Last week Tuesday I went to get two of my tires replaced. I thought the America's Tire by 237 & El Camino Real was open longer; as it was I slipped in as their last customer of the night.
The previous weekend I'd called to get the price on the tires I wanted. They'd gone up in price from the last time I'd bought the *exact* same tires (which I've been buying since 2006). I questioned why & it was explained; however, the man I spoke with on the phone indicated that he'd give me the previous price, which was approximately a $6 difference per tire. Note that he indicated this without me saying much more than "last time they were cheaper, and I have the invoice in front of me".
Hence I went into the America's Tire expecting that A) they'd be willing to give me the older price with little hassle, B) with the knowledge that the listed price is rarely the price in places like these, and C) wanting to practice my haggling some as I'm getting ready to replace my car.
I'm a woman. I never go into places like this expecting to say "I want A, B, and Z" and to have the staff listen & provide without questioning me. Not all males will question my competence as a female to understand anything mechanical; enough do that I never go into these situations without mentally preparing myself & making sure I can quote enough detail to have people shut up and treat me like I have a brain.
In this case, I knew the parts number I wanted, I knew the price that I expected from the previous call to be fairly easily obtainable, and I knew that even though I'd forgotten the invoice at home that their system keeps all their old invoices in the system for reference.
The two men behind the counter were busy; that was a shame, as I watched both of them enough to note that they would have been pleasant to deal with. Instead, they called up a 25ish male from the back who was probably mentally preparing to leave for the day without more customer interactions.
When asked what I wanted, I said 2 "part number" tires. He looked at me and insisted we go look at the car. Strike 1. He starts to look at my tires, & when questioned as to why he need to look at the tires while having the parts number, he replied it wasn't a parts number. Strike 2. After having it pointed out that I needed 2 of "part number", and I got the number from THEIR invoice, he got what I was saying. So onto the next step - getting the invoice pulled together.
Even when someone says "I want part blah blah blah", you give them a price quote in a place like this. He starts jamming through getting me the tires without quoting. Strike 3. When I ask for the quote, he gives me the higher quote. I start to haggle - knowing that the price is most likely not firm - and he gets testier with me. He doesn't like the fact that I want approximately $12/total off, his claim that they're the only one who sells the tires doesn't make me decide to give in, and at NO point does he state straight out "I can't change the price.". Nor does he try to get his manager involved, which is what I expect my people to do if a client is trying to negotiate price with them when they are not authorized to do so.
Instead he asks "Why are you being so rude?"
And he hit it out of the park. At this point the man I assume was his manager turns around and just looks at him. I point out that I'm not being rude, I've been buying from them since 2006, etc... and he says "Look, I'll give you this tire for free, but in the future the price is the price, and the price can't be changed, and the price is the price, and you can't change it, and we value your business which is why I'm giving you this discount, but the price is the price in the future and it can't be negotiated".
...
After pointing out the fact he went overboard, but I would take it, I go to wait for my car.
I'm the last customer. They lock the front door & I'm waiting for my car to be finished. I have no idea how late the entire staff will be waiting, & something clenches in me when I think that I might be stuck alone, locked in, with this person. I mentally start cataloging all the ways that I could defend myself, and only stop when I realize that at least 1 other sales person will be around as well.
I didn't understand why I fell into that mood. I'm always conscious of my safety; I rarely have to think about how I will defend myself, I just do it. And I didn't understand why this fight response was triggered.
Until the next day when I realized he asked "Why are you being so rude?" in the
exact same tone men use to women when they ask "Why are you such a bitch?". That question is often ended with some type of violence, violation, or berating of the woman in question. Even while my conscious mind didn't recognize the tone, my subconscious thankfully did. I'm not sure if the sales guy would have done anything; I know nothing about him other than this encounter. However, I find it highly dubious that if I hadn't been female, I wouldn't have had the $12 discount with very little argument. At the very least, I wouldn't have been berated for having the audacity to haggle.
If I'm in a well-lighted business, in a safe neighborhood, with police cars outside pulling over speeders, and I have to start to mentally catalog how to protect myself? Guys? You're doing it wrong. Completely and utterly.
Tags: car, customer service, misogyny, sexism, tires, wtf
