So in my
time as an internet sales manager at a Ford store I had a lot of strange
contacts. You would think that people
who are trying to save time by conducting most of the transaction online would
want to keep things simple. On the contrary
most of the people who started shopping for a car online made it more
complicated and challenging than if they would have just stopped in and said
hello.
Having said
that there are certain times when you simply can’t help but make it more
complicated than it needs to be. For
example, if you’re in an active combat zone and you’re trying to buy a car for
a surprise visit stateside. That is
where the last car I will ever sell started.
I got an
email lead one day through our USAA lead source. I took special care of these leads as they
were usually members of our armed forces or their families. Regardless I respect what they do for our
country and wanted to give them every possible courtesy as thanks for their sacrifices.
The email I
got was from a young man who wanted to buy a black on black California special
Mustang GT 5.0, manual we had on the lot.
It was one hell of a sexy looking car and from the day it showed up I
kept checking in on it whenever it was within eye sight.
The USAA
pricing made things super easy for us.
At the time it also meant that I was only going to make $150 on the deal
because of the overly aggressive pricing my (now fired) GM had put on these
deals. The price was the price and the
rest was just pushing paperwork through.
At first it
was emails back and fourth making sure the car had the right features and
options. I noticed the emails had
“declassified” on them and made it a point to jokingly ask my customer what was
going on. He told me he was in a forward
operating base in Afghanistan and the emails had to go through a screening
process to make sure he wasn’t giving out intelligence.
Finally
after several emails I told the young Marine he was welcome to call me, day or
night, either at the dealership or on my cell phone. I know he would only get a small window to do
so and I worked crazy hours so something had to line up.
The next
day I get a phone call from a “kid” with lots of “yes sir” and “no sir”
answers…I knew right away it was the Marine.
He told me he wanted to buy the car and drive it to his sisters wedding
in 3 months as a surprise. I told him
what we would need to do in order to make that happen with power of attorney
and a deposit. As soon as I said
“deposit” he said “oh shit” and abruptly hung up.
Not having
a way to call him back I wrote him an email and explained the steps on what he
needed to do. The next morning I
returned to work to find a reply in my inbox saying “sorry about that…we were
taking mortars and I had to get to cover.
Is the car still there?!”. I sat
staring at my screen for a few minutes letting that sink in. This “kid” was more concerned about blowing
his mustang deal than he was getting killed by mortar rounds.
His mom had
to get in the mix as the stateside power of attorney and she collaborated with
me to send all the documents we needed.
When we had the paperwork together I told him all we needed now was the
deposit. I got 3 emails in rapid succession
with his credit card info on them. About
an hour later I get a call from him.
“Hey did you get those emails? I
was in my can, on a toilet, with the fob out the vent hole, trying to get a
wifi signal while we took more rounds.
F@$kin’ Taliban” (“can” was the
concrete bunker he lived in. Apparently
there was a vent hole they Marines figured out had a wifi signal if you could
see the communication bunker) He had
been hitting the send button over and over again to make sure the email got
sent.
At this
point the car was his. We sent a courier
up to his family in South Dakota to discretely have his mom sign the
paperwork. His dad, a long haul trucker
was on the road at the time so it was perfect.
The Marine emailed me saying his dad would be in Omaha that weekend
dropping off a load of cattle and he wanted to see the car. “Now remember, my dad doesn’t know I’ve
already bought the car so just act like I’m still considering it.” I agree to meet his dad on Sunday, when the
dealership was closed, to take him for a ride.
Sure enough
Sunday afternoon his dad pulls up in a truck with a load of cattle. If you’ve never smelled someone who hauls
cattle before it takes a few days to get it out of your nose and mouth. It’s a very “earthy” smell and I knew this
going in…but this guys story had me hooked.
We took a test drive and his dad smiled the whole time, he was loving
every second of the drive. “Well
shit…guess I’m not a Camero guy anymore!”
I parked the car and told him we’d have to get back in touch with his
son and see if we could work out numbers.
I put a
sign in the cars windshield for the next 3 months. “Welcome Home Marine SOLD”
We made it a point to walk people past the car to show them how we took
care of our armed forces. I kept the
keys in my desk and had him send me a letter stating I was allowed to retain ownership
and/or operate the vehicle as needed to facilitate his ownership. I didn’t want my “evil” manager or my less
than bright GM saying I stole the car.
At this point I had also made up my mind to quit after I delivered the
car to the Marine.
