Used Truck Purchase

I previously wrote about how my Dad and I were traveling to purchase a used truck in Wisconsin. It was an interesting experience for me to watch the sales process of a used car dealer. Upon our arrival at the car dealership in Wisconsin, the dealer seemed to be pretty busy with cars going in and out for test drives and also with the phone’s ringing pretty rapidly.

With all the new technology that is rising, it seems that people are often looking online for cars now more than ever. This is how my Dad located this vehicle. He had done his research and looked all over the internet and various different websites. While at the dealer I noticed that the dealer was getting constant calls about his cars that he had listed on his website or various other sites.

My dad was very thorough when searching for this truck he had asked many questions to make sure that he was not going to get blinded by problems with the truck. We got there and had a list of items to check before we purchased the vehicle. I had noticed a few scratches in the paint here and there as well as some other damage and my dad almost immediately told me that he was already aware of this or that problem. Needless to say we checked everything from the lights to the underside of the motor to make sure that everything was in prime condition. My dad had me look over the inside of the vehicle. I felt as if I was a kid in the candy store looking at all the gadgets in the car. I checked the windows, locks, radio, cd player, lights, gauges and the shape of the interior.

It was a great looking truck, the disadvantage of hearing about this vehicle online is that you never get to see it physically unless you travel a great distance to look at it. You don’t get that sense of confidence untill you look at it in person and look over it. It is a lot easier to trust your own eyes over the eyes of the salesperson.

When we finished looking over the truck we took it for a drive, as were many other individual that day. We saw many other trucks leave the lot and return just a few minutes later. Some seemed to be impressed with the car and others didn’t. My dad made sure to test everything inside the vehicle despite that I told him everything already worked.

Upon sitting down at the desk with the sales representative. He had to ask for identity and the form of payment for the truck. Upon finishing up the paperwork  the sales rep quickly started talking about an extended warranty for the truck with about 24,000 miles or like 3 years at $2,000 and then offered another extension for 48,000 miles or 6 years at $3,000. Which ever one comes first. Many consumers when they hear that think its a great idea I can have a 6 year warranty and if anything goes wrong then I can get it fixed for free. The catch is or 48,000 miles. It is common for people to go through about 12,o00 miles a year in travel. This means the warranties will last maybe 2 years or 4 years respectively. Thus you are stuck 5 years later looking for service.  The car companies also will attempt to find out any reason that the warranty is void. If you are pulling a trailer or have installed different hitches on the truck the warranty is then void! Thus a waste of money the first time you get it fixed.

Needless to say my Dad did not get the warranty but did purchase the truck and since has done many checks on the engine and other aspects under the hood! The truck has been near perfection and as the Used car representative said! Most consumers will get cars that are rip offs and junk cars, thus you have to be very cautious as a consumer who is looking for a used car! The best way is to get referrals from your family and friends whom have bought cars in the recent years! They will be able to tell you who may try to lie to you or sell you a junk car!

Spring Break Travel… Not so FAST

The sunset at Indianapolis International Airport

 

Well I have found myself at the airport for the last 6 hours and still not set to leave for another 3 hours. My flight has been delayed over 4 hours! I know this may be a rant, but I am going to try to relate it to consumer behavior. This morning I was able to print off the boarding passes and was able to get through security just fine upon arrival at the gate I noticed my flight was delayed. I knew because of this I was going to miss my connecting flight in Baltimore that would send me to my end destination in Boston. I have been to 3 ticket counters since and finally got a hotel voucher for Baltimore and a flight out early in the morning Friday. I was given 3 different stories at each desk. It was very frustrating. I was finally given an answer that they would not be able to give me another flight tonight and I would have to wait on my original flight! I talked to a gentleman at one point who was a new worker and he told me I would be out tonight on a different flight but he was at the lowest of the chain of command. Finally, the Supervisor had to correct him.  

