Yesterday, I met with representatives from a Japanese automaker\u2019s dealership. My parents were looking after the kids that day, so I took the train. (Taking the train is great for getting work done\u2014I can use my laptop along the way.)<\/span> Their manager and some senior executives joined us, making it feel a little like a job interview. I was slightly nervous, but we exchanged plenty of information and had largely aligned on the details when the conversation turned to my love of cars.<\/strong><\/p>\n We got talking about how, when you visit a dealership, a salesperson will often say, \u201cIf you make a decision this month, I can give you a better price.\u201d The group laughed, and someone said, \u201cOh, we do that too!\u201d<\/strong> The mood was relaxed and friendly. But as we kept talking, I got carried away and started speaking more passionately than I meant to:<\/p>\n A car is the culmination of engineers\u2019 and designers\u2019 blood, sweat, and tears. It carries the history of decades of improvements made by the people who came before them. That\u2019s why I wish dealership salespeople would take more pride in what they sell. I don\u2019t want them to hand out discounts so casually just to hit their sales targets!<\/p>\n For some reason, those words came out with a lot more force than I expected.<\/p>\n The moment I finished speaking, I suddenly came to my senses and froze.<\/p>\n Had I just completely put everyone off? ((\uff1b\uff9f\u0414\uff9f))<\/span><\/p>\n We\u2019d been chatting and laughing moments earlier, but the mood had changed completely. I started fumbling for words when one of the people from the dealership said:<\/p>\n \u201cWhat you just said really hit home. You\u2019re absolutely right!\u201d<\/p>\n The atmosphere had turned a little hard to read, and then it was time for me to leave. In an email they sent afterward, they wrote:<\/p>\n \u201cYour comments about the automotive industry, including your perspective as a customer, were very much appreciated by those of us who uphold the management philosophy of \u25ef\u25ef\u2014even if they were a little hard to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n I felt terrible that they\u2019d had to be so considerate of me. If I ever have another meeting with people in the automotive industry, I\u2019ll have to remember not to get so carried away and lose myself in the moment. That\u2019s what I\u2019ve been telling myself lately.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Meeting at a Car Dealership Yesterday, I met with representatives from a Japanese automaker\u2019s dealership. My parents were looking after the kids that day, so I took the train. (Taking the train is great for getting work done\u2014I can use my laptop along the way.) Their manager and some senior executives joined us, making it feel a little like a job interview. I was slightly nervous, but we exchanged plenty of information and had...","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=100","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nocar-nolife","en-US"],"yoast_head":"\u201cA Much-Appreciated Message\u201d\u2026?<\/h3>\n