Cocky salesman assumes they're too poor to afford car. But the clever couple get the last laugh.

Salespeople, especially those in high-end stores, often make snap judgments about their customers. However, judging based on appearances isn't always the best sales strategy. Reddit user u/senadi1 shared a story that perfectly illustrates why it's important not to judge a book by its cover.

The post's caption read: "Car salesman talks himself out of a sale," and it garnered over six thousand upvotes. After thorough research, the man and his wife arranged appointments with salespeople from both Kia and Ford dealerships. The Kia meeting went smoothly, leaving them hopeful as they headed to the Ford dealership, their preferred choice. However, the encounter with the Ford salesman did not go as expected.

"We both had well-paying and stable jobs and, additionally, had the support of a low-interest loan from our parents to fund a purchase. We did our research extensively and decided that there were two options for us: a Ford Mondeo or a Kia Ceed with our preference for the Mondeo. We’d worked out all the financials, we could afford both (secondhand). At this point, we found our local dealerships and booked appointments with both to test drive the cars so we could make a final decision," they shared.

They describe how the Ford meeting went: "[We] were met by John the salesman. John was an old white salesman who had clearly been selling cars for years and he had clearly made a snap decision about the young couple in front of him." John sat them down and asked about their budget, which they happily shared. But the salesperson did not appear to believe them and insisted on knowing their salaries, as well as other financial information.

The couple declined to share their personal financial information with John and simply requested a test drive. However, the salesman refused and wouldn't even allow them to view the car's interior, insisting they were "not serious buyers."

"We left and walked back into the Kia dealership and bought the car we test-drove earlier and were very happy with it, keeping it for the next 6 years!" the user revealed, clarifying that this discrimination was not based on race since John and the couple were white.

Then the Reddit user goes on to explain how they had the last laugh. "This wasn't enough for me though! I took a picture of the Kia and sent it to the manager of the Ford branch to say that we had bought the Kia because of the actions of John. The reply from the manager was surprising. He replied that he was devastated because their margins were so tight and explained that John would receive a reprimand for losing them money. Moral of the story: Don’t judge a book by its cover!"

The comment section was filled with others who could relate. "Had a salesperson ignore my wife when we bought an extended cab pickup in 1993. Another focused on highlighting the mirror on the visor on the passenger side. 3rd dealer was great. Idiots at the 1st and 2nd dealers didn’t realize my wife would be the primary driver," shared u/Fast_Fee517.

u/ohmaint added: "This happens to my wife and I frequently, not just with cars but any large purchases. We've both been working for 40-plus years at well-paying jobs. We are comfortable in jeans and T-shirts. We pull up in a 91 square-body GMC and salespeople run in the other direction. We laugh about it now but it took some time to figure out what was going on."

This article was originally published on July 14, 2023. It has since been updated.