Car salesmen: Still sexist, still stupid

[Gormy Cuss]

Car salesmen: Still sexist, still stupid
February 28, 2012: 5:00 AM ET
http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/02/28/sexist-car-salesmen/?iid=SF_F_LN

By Becky Quick, contributor

When I waited tables as a teenager, I learned one lesson very quickly: Treat every person in a dinner party equally, because you never know who's picking up the bill -- and therefore determining your tip. It's the most basic of business survival tips, but one that few car salesmen in this country seem to have learned. And if you doubt me on this point, try walking into a car dealership seven months pregnant with your husband and two kids, and see who the salesman approaches first.
(snip)

The scenarios all went something like what happened at a nearby Toyota dealership, where I walked to the front desk and asked to have someone show me the Sienna. A salesman came right out and introduced himself to the man who happened to be standing behind me. After the bystander made clear that he wasn't my husband, the salesman asked me where my husband was -- still without introducing himself or asking my name. The sales rep then went on to respond to questions I asked about the Sienna by looking at my husband and talking to him, until my husband told him to talk to me. When the guy took me to his desk to take down my information, he asked me for my home phone number and followed up with: "Obviously you don't have a work phone."

That "don't have a work phone" assumption? Becky Quick is an anchor on CNBC. Oops.