I was expecting a summertime bounce in new car sales this year, but now I‘m not so sure.
My newfound doubt developed after I placed a telephone call to a local car dealer. This was not a sleepy little small-town car dealer, either, but one that has about 200 cars in stock. No one answered. I called back later and there was still no answer. On my fifth try, I finally got through. When I arrived at the dealership in the early afternoon, there was hardly anyone around.
A sales organization that can’t afford to answer the phone all day long is one that has given up hope of finding any customers at certain times of day. I have a hard time imagining a sales manager who would tell the staff, “Don’t even show up till 3:15, because the chance of a customer walking in during the workday is just about zip,” and who would then give the receptionist the morning off too, but maybe it has come to that.