As I sit here listening to a flight boarding to Las Vegas, I have heard numerous announcements. I overheard an announcement saying that all the flights for all airlines are booked full for Friday! I was surprised to hear that.I believe that due to the drop in airline prices people are traveling more! I have run into many college students who are from Purdue and Indiana University who are heading out. I have also seen numerous Big Ten School apparel get off to enjoy the Big Ten Tournament this weekend. It’s a busy weekend in Indianapolis and all over the country for its prime time travel for spring break!  

Air Tran Logo from google images

 

I was as courteous as I could be to the flight representatives. You could see the stress in the faces of the supervisor. I knew there was nothing they could do so I just waited patiently.  I was very happy to leave that person with a smile on their face. The delays are weather related and out of the control of an Airline company.  

I know that there are a great deal of people traveling over spring break and this will happen often. It is very interesting to observe the consumer behavior while here at the gate. Some like me who are content and fine with waiting are watching as the others who yell at each time a further delay is announced. They then proceed to head to the counter and talk with the supervisor! It’s not going to do any good for people to rush to the ticket counter and bother them, it will not get the plane here sooner! If you are traveling over spring break let this be your warning to be patience and expect delays! To finish off this post, they just came across the microphone system and said due to the inconvenience that everyone on the flight will get a free Roundtrip flight to anywhere Air Tran flies! Thats a great way to make a group of travels happy!! That is what I call great customer service!

Apartment.. Going once… twice…SOLD

My roommate that I wrote the apartment hunting article as my first post has made his arrangements for his Junior year. He went along with his friends to check out the apartment about 2 weeks ago. They choose to check out an apartment on Littleton street. Upon setting up the appointment they showed up and they were met by one of their male representatives, who was also in charge of maintenance of the property. My roommate was very impressed because he told the truth, because he knew about the property. The knowledge he had was much greater than other representatives. The representative was on time and was very friendly and showed them around the property the good and the bad. the location of these apartments was ideal for my roommate, They are located just about 4 blocks from campus and also only a few blocks away from the bar.

My roommate was very happy to have had a great place to live, it’s not a bad location for  the traffic noise is limited. They also have a balcony that was a big plus for them to allow them to potentially get fresh air and also sit on the porch and grill. When the visit was over, the representative gave my roommate information about the apartment and his business card for future contact. My roommate talked with his parents to figure out if this was the place for him and if he should continue forward with signing the lease. His parents approved and then he went to talk to his friend on when to move forward and reserve the apartment.

Are you signing your life away?

My roomate and his friend scheduled an appointment with the leasing company. They were able to get a time that the majority of them could meet. This allowed for each of them to be present in order to sign the lease. They all felt welcome and that they were making the right decision based on the friendliness of the staff.

The leasing company did a great job in appealing to my roomate and his friends. The previous places my roomate visited were a bit more repulsive and unfriendly. They were late or did not have the right key on them. My roomate felt they were not getting ripped off and getting the service they were paying for. They know if there is something were to break or need attention in the apartment the staff would be easily approached. Then it would get solved in a timely manner. This should be the way that all agencies should be, the attitude and comfort level of the staff is a huge factor in purchasing. Other companies he looked at failed to do so and thus lost the sale!

Diet Coke Bottle

New Coke Bottles From Google Images

 

Recently I went to Harrison Grill on campus and was in line and this bottle caught my eye. It was a Diet Coke Silver Bottle. I immediately was interested in the type of bottle I picked it up and purchased it! It is a new bottle that looks cool and that got me to purchase the bottle. I was surprised to see that it was such a shape like a health drink. If you have seen other bottles like this for health drinks like vitamin water and others. The marketing scheme worked on me! I purchased this bottle just because it looked cool. To my surprise after research they have this same bottle for Coke and Coke Zero. It is a great way to have the cutting edge on consumer behavior if you can create something of interest to them! I think there are many other people who will be like me and purchase this just because of the cool bottle! It was a great idea to sell this at a college campus! 

