A Simple Plan

I find it refreshingly odd that one of the best salespeople I know doesn’t know he’s a salesperson. He is a lot attendant at my favorite auto salvage yard. I always go to him because he knows the yard better than anyone else in the place. He is a wealth of knowledge about most cars ever made. He has a way of answering stupid questions without making the asker feel stupid.

The only thing that bothers me about him is the fact he is so popular that there is always a group of part scavengers vying for his attention so I end up having to wait.

Today I had a simple plan. I figured that if I was the first person through the gate on a Sunday morning, I would have him all to myself for at least an hour…after all it was Sunday. I figured that most of the serious (younger) do-it-yourselfers were going to be a little slow getting up and out to the salvage yard on a payday weekend Sunday.

I also went prepared. I had my Chilton Guide with me so I could look at the diagrams and make sure I got all the relevant parts to the current project. I had digital photos of the project I was working on. I also brought my entire toolbox to make sure I left no bolted treasure behind.

I left at 5 am, giving myself plenty of time to make the 65-mile drive. I took my largest thermos with me and stopped at a Starbucks on the way to fill it up. An hour later I pulled off the highway and since I had plenty of time, I decided to stop at one of my favorite bagel shops to get a bagel for breakfast before going to the salvage yard. That was where my simple plan began to fall apart.

Normally the owners pull the morning shift, but today they weren’t there. I made a comment to the man behind the counter about the owners finally taking a day off and discovered my bagel place had new owners. Since this was my first time in under the new management, one of the new owners asked me if it was okay ask me a few questions.

I have never been “interviewed” as a customer and quickly agreed because I thought this was going to be an interesting experience. The owner “comped” me on the bagel, poured the two of us coffees and sat at the table with me. He pulled out a form that had a bunch of preprinted questions on it, and for a while I got to experience what I think my client’s salespeople and customers experience when I sit down and interview them.

He then went through a bunch of questions about my bagel buying and bagel consuming experiences. He asked me about my likes and dislikes with his store and other bagel stores I have been to around the country.

He asked me about my thoughts on bagels and the eating out experience in general.

He then outlined some of the ideas he had about the future of the bagel shop and asked my opinion. I though a lot of his ideas were good. I didn’t care for a few of them, and he took pains to understand why I didn’t like them.

He went on to ask me for my suggestions about what I thought would make my bagel buying experiences better. I thought for a few moments while he refilled the coffees. I shared some ideas I had and we discussed them at length. He took notes on my suggestions, and I felt proud and honored.

By the time we finished our third cup of coffee, I was pleased with the new owner. I began to regard him as a new friend. I know I will probably come more often than I did in the past if only to watch his progress and to see if he liked any of my suggestions enough to implement them.

I said goodbye and went out to my car. As I started the engine the radio came on announcing the time and station ID: “This is NPR. National Public radio. It’s 7:30 and you’re listening to weekend edition.” It was 7:30 am and I was still thirty minutes away from the salvage yard. Instead of meeting my expert salesperson at the salvage yard, I met a new one at the bagel shop. Not the good day I had planned, but a good one just the same.

So much for a simple plan.