The final
week rolled around and I get flight times for his arrival into the Omaha
Airport. Friday at 1pm I was going to
deliver the car and then on my return to the dealership I was going to quit. I told a friend of mine the night before for
some reason and she told my GM the next morning.
Friday
morning rolls around and I’m rather chipper knowing I’m hours away from being
done. Our GM calls an all sales meeting
after his morning beating of the other managers. He went through the room checking our
schedules making sure we had coverage and then dismissed everyone except me and
2 of the other managers. “I know today
is your last day…I’ve known this for some time.” He said.
(total lie and just positioning)
We go through a laundry list of things about how I’m doing, what’s
wrong, where am I going…etc. My
responses by the way were: “I’m pissed
off every day and taking sleeping aides at lunch to calm down”, “I make $150 a
car with the internet pricing you put in place so I’m broke”, and “I have NO
IDEA but at least its not here”.
I but a
great big bow on top with a middle finger with this one, “I would have quit 3
months ago but I promised a Marine in Afghanistan I’d pick him up in his
Mustang at the airport so he can surprise his family. (I actually had the letter in my pocket
stating I could do this…just in case) I
made a promise to a man who is fighting a war…I intend to keep it. His flight gets in at 1pm…then I’m done.”
He makes a
few more petty attempts to keep me on and I blow it off. As I’m walking out one of the other managers
shakes my hand and said “that was awesome”.
(he quit a month or two later as well)
I was “allowed” to deliver the car but wasn’t supposed to return
afterward. A lot porter and friend of
mine helped me get my car downtown to my place and give me a ride back so I had
nothing left there.
I got in
the Mustang and drove it to the airport later that day. I’m not sure if it was the sense of finally
being free of the nightmare that was that job or if it was the V8 under my
foot…but that drive felt amazing! I
pulled up to the gate right as I got a text from the Marine. “Out front”
He wasn’t
hard to miss on the street. “Jarhead”
haircut, built like a brick shit house, and holding a green duffle bag over his
shoulder. I revved the engine a few
times as I entered the concrete “canyon” where you pick people up. The smile on this guys face said it all.
“Corporal,
I believe this is your car sir.” As he
walked over a group of guys blurted out “NICE CAR BUDDY!!!” “Its his…as of right now.” And with that I put the keys in his hand and
shook the other.
He spent the next 5 minutes in
awe. So much so that the airport police
told us we had to leave and I had to drive because he hadn’t driven stick in a
few years. I drove it like I owned
it…but I definitely gave the car an opportunity to show what it could do.
We pulled
up outside my girlfriends condo downtown.
I showed him how to work everything and paired his phone. I gave him a few recommendations on places to
eat in town if he was hungry and pointed him in the direction of the interstate
to get driving to his sisters wedding.
“How will you get home sir?” he said as I closed the door from outside.
“Actually
I’m going to walk home…I quit this morning.
This is the last car I will ever sell.
I made you a promise 3 months ago and have been waiting for this
day. Now have a safe trip home Marine,
enjoy your family.”
After a few “seriously!??!”
comments and he realized I was serious about the whole deal he got out of the
car, walked around to my side and gave me what I can only describe as the most
profoundly grateful handshake I have ever had.
As I walked the few blocks back to
my apartment I heard the sound of a 5.0 V8 coming dangerously close to the redline
and a less than perfect shift into 3rd disappear onto the onramp of
the interstate.
Months later when he was home for
good, I got a sheepish text from him asking how to reset his phone in the
car. He apparently didn’t feel right
calling the dealership and asking them how to do it. Honestly, I was just glad to hear the guy was
home safe so I had no problem helping out one last time.
So why post this in this blog? Its simple, integrity. I worked in an industry where everyone…I mean
EVERYONE thinks you’re a crook or you’re lying.
It is one of the reasons I got so angry all the time. When I told them something I wasn’t lying…it
was the truth, but was called a liar on an hourly basis in many different
ways. Other salespeople may not have had
the integrity to do the right thing and help this kid buy the car. It took months, logistics were a nightmare,
and I jumped through more hoops than any other deal I did as a car
salesman. But at the end of the day I
made that Marines dream come true and his family got a moment that can never be
recreated. Me…the lying cheating no good
car salesman…a man of integrity did that.
Whenever I think back to all the horrible things I experienced in my
time as a car salesman they all go away when I think of that black on black California
special Mustang GT.