Wilkins Dodge

This truck is identical to the first one I ever sold at Wilkins Dodge to a guy from Rochester MN I think. I still remember his name too, as it is very unique. (Won’t post it here although he must be dead by now, not sure.)

My stint as a car salesman was full of trauma and drama.

It starts at Wilkins Dodge on University Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota. I think it is gone now. This is the first place that ever fired me.

I remember working there about the time the Minnesota Twins were in the process of winning their first World Series. 1987 I think. Something like that. Homer Hankies were a thing and in fact I know a guy that has a framed one. It’s probably worth a small fortune now.

Anyway…

I got fired from Wilkins Dodge for not selling enough cars. This struck me as odd because I was selling cars, just not enough it seemed. This sucked because I was on very friendly terms with all the managers and sales guys and mechanics and pretty much everyone who worked there. I actually loved working there.

Until that fateful day… “Rich, can I see you in the office, please?”

Uh oh, now what?

I really didn’t expect to be fired but as soon as I saw the boss’s face, I knew what was happening. I got canned. At least he was nice about it and I left on good terms.

So I went to my desk and packed up or threw away my salesman stuff, and went out to my car where I cried like a baby. I couldn’t believe I had been fired. Sigh.

This is where I learned that employees are nothing but numbers in a ledger – expenses & liabilities. This is a lesson I’ve never forgotten and though this particular story is a precursor to dozens of firings yet to come.

After this happened I got a job at a Jeep dealership but my heart wasn’t in it so I quit after a few weeks. It was Christmastime and my boss there gave me a nice tie, otherwise it was a uneventful.

BTW…

At the Jeep dealership, those mofos were crazy. Salesdudes would sit in cars and wait for people to drive in. Once they stopped, it was a feeding frenzy of salespeople desperate to make a sale. It was freakin’ freezing too but they didn’t care, they just waited patiently.

Oh – one day at the Jeep dealer, some guy had his Jeep towed in with a blown motor. It turns out there was no oil in it. The guy made it to northern Minnesota where the car’s engine chewed itself up. This was a brand new car so you’d think it would have oil or at least not burn or leak oil, wouldn’t you? I don’t know the exact cause of the oil thing but I do recall the dealership manager SCREAMING at the customer who only wanted a running Jeep. That was right about when I quit though it wasn’t the reason I quit, the place was nothing like Wilkins Dodge and I left disillusioned. I think sold one Jeep while I was there but the place was knee deep in snow that winter and traffic was way down.

I tried to apply at the local Porsche dealership but they wouldn’t even give me an application, probably because when I parked my car I had to crawl across to the other side to get out because the driver’s side door was busted. So, I didn’t look too prosperous I suppose and when you are selling high end cars, you should at least have a car with working doors.