. plus they have to sell atleast 12 cars a month before they make real money which doesnt sound like much, but when you are competing with 30 other salesmen, its a real challenge.
guys here are pretty enformed. they know the cars and most have been here awhile, and if they dont know something, i will always stop what im doing to help.
please dont crap too hard on salesmen. unless youve walked the walk, do not judge.
Now this woman for all I know is a college student and working over the summer, should she study all the models and the competition etc.? Nah. Also, the guy with me in the Corvette knew very little as well. And honestly, I don't either. He said you are one of the few people who can drive a stick, everyone else is driving the Gran Sport auto. That's kind of sad imho....you're right. Until someone does something aggressively against us, there's no reason to judge. Now when people are unhelpful and then don't know what they're doing, that's different...
06-22-18, 10:38 AM
#19
Lexus Test Driver
funny misinformed salesman story...
ive been a lexus guy for a LOOOOONG time. i thought i knew everything there was to know about them. well, i did, i knew everything lexus circa 1990s
i didnt have much experience with the newer stuff but acted like i did enough for them to give me a shot. i thought to myself, "hmmm.. whats this 2014 Ls460L do differently then my 1995 Ls400 does? its big, its RWD, and has a V8. what could i possibly have a problem with??
WRONG.
well i walked in the door and out to the lot on my first day as a fancy "lexus product specialist" -sounds important and loved the title, with my head high and my chest puffed out thinking i had it totally under control, and that i was going to absolutley dominate the sales board.
i walk out to the lot looking at a sea of shiny new 2014 Ls460s, ES350s and 300s, IS 350s, CT200h, and Lx570s, and after about 5 mins i stopped dead in my tracks. the walls of reality came crashing down on me, these cars were freaking aliens compaired to the lexus i knew! "oh dear god! what did i get myself into!!
my first thought was to just run. run away from this place as far and as fast as possible and pretend like it never happened. but thats not what i did. i spent the rest of the week pulling every car off the lot and learning in great detail about every single one of them. how they drove how they behaved in different driving situations, all the infotainment and telematics systems, all the engine and mechanical stuff. by the end of that first month, i was a pro. not because i was there to just sell a product, but as an enthusiast i wanted to learn everything about the 21st century lexus and everything there is to know about them, and to teach people about them and how great they were. and ill tell you what, after a long day selling them, it takes about 4 to 6 hours to sell a car from meet and greet to the delivery bay, but that evening, when everything was winding down, seeing that new customer i had converted from an audi a6 to a Lexus GS350, drive off into the sunset, it was a really really good feeling. not because i simply sold a car, but because i helped someone make a great decision picking a car that will look good, feel good, and will be good to them for years to come. THAT is what its about.
ive been a lexus guy for a LOOOOONG time. i thought i knew everything there was to know about them. well, i did, i knew everything lexus circa 1990s
i didnt have much experience with the newer stuff but acted like i did enough for them to give me a shot. i thought to myself, "hmmm.. whats this 2014 Ls460L do differently then my 1995 Ls400 does? its big, its RWD, and has a V8. what could i possibly have a problem with??
WRONG.
well i walked in the door and out to the lot on my first day as a fancy "lexus product specialist" -sounds important and loved the title, with my head high and my chest puffed out thinking i had it totally under control, and that i was going to absolutley dominate the sales board.
i walk out to the lot looking at a sea of shiny new 2014 Ls460s, ES350s and 300s, IS 350s, CT200h, and Lx570s, and after about 5 mins i stopped dead in my tracks. the walls of reality came crashing down on me, these cars were freaking aliens compaired to the lexus i knew! "oh dear god! what did i get myself into!!
my first thought was to just run. run away from this place as far and as fast as possible and pretend like it never happened. but thats not what i did. i spent the rest of the week pulling every car off the lot and learning in great detail about every single one of them. how they drove how they behaved in different driving situations, all the infotainment and telematics systems, all the engine and mechanical stuff. by the end of that first month, i was a pro. not because i was there to just sell a product, but as an enthusiast i wanted to learn everything about the 21st century lexus and everything there is to know about them, and to teach people about them and how great they were. and ill tell you what, after a long day selling them, it takes about 4 to 6 hours to sell a car from meet and greet to the delivery bay, but that evening, when everything was winding down, seeing that new customer i had converted from an audi a6 to a Lexus GS350, drive off into the sunset, it was a really really good feeling. not because i simply sold a car, but because i helped someone make a great decision picking a car that will look good, feel good, and will be good to them for years to come. THAT is what its about.
