Garth enjoys working on old cars. a few years ago as he drove to work, he noticed a sports car in an auto dealership's lot. Sensing that such a car would do lot for his image, Garth decided to inquire about it. he telephoned the dealer- ship. a receptionist briskly identified the name of the deal- ership and, just as quickly, commanded, "hold a minute." Fifteen seconds later the receptionist came back on the line and asked, "Can I help ya?" Garth asked to "speak to some- one in used cars, please."

"Just a minute," the receptionist replied.

after a pause, a man's voice said, "hello?"

"I'd like a little information about the porsche Boxster

you have on your lot," Garth said.

"Ya mean the silver one?"

"Yes. Could you give me some information on

that car?"

the male voice hesitated for a moment and said, "I

think that's the owner's daughter's car. She's been driving it around. Let me check and see what the deal is on it."

there was a long pause. While Garth waited on hold, another male voice came on the line saying, "hello? hello?" to which he replied, "I'm already being helped." there was

a click as the interrupter hung up without acknowledging Garth's comment.

after a few more minutes, the original salesman came back on the line and said, "Yeah, I think that's the car the boss's daughter has been driving around. If they sell it, they'll want an arm and a leg for it. I think it's a '98 model."

"Well, would you check and let me know if it's for sale?" Garth asked again, getting exasperated.

"Just a minute, I'll ask the owner," he said as he put Garth on hold again. after a few moments, the salesper- son again picked up the telephone and abruptly said, "the owner says it's not for sale."

as Garth began to say, "thanks for the information," he was cut off in mid-sentence by the click of the telephone as the man hung up.

although this sales representative was probably not being intentionally rude, he sure came across that way. Garth was irritated to the point where he would definitely not do business with this dealership. have you ever decided to stop doing business with a company because of their minuses on the phone? Many people have.

Consider this Case

Identify the Errors in Garth's Call

Reread the story of Garth's call to the car dealership presented in this chapter. Then describe four or more telephone-use problems that probably led to Garth's irritation and his decision not to do business with that dealer.

Problem 1: Problem 2: Problem 3: Problem 4:

** analyze and identify four errors in Garth's call to the car dealer. Read the case carefully so you can understand and identify the necessary requirements. Describe four telephone-use problems that most likelylead to his irritation and his decision not to conduct business with the dealer. (provide an explanation of what seems to be going on).