The below link is to a website where they allow you to design your own style coke bottle: http://www.msbrowneyes.com/2008/12/design-coca-cola-your-own-bottle/

Gass Guzzler proves to be safe!

My Dad's wrecked Truck

  I am writing on my way to Wisconsin with my Dad to pick up his new pickup truck, it’s a red 2001 Ford F-250 Power Stroke Diesel. My Dad was recently in a wreck where he was T-boned by a School Bus (with no kids on it). My Dad was a very lucky man, at the time he had a 2002 Ford F-350 Power Stroke Diesel. The picture shows that he was hit on the driver’s side door, the most dangerous place to get hit besides head on. He is very lucky to be alive and to have walked away from the accident! It has given me a new meaning to purchasing a vehicle and the idea for this blog. My dad did not have any internal issues besides a severely bruised rib and a cut on his head that required staples. He had a concussion on impact and lacks memory from the accident.

When people go to buy cars it seems that it’s all about going green! Who can put the next best car with the best MPG! You have cars coming out with 30 or more MPG. They usually are smaller cars that are more acceptable to damage in minor accidents. If you get in a fender bender it could easily cost you thousands to fix it. They have a design that is supposed to crush and absorb the hit on impact while lessening the impact on the cab of the car! More recently some cars even have side airbags! These are all features that are good when purchasing a vehicle.  I feel that they advertise more toward a green car because they want to appeal to protecting the environment and saving money in your pocket.

Think Green from Google Images

My dad told me when I was young that “cars are like loaded guns, just waiting to go off. So handle with care!” that was no more evident to me when I saw my dad’s truck in person after the wreck. I look at his truck now and think to myself that safety is much more important than MPG. It was a diesel truck that got about an average of 20 MPG. It was not much but was good for a 02 Ford F-350. More importantly the design of the truck was able to absorb the impact and allow the passenger to be safe.  Safety should be the number one advertising method for vehicles because when you get in a wreck the first question is not how many MPG did the car get? The first question is usually about the safety of those involved. We should be willing to pay more for gas in the long run to have a vehicle that would save your life! I look at the pictures of his truck and think if he would have been in a smaller car that would have had better gas mileage he may not have been here still today! The first vehicle I buy after graduation, I will focus on the safety features over the MPG of the car. I will ideally be looking for a truck that will protect me. I want to be prepared if an accident like this were to happen to me! 

As I said earlier we are on our way to pick up his new truck and I am sure it will be an interesting experience for me and my Dad. I am looking forward to see how the sales experience goes. I am going to be graduating with a degree in Selling and Sales management. I plan to go into professional sales. I am looking forward to see how the sales person is going to be. I will be writing about the experience in the near future. My dad and I are going prepared with a list of things to look for in the vehicle, it’s a used car that has only had one owner. When dealing with used cars you can get in trouble if you don’t pay attention to detail. We are going to look at many aspects like the windows, electronics, door seals, and interior. My dad has not purchased the vehicle and is going to make sure the truck is in the shape described on the dealer website!

Spaggetti Factory

 

The Old Spaghetti Factory

Upon going to the Spaghetti Factory, this past Monday I have noticed some trends in restaurants. I went their and was welcomed into a great atmosphere. I was seated at a table that had cushioned chairs. It was very comfortable, much more than I have ever seen at any other restaurant. It is a great touch. I was then greeted by my server and he told me that all the meals are complete with bread, soup or salad, and ice cream for desert. I thought this was a great idea!

Upon eating my meal I noticed that many of the servers would tend to the children. One server was playing hide and go seek with a kid who didn’t look much older than about 2 or 3.  This was appealing and put a smile on the face of the child and his parents. The whole atmosphere promoted the family. I used to work at Olive Garden and their slogan was and till is “When your here, you’re family!” They want to promote the idea that when you eat here we treat you like family and you can enjoy each others company!