06-22-18, 10:55 AM
#20
Lexus Fanatic
funny misinformed salesman story...
ive been a lexus guy for a LOOOOONG time. i thought i knew everything there was to know about them. well, i did, i knew everything lexus circa 1990s
i didnt have much experience with the newer stuff but acted like i did enough for them to give me a shot. i thought to myself, "hmmm.. whats this 2014 Ls460L do differently then my 1995 Ls400 does? its big, its RWD, and has a V8. what could i possibly have a problem with??
WRONG.
well i walked in the door and out to the lot on my first day as a fancy "lexus product specialist" -sounds important and loved the title, with my head high and my chest puffed out thinking i had it totally under control, and that i was going to absolutley dominate the sales board.
i walk out to the lot looking at a sea of shiny new 2014 Ls460s, ES350s and 300s, IS 350s, CT200h, and Lx570s, and after about 5 mins i stopped dead in my tracks. the walls of reality came crashing down on me, these cars were freaking aliens compaired to the lexus i knew! "oh dear god! what did i get myself into!!
my first thought was to just run. run away from this place as far and as fast as possible and pretend like it never happened. but thats not what i did. i spent the rest of the week pulling every car off the lot and learning in great detail about every single one of them. how they drove how they behaved in different driving situations, all the infotainment and telematics systems, all the engine and mechanical stuff. by the end of that first month, i was a pro. not because i was there to just sell a product, but as an enthusiast i wanted to learn everything about the 21st century lexus and everything there is to know about them, and to teach people about them and how great they were. and ill tell you what, after a long day selling them, it takes about 4 to 6 hours to sell a car from meet and greet to the delivery bay, but that evening, when everything was winding down, seeing that new customer i had converted from an audi a6 to a Lexus GS350, drive off into the sunset, it was a really really good feeling. not because i simply sold a car, but because i helped someone make a great decision picking a car that will look good, feel good, and will be good to them for years to come. THAT is what its about.
ive been a lexus guy for a LOOOOONG time. i thought i knew everything there was to know about them. well, i did, i knew everything lexus circa 1990s
i didnt have much experience with the newer stuff but acted like i did enough for them to give me a shot. i thought to myself, "hmmm.. whats this 2014 Ls460L do differently then my 1995 Ls400 does? its big, its RWD, and has a V8. what could i possibly have a problem with??
WRONG.
well i walked in the door and out to the lot on my first day as a fancy "lexus product specialist" -sounds important and loved the title, with my head high and my chest puffed out thinking i had it totally under control, and that i was going to absolutley dominate the sales board.
i walk out to the lot looking at a sea of shiny new 2014 Ls460s, ES350s and 300s, IS 350s, CT200h, and Lx570s, and after about 5 mins i stopped dead in my tracks. the walls of reality came crashing down on me, these cars were freaking aliens compaired to the lexus i knew! "oh dear god! what did i get myself into!!
my first thought was to just run. run away from this place as far and as fast as possible and pretend like it never happened. but thats not what i did. i spent the rest of the week pulling every car off the lot and learning in great detail about every single one of them. how they drove how they behaved in different driving situations, all the infotainment and telematics systems, all the engine and mechanical stuff. by the end of that first month, i was a pro. not because i was there to just sell a product, but as an enthusiast i wanted to learn everything about the 21st century lexus and everything there is to know about them, and to teach people about them and how great they were. and ill tell you what, after a long day selling them, it takes about 4 to 6 hours to sell a car from meet and greet to the delivery bay, but that evening, when everything was winding down, seeing that new customer i had converted from an audi a6 to a Lexus GS350, drive off into the sunset, it was a really really good feeling. not because i simply sold a car, but because i helped someone make a great decision picking a car that will look good, feel good, and will be good to them for years to come. THAT is what its about.
