There is nothing worse than shopping for something new and getting stuck with an arrogant salesman. These types are ‘know-it-alls’ and often judge customers by their outward appearances. They will say and do just about anything to get you to spend money, even if it means bending the truth. Here are the times people got revenge on a cocky salesman. Content has been edited for clarity.
Toyota Salesman Gone Sour
“I was car shopping with my dad many years ago. We’re both in construction so we were dressed in somewhat rugged clothing at the time. My dad also has a heavy Indian accent, so usually experiences far more racism than I do.
We were in a Toyota dealership and seemed to be reluctantly greeted by an older white salesman that obviously wasn’t happy to see us. My dad was asking about a Tundra pickup truck and the guy just kept on telling him it was ‘very expensive.’ My dad was pressing more and more while the sales guy was practically steering him to the smaller model truck because it was more affordable.
My dad was frustrated so I started asking about the hybrid Highlander and the sales guy was shocked that I’d even dare ask about such an expensive car. He wouldn’t sit down with us to talk about packages and pricing. We walked away and said goodbye to the guy, and he was happy to leave us alone. We didn’t leave though, and were approached by another salesman in a few minutes asking if we needed any help.
30 minutes later, we’re both ready to sign paperwork for a new high end Tundra and new hybrid Highlander. I had been approved already for financing and my dad was buying his truck outright. The original salesman noticed us again and interrupted the process to tell the sales manager that we were his clients (presumably for commission reasons). We were patient and quiet up to this point, but my dad and I looked at each other and were ready for some revenge.
I started to calmly let him and the sales manager know how rude and condescending he was by refusing to take us seriously and not even telling us the pricing of the vehicles. He denied it, and my dad stood up and started going off on the guy about being racist and about our family running a multi million dollar company. My dad ended up tearing his check in pieces and throwing it in the garbage.
The sales manager took the original salesman outside the office, and the second salesman joined them. We could see everything through the window. The manager was freaking out at him while the second salesman seemed to be confirming that everything we said was true. The sales manager came back with the owner of the dealership, who unbeknownst to us also happened to be Indian.
The owner apologized profusely, then him and my dad spoke with each other in Punjabi. I could keep up enough to know my dad was retelling the story of our experience, and then afterwards doing some wheeling and dealing again. We walked out of there with new and even better deals on each of our cars, and I made fun of my dad for not knowing that an Indian guy owned the dealership.
As we walked out, the original salesman apologized profusely to us, but we kept walking. When we came back a few days later to get our new vehicle, we were told the original salesman was fired, and we felt zero guilt about it.”
Healthy Commission
“Several months ago, I needed new running shoes. I went to a shoe store and expected to go in, find the section/brand that I trusted, and then try shoes on until I find the pair I like. Apparently this place didn’t do that. They have a person who uses some app to scan your foot/stride to find the ‘best’ (most expensive) shoe for you. All of the shoes were in the back so we couldn’t just try them on.
I walked in and was ambushed by some sales guy asking what I needed. I told him, thinking he would just point me in the right direction, but instead, he started asking me about my running experience. I told him how I used to be really active and a runner but a hip injury had put me out for a while. He replied, ‘So it sounds like you have none. Don’t worry, I’ll help you out.’
I almost left right then but decided to be petty instead. From that point, he was SUPER condescending, explaining basic things like I’m a child. I decided to play along and act oblivious, and he brought out a $150 pair of shoes. Now, I know that good running shoes are worth the investment, but I also know upselling when I see it. ‘You know, these really only work for you if you use our insoles,’ he said.
Insoles were $60 for the pair. There was NO way I was paying over $200 for a single pair of shoes. But he had presented me a golden opportunity so I said, ‘That sounds great. What other add-ons would you recommend?’
He listed like 3 more unnecessary things and I asked him to add all of it. The total bill was well over $300, so that’s a healthy commission. He goes to the back to get everything, and of course I ask him if he can bag it all up together for me (I knew this would take time). He enthusiastically agreed. As soon as he went in the back, I walked out of the store. My only regret is that I couldn’t see his face when he came back, didn’t see me, and realized what happened.”
New Shoes For The New Job
In the late 90s, I got a job working at Macy’s Herald Square. On the day of orientation, we were given a lunch break, so I went walking around. I was 18 at the time and wanted to look the part while working there. I called my mother and she said I could walk around and pick what I liked and she would come by after work to buy them. I went to the suits and got fitted for one with no problem.
Next, I walked to the shoe department and was looking for someone to help me to no avail. When I saw a salesman and asked him for help, he ignored me. Finally, a manager saw me and asked if I needed help. He brought me the shoes I wanted so I could try them on and I said, ‘Thanks, I’ll be by later.’ As I walked away, I heard the manager ask the salesman why he didn’t help me and he said, ‘I knew he wasn’t gonna buy anything.’
At the end of the day when my mom came by, we started walking toward the shoe department when the same salesman from earlier approached her and asked if she needed help. I said, ‘No, we don’t need YOUR help. Bring me the manager who helped me before.’ My mom then bought me four pairs of shoes- two being Coach because she had this obsession with the brand at the time.
It came out to over a grand for the shoes and managers don’t make a commission. I asked the manager if he knew why I asked for him he said yes. I told him I was going to start working there the next day and would make sure to come by and show him my shoes with the suit. ‘Make sure to show him (the salesman) as well since he missed out on the commission,’ the manager replied.”
Bait And Switch
“A couple of years ago I was in the market for a used car. I was looking online and found one that had everything I wanted, had pretty much zero miles, and was a great price ($13,000). I decided to check it out. So I got to the dealership and found the car when a salesman approached me. He asked if he could help. I told him I was very interested in the car and said I saw it listed at $13,000 online.
‘There’s no way it’s that cheap. I’d imagine it’s more like $15,000,’ he replied.
‘Well online it says $13,000. Here’s the ad and everything,’ I said.
‘That must be a mistake. Let’s go talk to the sales manager,’ he said.
The sales manager confirmed that it was closer to $15,500. After showing him the ad on their website listing it for less, he gave the excuse of a 3rd party advertiser making a mistake but they would be ‘willing to work with me.’ So the salesman and I sit down and he would not budge from the $15,500 price. I had to leave for class so I started to leave and said ‘Sorry, but your antics hit their time limit. I’ll be in touch to see if you decide to work with me or not.’
The next day I sent him an email with no response. I sent a follow-up email the next day with no response. I called the following day and apparently the salesman was ‘with someone else but would check his email.’ Long story short, I bought a car from somewhere else. A few weeks later I started getting emails from the old salesman about coming back in. I replied and said to stop contacting me. But the emails kept coming.
So I found the email address for the owner of the dealership. Every time I received an ad from them, I forwarded the ad to the owner of the dealership with a note about the legalities of bait and switch ads and not taking people off of correspondence lists when asked. I said DMV business regulation services and the state/ftc would love to hear about it. It didn’t take too many forwards to the owner before those ads stopped coming, but I got a snarky email about the car I was looking at from the salesman which also got forwarded to the owner.”
