OK, now you guys that work at ATV/motorcycle shops please clue me in. I was at a place called Chaparal Motorsports in Southern California to buy some parts and ended up looking at the quads. Now they were having a pretty good sale and I would have been ready to buy the quad that night, but I couldn't get a sales man to help. Now this custom appears to only be an issue at Chaparal. I have been to several other dealers in California and Arizona and have had wonderful experiences with the friendly sales staff. (At least they acknowleged my presence and offered assistance, some even knew what they were talking about.) But at Chaparal unless you are male or a female in her 20's with big ****, you get zippo. Now I don't expcet the to fall all over each other for the sale, but a little professional courtesy would be nice.

Case in point, on the visit described above I was looking at the quads and a sales guy, who was about 10 feet from me yells over to a bunch of young men two aisles away and asks if they need help. He never once asked me or even made eye contact. The bitch that I am, I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of asking for his help, let alone give him a sale. So what's the deal? Dont' these idiots know that I have a lot more money to spend than a 20 year old? Or are they afraid that an older person (40ish) will be too hard to negotiate with (in other words they can intimidate a kid in his 20's)?

So, now that I feel better that I've vented, I will most likely go back (the price was smokin) and try to negotiate a deal. First sales person that says hi gets the sale.

 

Tell you story to the sales manager, and then ask for an even bigger discount!!

 

Give em one more chance...if you go in there again and the same thing happens...give the ol finger and go somewhere else. I don't think youe experience is new or just confined to ATV places...it happens all over. The problem is they are understaffed and underpaid, or maybe they don't work on commission, so they could care less.

 

This isn't the first time it's happened, but the other times I didn't care because I was truly just looking. But hte price was pretty darned good. So I am going back and if still ignored will find either the manager or a sales person who will help.

 

And the moral to this rant is . . . Kris Miller! I went back and within a reasonable amount of time was approached by this fine young man who asked if I needed any help. (It probably helped that I started to pull off the seat to take a peek underneath) There were two other jerks who saw me but made no attempt to communicate whatsoever - well f*ck you guys, Kris got the sale and the commission. I will go back for my next toy and will ask only for him. I will also refer my friends and relatives to only him. (In fact Uncle Roy is looking for a nice entry level utility quad, and Cousin Val will be buying her 250 shortly - I'm sending both of them to Kris. So double f*ck you.)

So the real moral to this story is - you sales monkeys out there, yes I'm talking to you - dont' ignore the older women. We got lots of money to spend and will spend it on us, our kids and hubbys. Also, don't patronize us, we do know a thing or two about those doo hickeys under the seat, the thingamabobs that make it go and the whatchamacallits on the things that steer the quad. Be straightforward and respectful and you will get the sale. So thanks Kris, and expect a few more sales soon.

 

When I was still living in So Cal, I would go to chapparal quit a bit for their sales, and I see their service hasn't changed much. The secret I learned was to either start sitting on their machines, or if I was looking for misc items, I would start pulling stuff off shelfs til someone would help just so they didn't have to replace everything I was going to remove. All in all, I did like their place, excellent prices. Sometimes it's hard pulling the sales people away from the videos playing on the TVs

 

YIKES, my bad. The wonderful sales guy's name is Kris Martin, not Miller. So, cudos to you Kris.