Also, when I ordered the car, the sales mgr. said the CA forgot to charge me the Training and MACO fees (so sorry). So I said very arrogantly, "I don't pay those fees." I had no clue what they were and was trying to google them. He said, "Everyone pays them." And chuckled. I said look, maybe those rich people who buy these cars pays them, like Paris Hilton (lol had a crush on her), and the like, but I don't pay them. As a matter of fact, cancel the order, I don't want the car anymore." Of course I did want the car but I was willing to walk as I was really angry there would be $800 out of nowhere. In the end I didn't have to pay, he cried me a river that they were eating the charges and that they were legit charges that BMWNA charged them (they were, just like destination charges)...
06-22-18, 01:43 PM
#21
i really don't see why dealership people should know about clublexus. this is just a job for them and clublexus is an enthusiast site.
clublexus is a very small entity when looking at the whole lexus market. put it this way, even people at lexus corp i won't be surprised if majority of them don't know about clublexus
clublexus is a very small entity when looking at the whole lexus market. put it this way, even people at lexus corp i won't be surprised if majority of them don't know about clublexus
06-22-18, 03:55 PM
#22
Lexus Fanatic
i really don't see why dealership people should know about clublexus. this is just a job for them and clublexus is an enthusiast site.
clublexus is a very small entity when looking at the whole lexus market. put it this way, even people at lexus corp i won't be surprised if majority of them don't know about clublexus
clublexus is a very small entity when looking at the whole lexus market. put it this way, even people at lexus corp i won't be surprised if majority of them don't know about clublexus
My experience, with reviews, is that, on the average, about one out of ten sales people know about Club Lexus....a little higher percentage than that, of course, at the Lexus shops.
06-22-18, 05:43 PM
#23
Lead Lap
I dont expect a salesperson to know anything about a car. I get being a salesperson is not an easy job, catering to the whim of a person who may or may not translate into a sale. Same with the forum knowledge, some sales folks know, some are clueless. Enthusiasm might get you brownie points, but it necessarily wont get you the commission you need from a sale.
06-22-18, 10:47 PM
#24
I dont expect a salesperson to know anything about a car. I get being a salesperson is not an easy job, catering to the whim of a person who may or may not translate into a sale. Same with the forum knowledge, some sales folks know, some are clueless. Enthusiasm might get you brownie points, but it necessarily wont get you the commission you need from a sale.
06-23-18, 05:25 AM
#25
Lexus Fanatic
Man I just realized my test drive offer expires Wed., and I can't do it today and they are closed tomorrow. Funny I am seeking out sales, but I just can't leave $75 on the table. Prolly shoot by the dealer after work Monday--I'll let everyone know what the salesperson is like re: RX-L
06-23-18, 05:29 AM
#26
Lexus Fanatic
I dont expect a salesperson to know anything about a car. I get being a salesperson is not an easy job, catering to the whim of a person who may or may not translate into a sale. Same with the forum knowledge, some sales folks know, some are clueless. Enthusiasm might get you brownie points, but it necessarily wont get you the commission you need from a sale.
06-23-18, 07:57 AM
#29
Lexus Fanatic
That is clearly shown by the lounge of any dealership, any given day (OK I think I've only stepped foot in a dealer 4X so I could actually be wrong I admit). The avg age is clearly above 50, maybe 60, and for whatever reason they are good with waiting for their cars (nobody waits for a BMW, not even 10+ y.o. car owners, they grab a loaner and go). what I have also remarked about Lexus dealers is that people are up there for politeness and customer service (lotta good it does given the prices and the cars but it is good)
06-23-18, 02:42 PM
#30
Lexus Fanatic