This September, I had the pleasure to talk with John Smith about cars and his five year anniversary with O’Daniel Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram. John was a hard man to reach as the O’Daniel Automotive Group keeps him pretty busy, but I was lucky enough to catch him in between tasks.
With a tenor of wisdom in his voice he greeted me warmly on the phone. John is a very laid-back conversationalist and has an embracing enthusiastic persona about him, which is something he credits to his long term in the industry. He informed me that in his younger years he was actually the polar opposite, very high-energy and forward on the sales floor. As a car enthusiast he recounted many cars and trucks he truly appreciates, but if it came down to it his dream vehicle — it would be one on his lot. A Dodge Ram 1500 with all the bells and whistles, his wife permitting.
As we talked about the more memorable experiences in his five years with O’Daniel’s, John told me about a humorous story involving an older gentleman and a Jeep. This older gentleman walked in one day and wanted a custom-built Jeep with trail-rated suspension, manual transmission, and custom interior. John and the crew of course obliged, creating one of the finest Jeeps to come out of the O’Daniel CDJR lot. Turns out that Jeep was for the man’s grandson, and his grandson did not know how to drive stick shift. Here’s the kicker, instead of learning how to drive the custom Jeep — the grandson turned it down. Being an amazing grandfather the old man had a nearly identical custom-built Jeep made with an automatic transmission instead. Nowadays there are rumors that a young man with a custom-built Jeep drives around joyously without the worry of a clutch pedal, so it goes.
When asked about the effect of technology on his job, John likened it to a double-edged sword. With all the information out on the web, it can make John's job easier when a customer is well-informed. On the other hand if a customer gets his information from a non reputable source, John’s work increases twofold; now having to give the right information, disprove the misinformation and building trust throughout an interaction.
Day to day John tries to be the guy that provides the best service, information and casual buying experience to his guests so that they can make a well-informed, unpressured decision. Mr. Smith lives the life many chase, loving his job because of the everyday interactions and rewarding feeling of having helped someone make a great decision on what can often be a confusing and stressing process for a car buyer. In his closing words his advice for fresh faces to the industry were short and sweet, “trust the process, learn everyday, and have some patience.”
We thank John for sharing and congratulate him on his steadfast five years with O’Daniel CDJR.
With a tenor of wisdom in his voice he greeted me warmly on the phone. John is a very laid-back conversationalist and has an embracing enthusiastic persona about him, which is something he credits to his long term in the industry. He informed me that in his younger years he was actually the polar opposite, very high-energy and forward on the sales floor. As a car enthusiast he recounted many cars and trucks he truly appreciates, but if it came down to it his dream vehicle — it would be one on his lot. A Dodge Ram 1500 with all the bells and whistles, his wife permitting.
As we talked about the more memorable experiences in his five years with O’Daniel’s, John told me about a humorous story involving an older gentleman and a Jeep. This older gentleman walked in one day and wanted a custom-built Jeep with trail-rated suspension, manual transmission, and custom interior. John and the crew of course obliged, creating one of the finest Jeeps to come out of the O’Daniel CDJR lot. Turns out that Jeep was for the man’s grandson, and his grandson did not know how to drive stick shift. Here’s the kicker, instead of learning how to drive the custom Jeep — the grandson turned it down. Being an amazing grandfather the old man had a nearly identical custom-built Jeep made with an automatic transmission instead. Nowadays there are rumors that a young man with a custom-built Jeep drives around joyously without the worry of a clutch pedal, so it goes.
When asked about the effect of technology on his job, John likened it to a double-edged sword. With all the information out on the web, it can make John's job easier when a customer is well-informed. On the other hand if a customer gets his information from a non reputable source, John’s work increases twofold; now having to give the right information, disprove the misinformation and building trust throughout an interaction.
Day to day John tries to be the guy that provides the best service, information and casual buying experience to his guests so that they can make a well-informed, unpressured decision. Mr. Smith lives the life many chase, loving his job because of the everyday interactions and rewarding feeling of having helped someone make a great decision on what can often be a confusing and stressing process for a car buyer. In his closing words his advice for fresh faces to the industry were short and sweet, “trust the process, learn everyday, and have some patience.”
We thank John for sharing and congratulate him on his steadfast five years with O’Daniel CDJR.