Play Stupid Games, Win Zero Prizes

My husband and I are looking to buy a new car. We’ve booked an appointment with the same garage we purchased mine from a year ago. We have our appointment with a salesman and explain the specifications we want.

Salesman: “Let me go speak to my manager about pricing really quickly.”

He leaves. Five minutes pass. And then ten minutes. And then fifteen.

I flag down another salesman who promises to find him. He never comes back.

Twenty-five minutes later, I ask the receptionist — who has just returned from lunch — where our original salesperson is, and she shrugs.

Receptionist: “Well, I don’t know, do I?!”

We left. I fired off an email to their head office and got an instant reply apologising, offering us a substantial amount toward a new car and a private appointment with the head of the area.

When we went back, we found out that the salesmen had been playing a game seeing whose customer would wait the longest. This was an expensive game; it cost three salespeople their jobs and the company nearly £3,000 on us alone.