It seems that when consumers go out to eat they want to be valued and have a great time with their family or friends. I think it’s a great way to market to the target market. I find though that when I went to the Spaghetti Factory that they had a good grip on this, they offer more than the ordinary family restaurant!

Amazon Selling

 

Amazon.com Logo

I am an active seller on amazon. com, My username is purduefan11989. I have just recently started a selling account on Amazon. I have started selling my old school books. I have found it very interesting to observe the buying habits of the Amazon customers. I have sold the majority of my books, I have employed a tactic that I have found to be very useful. I usually will look at the average selling price of the book I am selling and then sell if or just under that value by 5 cents. I have found that even though I am a new seller they will buy from me if I price it just 5 cents below the average. If the average is $45.00, I will sell my book for $49.95. It will sell much sooner than all the books that are priced for the $45.00. It is a small sacrifice for me to sell my book quicker. My family tells me you used to be able to get a gallon of gas for 5 cents. These days you will be lucky to get some bubble gum for that price!

The consumers behavior I notice here is that when prices end in .95 it seems that is much less than paying the whole 1.oo amount. Someone who pays 19.95 for something considers it much less than paying $20.00, when it is only 5 cents cheaper. Another is that people on amazon are just looking for the lowest price regardless of the seller’s  experience. I am a new seller on Amazon, but that is not a factor because I sell my book cheaper than the average by just 5 cents. Its understood because price is a huge factor for many college students who are shopping on Amazon.com.

5 Cents a gallon? Not likely soon!

Circle Center Mall

Arts Garden in Circle Center Mall

 

This past Tuesday, I went to the Circle Center mall in Indianapolis. I was in Indy for a doctor’s appointment. I headed over to the Mall to see if I could find any deals. I went in and out of many stores and have a lot to say about the consumer behavior in which I saw. Some were good and others were bad. The majority of the stores that I went into were dealing with sports or athletic gear. 

The first store I went into was a Colts Pro shop, upon walking in the manager greeted me and asked if i was looking for anything in particular. I was able to find a jacket but it was a size to big for me, the manager could notice it was big and he gave me the number of the other store in the area to call when they were open the following day, he said they might have it in stock. It was a great display of providing customer service. 

I went into another store that had a great deal of sports photos in frames priced from $20 to $800. I walked around the store looking for various pictures relating to Purdue university. I was walking around while the store clerk was watching a movie on his laptop. I came to the point to ask him a question about why there was not a great deal of Purdue pictures in the store. He did not hear me and had to pause his movie and have me repeat the question. He was not a great help, his response was they don’t sell fast, so we don’t have them. This is smart but he could have provided me with an alternative way to acquire these or even point out more Purdue pictures to me. Instead he continued to watch his movie while not worrying about helping out the customer. 

The  3rd store I entered was a Indianapolis Motor speedway/Indiana Pacer’s store that was a small store, when I walked in the clerk said hi to me and asked if he could help. To my surprise he had his cell phone on and he answered it and was talking on the cell phone the majority of the time while I was in the store looking for a great deal. He seemed not to care that I may be a potential customer. 

Inside of Circle Center Mall

The final store I entered was Lids, when I walked in there were 2 ladies at the counter and they greeted me and asked if there was any hat in particular I was looking for. I said I wanted to look around just to kinda mind my own business. They then offered to answer any questions I had. They told me about their special that they were offering a buy 1 and get the 2nd hat for 1/2 price. I started looking and found a few hats I was looking at and they asked if i needed help with sizing and I said I should be fine. There is a common theme here they were offering great service. I then went over to a wall closer to the counter to look at a few colts hat that were higher up and one of them came over and offered to get me a hat in my size in the design I was looking at. She noticed that my name was on my jacket and she proceeded to call me by my first name for the remainder of the time I was in the store. I finally found the combination I wanted to purchase. The only problem was I had the incorrect size in one of the hats. I asked if we could order online, they said yes and gave me the information to do so and told me to send it to the store so it would be free shipping for me. I greatly appreciated that and they did a great job with their customer service. 

