“She’s ready to come in and lease the car.”
Car salespeople are willing to do a lot to close a deal. Sometimes taking a customer at their word with the expectation that they’ll be buying a car from you can cost the salesperson than they expected. But it’s supposed to be worth it for the commission.
One car salesman made an exception to his rules for a person who swore they were ready to buy. In the end, however, things didn’t quite turn out how he thought.
In a TikTok, car salesman Eric (@ericinmotion379) said that last week a woman contacted him about a specific car on his dealership’s lot. She gave him the stock number, they talked numbers and she seemed ready to move forward.
“Everything seems golden,” Eric says. “She’s ready to come in and lease the car. Everything is solid.”
The customer wanted to schedule the appointment for Tuesday. There was just one issue: that’s his day off.
He says he tried to move the appointment to late Monday or early Wednesday, but Tuesday was apparently the only day she could make it.
Eric eventually agreed, though he did explain that on Tuesday he normally watches his son while his wife works, so coming in meant finding and paying for a sitter, then making the hour-long trip to the dealership, which he was willing to do this one time.
The morning of the appointment Eric confirmed with the woman. The appointment was set for 5:30 p.m. Eric dropped his son off and reached the dealership around 4:45 p.m.
He waited around for a while. Then he texted the woman. She told him her husband was already at the dealership and that she would arrive in 10 minutes.
“I don’t see anybody at the dealership at all,” he says. “It’s completely empty.”
A few minutes later, Eric asked whether she was still coming. The woman insisted she was already there.
“I’m here,” he recalls her saying.
He checked again. No one was there besides the dealership employees.
“What dealership are you in?” he asked
Turns out she was at a completely different location.
“Complete Tuesday wasted,” he says. “Wasted.”
Eric says the mix-up cost him the babysitter, gas, a long round-trip commute, and time he otherwise would have spent with his son.
“Don’t be this person,” he says.
In the caption, Eric speculates that the couple never actually intended to get a car that day.
One commenter agreed, writing, “People have no idea what salesmen do to accommodate them. They think you owe them something bc omg you might make some money off of them (heaven forbid). Those who do that to you rarely buy or even more rare, make a profit. I [expletive] hate this for you. I’m sorry your day off got [expletive] up…and even more you missed time with your son.”
While car sales can offer flexible scheduling, it doesn’t necessarily mean fewer hours. Here are some of the pros and cons of the profession, according to Indeed:
Pros:
Cons:
AutoPeople confirms the long hours, weekend shifts, and unpredictable customer flow as longstanding features of dealership work. Because many shoppers visit after the traditional workday or on weekends, employees can feel pressure to remain constantly available.
But the outlet notes that there’s benefits to protecting employees’ time off since burnout is a major contributor to turnover. It adds that dealerships who are more protective of work-life balance can reap the benefits of higher employee retention, better morale and engagement, and a better pipeline of employees who can move into leadership roles.
AutoPeople recommends predictable schedules, more daytime appointments, streamlined workflows, and leaders who model healthy boundaries.
Motor1 reached out to Eric via TikTok direct message and comment. We’ll be sure to update this if he responds.
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