Politics

Just a bunch of nonsense.

Politics is apparent everywhere you work. It can exist in a little group of employees, all the way up to high-end management. Situations here ripple out from salesmen to involve management. And for the most part, that's not kosher. And further, there are grown men, nearly 50 to 60 years old out on the line, arguing like children over customers!

Now, I am within management; I'm not on the General Sales Manager or General Manager level, nor do I have seniority over anyone here being so fresh, but I do hold the title of "Manager" and with such a glorified title upon a salesman, I do have to maintain my due diligence, and even though I am slimy greaseball salesman deemed as such by the general public, I have a sense of honor and integrity in this business.

At least amongst one another here. Consumers... I will do my best to make a profit off of you (unless you're a friend of mine).

With that said, I happened to be caught in the middle of the politics charade, which then rippled out from retail to management. A few weeks back on any given Sunday, I was sitting at my desk awaiting the slew of customers to bombard me in a week of unpreparedness and football forgiveness. A retail salesman came to me, asking if I was particularly busy. Particularly, no, not really. He had two appointments coming in, and woudl I be so kind to help him out? "Sure," I said, "but in a fair world, don't you need to turn it to another retail guy?"

"No, because this is my weekend off, and I would like to make some money for myself. I know that you don't need a closer, and I feel that you're stronger than the rest of these jack-offs out front."

I appreciated the sentiment, and I decided, "Why not?" I'll work it like a retail deal, make some money, and call it a day. So, the client came in, I worked them like a retail "up" and made some money with the additional incentive that Internet Managers make selling a vehicle at MSRP with "back end." During this transaction, I was asked by the desk manager how I got this client if a retail salesman was on the front. I simply explained that he had two appointments, and he wanted me to take a crack at it.

The next day, I am confronted by the salesman's closer, demanding to know how I got his salesman's up. Again, I explained my story, and left it at that. In this store, I am "straight sales" with no closer, and as I was the delivering salesman, the closer is bumped off the deal. The closer was upset, but I told him that he needed to take his issue up with the salesman. More politics ensue away from me, and I move on.

It gets better.

I am then confronted by the same salesman, asking if I could take a turn for him. Again, I go through my "integrity spiel" about turning to the guys out front, and he was again working on his day off. I take the turn, work the client, and sell them. Closer is bumped off, and we move on.

At this point, I am getting a regular reputation by making a killing for the retail side, so I had an additional "turn" or two/three/four from salesmen from the front. With my curiosity piqued, I started rooting around to see why these guys come to me instead of keeping their clients out on the retail side of things. Outside of the money, of course. This issue stems from salesmen being brought to fear to turn to the other team with an iron hand from the closers, or a feeling of not having enough strong salesmen to turn to. Weak sucks, unfortunately. And it is ultimately imploding the retail department to the point where closers are instigating more problems within the two teams and causing utter chaos.

Politics. Granted, I played a hand in this game, but I showed my cards to the right people, and I was given the pot--I came up a winner. But my point is that everyone works for the dealership; not for the closers. Not for an individual person. If a salesman is stuck, and s/he absolutely feels that there is a particular salesman that can do his/her damnest to sell a car, whether on his team or not, they should have no fear to utilize that guy. It's better to have a half of a commission than nothing at all. That's how I played with these clients. I worked it, and these retail guys knew I would and sell a car for them.

Then again, I'm just a lowly glorified salesman.