what would you do if you found out a salesperson had lied to you to secure a sale.
just found out a bike i ordered 1 month ago, with the promise of a 2 week delivery date, is not in the country or likely to be for another 2 weeks.

i am ever so slightly annoyed.

I’d cancel the order making it very clear why I was doing so. Even if it meant I had to wait a bit longer ‘cos of ordering from elsewhere.

Thats what they do
cancel the order with a letter to his boss telling them why

I’m not sure I’d call that a lie. Shops are also let down by the distributors and without knowing all the background, you could be jumping to the wrong conclusion.

what Druidh said was exactly what i was thinking…

Can you get it elsewhere with a shorter lead time ?

If so then cancel and reorder, if not then have a moan but hold fire.

IMO.

A salesman, being economical with the truth? Surely not 😆
Are you sure he actually lied though or was it a supply problem he was unaware of?
I’d definitely be down there complaining if I knew for sure he’d lied to me, what if you needed it for a specific holiday/race/event/to commute on etc etc…
Tell them its cost you money and you want compensating (voucher/accessories etc), depends how friendly (or not) you are with the shop and how much you want the bike (tell em to stick it if not,just out of principle).

🙂

What druidh said – some suppliers are terrible.

Also, at least some of us salespeople are ethical…

some of us salespeople are ethical…

Is this in a similar vein as “99% of lawyers give the other 1% a bad name” … ?

😀

I’d be speaking to them again and be asking for some recompence as a result, IF the sales guy has lied. You DO have the delivery date in writing don’t you?

everybody lies

If you relied on that statement specifically (i.e. the lead time was relevant to your purchase decision), then it’s a contractual misrepresentation or a mistake.

In either case, just tell them you’re entitled to have your money back and that you’ll never be dealing with them again.

Question,

How can you tell if a sales person is lying?

Answer,

Their lips are moving.

In my experience the vast majority of sales people will say what they need to say to close the deal, probably because most of their wages are commission based and the sales manager is threatening them with the boot unless they hit target.

rich c – Member
In my experience the vast majority of sales people will say what they need to say to close the deal, probably because most of their wages are commission based and the sales manager is threatening them with the boot unless they hit target.

We’re talking about a bike shop. I’d be interested to find out how many bike shop employees get commission on bike sales 🙄

rich c – Member
In my experience the vast majority of sales people will say what they need to say to close the deal, probably because most of their wages are commission based and the sales manager is threatening them with the boot unless they hit target.

Wow…odd to be in a minority. But you must know best!

In my experience the vast majority of sales people will say what they need to say to close the deal, probably because most of their wages are commission based

“the vast majority” meaning “none” in bike shop terms.

I am shortly to be leaving the world of guitar/musical instrument sales….. If I had a quid for everytime a supplier has misquoted a supply time….. Trust me, unless he’s a total numpty, it really isn’t in the salesman’s interests to knowingly lie about a lead-time; all that happens is that the customer gets the hump and usually wants their money back. I hate having to ring punters to tell them the guitar they ordered is likely to be 8 weeks, not 5 days as the supplier told me when I rang to check the stock availability…

Klunk – Member
everybody lies

Is that strictly true?

Nearly every bike part I have ordered has turned up late.

After working in the industry there are so many hold ups,

Couriers/suppliers/shops etc.

Recently I ordered a Salsa fork from my local LBS. They checked the due in date on Ison’s b2b. A couple of days later I was told in would be another 4 weeks.
Did that shop lie to me??

If he was going to lie he probably lie to get you to buy something in stock.

Delivery time promised in writing?
If not then it’s not worth the paper it’s not written on…

I doubt the Sales gibbon was lying as such, more likely just going off of incorrect/wishful dates supplied by the distributor, the fault is seldom really with the retailer in these things, more commonly the supply chain I’d have thunked…
It’s hardly in the shops interest to cultivate a reputation for delivering late, so they’re more likely to present the dates they are promised by the distributor innit…

You could get worked up or just wait another 2 weeks… you bikes probably sat on a container ship in felixstow docks right now, waiting to get lugged halfway across the country and back before making it to your LBS…

Seems a bit harsh to say the LBS salesperson was specifically lying, I mean he may be missinformed possibly/probably. Did you actually see the order being placed like there and then? I only point this out cos if your bike was in stock there and then but the salesperson ordered it properslike later on in the day, that bike may have been sold and he’s had to order you one from the disributors..

Y’know..

* awaits Tons reply *