Duh

Robert Eaton, CEO of Chrysler is quoted in a "rare" September 28 interview with USA TODAY, "Something on the order of 65% of customers don't like the car buying process... If they don't like it we better change."

His interpretation is that today's car shoppers are smarter technically because they search the internet prior to visiting a car lot.

The solution says Jack Smith, CEO of GM, is to bring the sales organization "to a higher level of technical expertise."

If I were still teaching research methods, I would use this as a classic example of misinterpreting data. The reason customers don't like the car buying process is not because the sales force lacks product knowledge. It is because of how they are treated when they shop for cars.

Duh.

Pardon me, Robert and Jack, but you are barking up the wrong tree. Have your sales force ask good questions. Emphasize listening instead of pitching features like rack and pinion steering (anybody know what it is?) Then teach them to communicate in the preferred style of the client.

Finally, terminate the first sales person who refers to a client as "Pal", "Buddy" or "Hon". AJT