El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-06-23
Use "Hoss Sense" In
SaIesmanship and Be
Help To the Industry

Some good common sense, of inter-
est not only to automobile salesman
but to all statesmen. is contained in
a talk on Service, Salesmanship and
Satisfaction" by odd Man Ram
Paige" to all the Paige statesmen Of
the country. It reads:
The great difficulty with this
thing that many automobile dealers
misscau service" said our old friend,
General Satusfastion. as he sauntered
into our office recently and leisurely
helped himself TO one of our Guy
Wiley Ca-ba-ge-rino brand OF IL
for-a-quarter home deStroyers, is
that the average motor car salesman
fails to realize that ii is up TO him 70
sell the dealers free service policy 10
the buyer in q straight forward, busl-
ness like manner that is thoroughly
definite and completely understood
What's the salesman got to DO
with service and satisfied usersZ
we asked, with bland Innocence
leading old General Debility on
say, man, true motor car sales
manship, to my way Of thinking, Is
selling cars that will not come back
to customers that will come back
And goods that are right, sold to
buyers that are treated right, is
Granting that the car Is right, IT
strikes your uncle Henry that it is
up to Mr.. Paige salesman to see that
it is started off right, in the users
hands. First; with a thoroughly COM
plete explanation Of the proper op-
the buyer to help HIMSELF; second, in
explaining clearly, concisely and de-
finitely Just what service work Will
be given free to the buyers and just
what service work he viii be expect
ed to pay for"
seems simple" we ventured
Simple? Say. Ram, remember the
story of the country lad who lost his
horse and then found it again with
surprisingly prompt despateh2 When
his amazed neighbors asked him just
how he managed to find the lost
jes set down an thought wher'd
I 20 If I wuz a boss. An I went
there-an'there he wuzr Well, sir, IL
the average salesman would use SIM
pie, direct, boss sense and place
himself in the purchasers place more
frequently he would realize that what
the buying public wants today, as a
rule, is to have all its business done
with automobile dealers and statesmen
las with every other kind Of mer-
chants) in a squarely business like
manner without any ifs or 'andS' or
but or any other glittering prom
ises that are mostly made up OF
super-heated atmosphere
"Of course, a dealer should have
some kind Of definite service policy,
whether 1t be a monthly series Of
free inspections for a certain length
Of time, q coupon system OF a certain
number Of hours of free service to
go with each car, or what not But
whatever the policy may be, the one
big essential sales factor regarding
it is that It should be fully and clear
" explained to the buyer, so that
there may be no misunderstanding or
dissatisfaction regarding the dealers
agreement, afterwards"
Service" continued the general,
when properly understood is not
what one gets for nothing, but what
one pays for ungrudgingly. 1t is not
what costs the dealer money. but
what the dealer profits from; and in
my opinion true service is whateve
satisfies or pleases a customer and a
fair test by which to judge every
compact between the dealer or the
salesman and a customer is to ask
the question. Has the work been
done right2"
1T has often struck me. as a busl-
ness man" continued old General
Booster. that what is needed in the
automobile business is a proper edu-
cation OF the general buying public
along broader, better and more bust
ness like lines Of service. Something
given for nothing is never appre-
ciated, and only creates an appetite
for more Of the same thing. It has
little advertising value, because more
is always promised than is ever per-
formed.
Summing the matter all up. It ap-
pears TO me that a salesman has a
powerful influence in the making of
satisfied or dissatisfied customers
and he should realize that customers
are better satisfied in the long run to
Immediately and efficiently, at the
time the need develops, rather than
with slip shod, inefficient repair work
or service for which no charge is
made"
Think II over