Video Blog - I Hate Lying Customers

So there I was just minding my own business when this guy comes into the store.  He tells me exactly which Rolex watch he’s interested in.  So, he asks me “what’s your best price on this watch?”  So I’m thinking, “that’s an unusual way of asking for a discount,” so I say to the guy, “why do you ask?”  He says, “well the other Rolex dealer said he’ll give it to me for $6,700.”  Believing that he’s probably lying, I say, “That’s a good price.  You should buy it from him.”  The guy gets mad and says, “That’s not the point.  I asked you what your best price would be.”  Now I know he’s lying so I say, “there’s no point in discussing my best price if you’ve already been offered a price that’s lower.”  That made him even madder.  Eventually he stormed out of the store, unsuccessfully tried to slam the door shut, and muttered something that included a lot of four-letter-friend-getters.

I felt pretty good about defending myself from this guy’s bull$&@%.  Over my career, there have been times where I have been willing lose business in order to defend what I believe is right and honest.  There is a line we walk every day.  We can honor integrity or we get into half-truths and lower ourselves to the level of shysters and scammers.  In this case, my beliefs told me that I couldn’t allow this guy to lie his way into a discount. 

Me and my beliefs not only lost a sale, we offended someone who obviously had several thousand dollars in his pocket with which to buy a watch.  I’d like a do-over.  I’d like to ask him why was hoping to buy the watch from me.  I’d like to ask him why he chose that particular model, and review his options.  If I could get him into a different watch, then a real or imagined competitive price would be right out of the picture.  I’d like to ask him what the occasion was that led him to such an extravagant treat.  Who knows?  We might have become friends.

On one hand, our advertising, marketing and promotions are tactics to bend the customer to our will.  In his mind, his false-claim was a tactic to bend me to his will.  I won’t get another chance, but you might.  Why don’t you talk about this scenario and find more ways to turn a doofus like this (“Hey!”) into a buyer.  It may not always work-out, but I’ve already revealed to you one way that it most de-fi-nite-ly won’t.