While walking around the mall there were small displays with individual sellers, it was so strange to see everyone usually sitting there reading a book or checking email online with their phones. They were in a prime area where the majority of the traffic is done in a mall. If I were in a position like that I would have been out there trying to contact the customer as they pass by! 

I feel that consumers who enter the stores where the employees are on the phone and don’t care are going to be less likely to purchase from them. I had that feeling when entering half of the stores I did. I also feel that the consumers in the stores where the service was great they were much more likely to purchase their product. I just about bought something in 2 of the 4 stores, but due to the wrong size I did not purchase. others that entered the stores purchased items while I was there. I could see those customers with smiles on their faces and felt they were valued by the retailer! Customer service in these situation positively affected the consumer behavior to buy! It is a huge aspect of obtaining a new customer. I was just surprised to see the lack of customer service in half of the stores. The customers enter a store because they are interested in the product that is being sold, so why not try to persuade or provide adequate service to get them to purchase!

Samples are becoming common.

From Google Images

I have recently looked through my dorm room and notice that I have a great deal of Free Samples. It ranges from free Pop to contact solution. I enjoy going to various traveling shows. I have been to golf Shows in Indianapolis where venders are trying to get their new product out by giving samples to the target market. 

Next time you go to the grocery store you may notice that there will be people with booths trying to get you to try the newest flavor of food. It can be in any group whether it’s a dessert or a main meal. My brother worked at GFS while he was in Highschool. On a daily basis, they would have a display with a different type of food available in store. This was a great marketing scheme.

I have been recently been to a Career fair at Purdue and the companies had various giveaways. They had pens, highlighters, Golf tees, and Flash Drives. This is not necessarily samples as it is some advertising. Giving these items away allow the students to use them in class room settings where other classmates see them. That will promote their business and may get more students to contact them about a potential career.

Apartment Hunting

My roommate over the last few weeks has decided to look for an apartment for the next school year. His search has been an interesting one to follow. I have seen him go through a great deal of trouble in finding the right apartment. He has used the web and newspaper to find most of his leads for apartments that are not sold out yet.  He has found that many of the apartments were sold out in November. Thus his choice has been limited.

This past week he had narrowed it down to 2 different apartments that were listed online as not sold out. He then proceeded to rank them in priority and called the top one first. He set up an appointment with them on Wednesday morning where he was going to check out the apartment and potentially sign the lease. Upon arrival they told him in a matter of a few minutes that they were sold out of the apartment in which he was searching.

He then proceeded to contact the second apartment place of his choice. He set up a meeting with them for Thursday afternoon. When he arrived at the complex he was surprised to know that the woman was 10 minutes late. She arrived to find that she did not have the correct key to the apartment on her. She had to go back to her car and had the key in the vehicle. The place was close to a heavily traveled highway so the surrounding environment was loud. They proceeded to go in and look over the apartment after finding the right key and the condition of the apartment was not up to the standard that my roommate was looking for. At this time, she informed him that she did not even have the leasing contract with her to complete an agreement if he so desired. Upon the ending of the appointment the representative told him that if she did not call him with more information for him to call the following day. This was not an impressive apartment complex, my roommate has decided to continue looking elsewhere for a place to stay next year.

These 2 apartment complexes form my observations have great flaws in how they dealt with him. the first apartment complex was simply sold out, but did not inform him of that till he arrived to potentially sign the lease. They could have had updated information online, or informed him when he called to set up the appointment to discuss leasing the property. The second apartment complex had a representative that was unorganized and unprofessional. They did not have the right material on site and was not on time.  The location was a bit noisy and appeared uncomfortable to live in.  

Apartment hunting is not an easy task to do, it takes great time and research. I will have more to come on how my roommate feels about other apartments around campus!