I have been to 5 dealers here in the Western New York region and every dealer I have dealt with Sales people who have no knowledge of the new Scion XB. I would think it would be there job to. I have learned more about the car from forums and articles which I would think , being there job, they would be reading also to know as much as they can about the car their trying to sale. I had a sales person tell me today that the new XB can not have the navigation put in at the dealer, it has to be ordered that way. It is only installed at the factory. Now I know that is bull but he turned me away from buying one cause the one XB that was on their lot did not have the navigation already installed and there was no way I could have it with the navigation. I've had one guy tell me the supercharger is available for it, and another said no. I've had one guy tell me you can't play dvd's at all on the nav, another said you could. Come on guys (scion sales people) Get with it, know your car and your accessories. Toyota should be ashamed to have these half dim wit sales people tring to sale their cars. That is my 2 cents.

 

The sales-Rep was Great....#1 at that dealer for the last year....Really knew her stuff

 

What dealership? Might be worth the trip..

 

word, salespeople . . . go brush up.

next time you go to a dealership, ask if there is a Scion Specific person you can deal with. Matter of a fact, call ahead and ask the operator to speak to them. set up an appointment to ensure you get to spend the amount of time you need to make your buying decision.

how about some of you customers actually respecting some of us salespeople who DO know the product inside and out and would love to serve you except instead of allowing me to run my business like a professional, you walk in to a dealership and EXPECT to be waited on by the first person you see. you wouldn't get your haircut without an appointment, why would you spend upwards of 20k without one.

 

One dealership told me the new xB has a 1.8L engine...

 

Not all salespeople are idiots when it comes to Scions. My salesman, Gregory Marshall at King's Toyota/Scion in Mason Ohio (North of Cincinnati) is a VERY knowledgeable salesman.

He might not know ever nut and bolt on the Scions he sells, but he knows more than most of the people on this forum and that knowledge base is one of the reasons I bought my new 08 xB from him and not from another Toyota/Scion dealership in the area (there are four others in a very short distance from me).

Anyway, as shorberg said, it really makes a difference if you speak to one of the salespeople (sometimes there is only one at the Toyota dealership) who is specifically trained to sell Scions. The regular Toyota salespeople at the dealership I went to barely knew the difference between an xA and 08 xB (and one didn't even know the xD is on the way).

Bottom line, make sure you're talking to a trained Scion salesperson and not just a Toyota salesperson who is "filling in" at the dealership.

 

Good point on making sure the sales people are Scion certified. Unfortunately Sales is a cut throat business and like vultures anyone of them may try to hit you up for the sale. Sad to say but a couple of the sales people I have dealt with are actually the real scion sales people. Shorberg, Hope I didn't hit a nerve..

 

Most customers have more knowledge now a days because of the internet. My dealship didn't even know the colors the car was available in.

 

I agree with shorberg as long as the sales people at dealership are "playing by the rules". It definitely went smoother with a verified Scion salesman than just whoever.

It can work exactly as it should,but I had less than satisfactory experiences at dealers close to home. Where I actually bought my xB (168 miles away) I called ahead and talked to a Scion specific sales guy and it worked out great. Anybody in the general area of LaCrosse, WI call Dave Griffin at Steve Low's Midwest Toyota Scion. All in all I was glad I drove over to see him. It was a pleasant experience and I got exactly the xB I wanted.

My experience at the dealer closest to home was not so good. I walked in and asked for the Scion champion and was told they did not have one. I then asked to speak to a Scion salesperson. The sales guy said he could help me. He definitely gave me the impression he was authorized to sell Scions. He knew the xB fairly well, but I think that was because he wants one himself. On the second visit when I made it clear I was ready to buy, he told me he could help me but we would have to bring in a Scion salesman to help finish the deal and make the order. I left and two days later bought my xB from Dave in LaCrosse.

In that respect, it may not always be a case of the customer expecting to be helped by the first person they see, as much as some Toyota sales guy grabbing the customer. Certainly seemed that way in my case.

 

You know it's bad when you walk into your local dealership and the salesmen come up to you to find out what's new with Scions's

 

If you were selling shoes, wouldnt you want to know the difference between a man and womans shoe?

