Motoring down memory lane

I once was a car salesman for a particular brand, and in those days we had to work on a shift basis at the showroom because some of us needed to go out to visit customers while some had to be stationed at the showroom. 

I preferred to go out to visit customers at their homes, rather than wait for them to walk into the showroom. In addition to being pretty sure that I’d sell at least one car per day, I could also slip out to play snooker or go bowling with my friends during working hours. 

Those days, a 1,300cc Japanese car costed about Bt40,000, while a government salary for bachelor’s degree holders was only Bt1,200. Sales were equally divided between cash and credit, while the commission from selling a car was about Bt600. The amount of commission depended on whether the car model was easy or difficult to sell. 

If the vehicle was purchased through installments, we would get additional commission from the finance company. 

The cars we sold in those days came naked. There were no floor mats, radio or tape player, air-conditioner, or even side-view mirrors. 

So experienced salesmen could make additional money selling accessories. If the customer ordered an air-conditioner, solar film, radio and tape player (8-track or cassette) with four speakers (25cm speakers or 15x22.5cm woofers with separate tweeters were very popular), we could actually make more commission than from selling the car. 

Then there was commission from selling floor mats and side mirrors. There were two types of mirrors – one being only a single mirror on the right side at the A-pillar, and the other being two mirrors for both left and right sides located on the left and right front fenders. 

Furthermore, if the salesman had some mechanical knowledge, he could start a small business by stocking up on a range of mirrors for interested customers to pick from. Being able to visit a customer at his/her home to install the mirrors would ensure an even higher income than just selling cars. 

Fast-forward to today. Auto sales people receive high salaries and commission, and the good ones can actually sell dozens of cars a day. But they don’t make much from additional accessories because vehicles usually come fully equipped from the factory these days. 

This includes rust proof, paint protection, alloy wheels, first-class insurance and even financing. Large companies usually have their own financing arm offering lower interest rates than regular financial institutions. 

Even the catalogues are different these days. When I was a salesman, the catalogue would tell you every technical detail of the vehicle, even information on the inlet and outlet valves, the spark plugs’ number and even the camshaft. It even tells you the measurement of the top-dead-centre and bottom-dead-centre, the ignition sequence, etc. Usually, a 4-cylinder engine would have a firing 1-3-4-2 sequence. 

The reason that manufacturers had to put in so much information is because showrooms usually served only as sales outlets, while the owner usually carried out maintenance at home or at garages that he was acquainted with. 

In those days, if you wanted to be on the automobile scene, you needed to know about engineering and the systems in the car quite well. Sales people were required to explain to the customer how each system worked, while the auto media had to also explain these things to their readers, most of whom had no mechanical knowledge. 

Today, when I read the catalogues that usually focus on entertainment systems with Bluetooth, MP3, USB, AUX and iPod/iPhone, I feel I am reading a computer catalogue, not a car catalogue. 

Even the staff at marketing and public relations or the technical department of auto retailers today seem to have less knowledge about engines. They might also think that there is no need to provide this kind of information to customers any more since all maintenance and repair is carried out by specialists. 

But in my old-headed point of view, if the customer is not provided with adequate information and makes a mistake while using the vehicle, he/she will eventually blame the manufacturer and retailer.