"Q" is for "Quality over Quantity"

Waiting in a Q? Read on, as the A-Z Challenge continues!

My theme revolves around the soon-to-be published memoir I wrote for opera singer, Donald Braswell.

 

"Q" is for "Quality, not quantity"
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Hope everyone had Quite the Quiet weekend:) When we last left Donald, he'd just met Jeannie, who wanted to buy a car from the former opera singer turned trainee Jaguar salesman...

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I excuse myself and rap on Tom’s door. It’s supposed to be a regular knocking, but my hands are shaking. Upon his call, I open the door and he beckons me in with a smile, waving at a chair.

“The lady’s still in your office, so that must be a good sign. Anything I can do? Do you think she’d consider a test drive?”

“No, no, she’s ordering this car.” I run down the list like a server taking a large order, “But I need the real form to get it in the computer.”

“What! Are you kidding me?”

“No sir. She’s ordering an S-Type, which comes to about $70,000 of car.” I look out the window for a second, considering the implications for the first time.

“Tom, I’m assuming this lady, her name is Jeannie, is the real deal. She drove in a $50,000 car, which looks new. She might be someone who often changes out automobiles. Plus, she seems like a very nice person, down-to-earth and very sincere.”

Tom looks at me for a moment.
“OK, Donald, let’s follow this through. You said her name is Jeannie?”
I nod.
“Okay. Please tell Jeannie we’ll need a thirty percent down payment today, because of her special order request. That might be the thing that drives her away, but we have to be sure the customer will take possession of their car once it arrives in our lot.”
“That makes sense, let me go explain the situation and see what she wants to do.”

I walk from Tom’s office, catching a few glances this time, as some of the sales reps understand the activity and realize the lost chance.

“Ms. Pircher, thanks for your patience and everything looks fine. My boss, Tom, gave me the form, so I’ll have the order placed later today. Because it’s a special order, we will, however, need a thirty percent deposit to get things rolling. I hope that’s not a problem?”

“Donald, it’s Jeannie, and that’s no problem at all. I’m planning to pay for the whole thing now. I don’t want to pay thirty percent and have to wait for my car once it’s ready, are you mad? In fact, I want my check to be cleared so I can sign whatever I need to sign and drive home.”
“Well, Ms. Pirch—Jeannie, I’m not sure when your car would be ready, but I’ll stay in touch and keep you updated.”
“I’ve already contacted Jaguar. They said to expect my car in about four months. Now, let’s talk numbers, shall we?”

Now I get a little nervous. At Buick, some saber-rattling negotiations are expected, especially from many of the older customers. Jeannie said the car should cost her about $68,000. I’ve zero permission to shave anything off the price, and open my mouth to say so, but she continues.

“What are the taxes, title and fees on $68,000? I’m sure you can get me the exact figure.”
“That I can help with, and how I wish all my customers were as organized as you.”

We sit down and I write up the order. After verifying the specs once again with Jeannie, I excuse myself, knock and walk into Tom’s office. I ask him to check everything and enter it in the computer. I return with an official invoice, Jeannie writes a check for the full amount, which came out to a little more than $76,000. In a daze, I place the check on Tom’s desk and my poor boss nearly pitches a fit.

“What’s this? How did you—is this for real?”

“It’s the money for the car. She wants to pay for it now to avoid wasting time when it arrives.”

Tom stands and shakes my hand.

“You are the greatest salesman on the planet. This lady walks in, no one says hello, and you walk out, and come back with a check for full sticker on this special order in less than an hour.”

He paperclips the check inside a manila folder, grabs his jacket and looks as if he wants to hug me.

“You’re going to make a great living here. C’mon and please introduce me to Jeannie.”

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Tomorrow: "R" is for " Realizing Dreams..."