Why did a car salesman try to fight a customer?

“Thank you for helping me decide to shop elsewhere.”

A potential truck buyer says a car salesman wanted to fight him over a truck.

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TikTok creator Mike (@elevatorguy70), who regularly posts about physical fitness and health for men over 50, says the sales team at Medina Auto Mall wanted a “fight club” experience when he went there to rent a car buy truck.

In a recent clip that has been viewed over 800,000 times, Mike describes being in the mood to buy a four-door, four-wheel drive truck and going to Medina Auto Mall after seeing online ads listing a truck that would suit him liked.

He said what?!

Here’s the outrageous TL;DR breakdown of his attempts to purchase a truck from the local dealer:

• Mike makes an appointment for Wednesday to view the truck after being told it is in another parking lot.
• On Wednesday he receives several text messages confirming that the truck is ready. When he calls to check again, he is told the truck is still not available. He postpones the appointment to Saturday.
• He arrives on Saturday expecting to look at four specific trucks, but finds that they are all on other lots or in the detail shop and are not available.
• At this point he is extremely upset and confronts the manager, who denies responsibility.
• At this point, an aggressive salesman, whom Mike called “Italian Stallion,” behaves aggressively; “Bulges his chest out, sticks his chest out, lets the other guys hold him back and says, ‘Why don’t you just take your money somewhere else?’

Mike tells the audience that this is exactly his plan. And he offers to meet Italian Stallion at a local gym for a fight.

“You choose a gym and a style. Karate, Jiu-Jitsu, MMA, wrestling, boxing. You choose,” he said. “You have my number, you have texted me several times. So give me a text and let me know.”

So far, there has been no information on Mike’s TikTok account about whether the fight, which at this point sounds more exciting than the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul debacle, will ever happen.

Fighting for a sale

To find out how unconventional the sales staff behaved in this situation, we looked at the basic principles of some of the most successful sales trainers who specialize in car sales or related areas.

None of the leading names – Joe Verde, Grant Cardone, Alan Ram or Mark Tewart – promote the use of lure advertising, patience testing or the use of appointments to build sales pressure. Instead, it’s about building a relationship with the customer’s needs, conducting disciplined follow-ups, structuring appointments and communication, and building trust.

In none of their teachings do they advise salespeople to close a deal with their fists or their feet.

We’ve written a lot here about how to deal with the pushy and manipulative sales tactics used at car dealerships across the country. There’s great advice on when to pursue a sale; how to stay balanced and educated; and how to get as much commercial value as possible.

How to lose a customer

Commentators on the clip expressed great disdain for modern car dealership sales tactics. Several Ohio residents thanked Mike for raising the alarm and saving them time and frustration.

“I was about to make a two-hour drive from Columbus to check Medina’s inventory for a new truck. Thank you for helping me decide to shop elsewhere,” one wrote.

Others discovered that Mike, shown in army fatigues in his fitness videos, gave the impression of someone who knew how to handle himself in combat.

“The way this man calmly and casually challenged this man to some sort of fight in a gym made me think that this is not someone you should mess with,” one of them wrote.

And another demands that the Italian stallion learn a painful lesson: “I love it, I hope you knock his teeth out.”

@elevatorguy70 Still looking for a clean, rust free 2000-2005 Chevy 1500 or 2500 Extended Cab 4WD with less than 110,000 miles or a 2011-2016 Ford F150 Extended Cab with less than 120,000 miles . #donthitmebro #dealershipnightmare ♬ Original sound – Elevatorguy70

The Daily Dot contacted Medina Auto Mall via email and text message.

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