I dont know about you, but i dont need an appoinment to get my hair cut. Any place i go, its Walk-Ins Welcomed.

Now about sales people not knowing what they are selling. The rotation for car salespersons is large. Most arent around long enough to gain the knowledge about what they are selling. Others could care less. They would rather sell you a car and then attach all the goodies they can in order to bump up their commision.

I speak on this only because our local Scion Corp Regional Manager has asked us several times this year to attend functions like the Scion VIPs ... Scion Backstage and other events where its mandatory for the sales staff to attend as well. He wants the sales staff in this region to know what they are selling, who they are selling it to, and all the goodies that Scion can add to the cars to help boost profits on a car that has pure pricing.

 

not all sales people are like that, I would like to let you know. I am one, and I know my stuff. it really is too bad that there are people out there that don't care enough to be on top of things. Just so you know, we are not all brain dead.

if you want real answers and sales people that don't suck a$$, you could always come out to Maita in Sacramento, CA.

(i know, shameless plug)

but seriously, it makes me mad that there are sales people out there that give the good ones a bad name.

 

New Rochelle Toyota...NY.......Euna Wilson..

 

All it took was one bad cut by my girlfriend's-friend's-mom for me to stop that practice. Now the chick who cut's my hair is my phone, both the shop she's at, and her cell. It's a 1000 times better.

Same thing with trying to buy a car, but it's even more important to stick with a salesman. Why? Because it makes it easier. I've got customers that call me up and place their order. Their paperwork is ready to go the first time they step foot on the dealership, and they are in and out in about 20-30 min. Have you ever bought a car in 20-30 min by just bumping into a random job hopping commision junkie with a gambliing problem? Yeah, thought not.

 

Salespeople arent required to attend ScionVIP events or any other Scion events. Backstage was a class for dealers so they sent people. Are you claiming youre a trainer for Toyota/Scion now? Im confused why youre bragging about being invited to these events. The salespeople in the NY region are just as bad on average as any other region in the country. Its just the nature of the business. There are salespeople who care and salespeople who don't. I myself trained my staff with weekly meetings, random questionares, and walk-arounds. Its really up to the customer to find the best dealership and salespeople to work with....

 

And let's go ahead and clear one misconception up right now: knowledge of cars and ability to sell cars are completely unrelated. We have guys selling 20+/month, making 110-160k year and they are always asking the most rudimentary questions about models/features/availability. They only reason they learn anything at all is by shear repetition.

 

Very true statement!

Although, oddly enough the guy who sold the most at the last dealership I worked at (averaged 32/month made 220k/year) also was the guy who knew the packages and available equipment the best. Very knowlegable and nice guy. He was the oddball though. Not usually the case...

 

In order to consistently get over that 25/month barrier, you have to:

a) Be at a dealership for longer than 2 years

b) Be exceptionally organized

c) Know the difference between all the packages and trim levels on Camry, Tundra, and Corolla, and know a lot about the same things on the rest of the lineup

d) consitently look out for your customer's budgets by offering alternatives they never considered that suit their needs better.

A super salesman with a slick schtick may pop that 25 barrier once or twice a year, and hit 18-22 the rest of the year without knowing all of that. It comes down to one thing and one thing only; efficiency. If you know your stuff you can make things happen quicker. If you don't, you'll always take longer than a guy like me or the one you talked about.

The guy hitting the 18-22 consistently and the 25+ every now and again, is typically in too deep to realize how much better he could be by taking that extra step, but with 150k reasons not to take that step.

The guy hitting 28 - 35+ on a consitent basis took that step many moons ago. with an assistant, they could go to 45+

 

Yeah that guy is a machine. Very organized. Fleet accounts help as well. He would usually get at least 4-5 bones a month from fleet. Once you have the accounts selling fleet is like playing whiffle ball....

 

Anything to start trouble, huh Joe? Im going strickly off what Scot ( yes, its Scot with one T, not 2 ) had told Jenn and myself. So, i dont know what to tell you. Maybe he has more personable conversations with us and can count on us to get things done then he does with you. BTW ... did you ever tell him all those lovely things you said about him and his organization last year? They aught to call you the man with 2 faces, cause you love to talk out of both.

I could, but i wont go there.