Car Salesman Gets Ghosted By Customer. Then He Looks Up the Customer Online

"Only logical explanation."

Photo by: @graysonhavingfun

Mustafa Gatollari

By: Mustafa Gatollari

Jul 16, 2025 at 9:00pm ET

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Working in sales is a grind. Just when you think you have a customer on the hook, sometimes they just disappear.

That’s what happened to one car salesman recently. So he tried to track them down.

Grayson (@graysonhavingfun) works with her father and brother at Suntrup Automotive Group, a family-owned multi-generational auto dealership in Green Park, Missouri.

In a recent TikTok that’s accrued over 734,00 views, she posted footage of her brother sitting at a desk and peering at a computer monitor.

In the clip, he scrolls through what appears to be a social media feed.

In a text overlay, Grayson writes, “Looking up his customer’s name + obituary. Instead of coming to terms with the fact that he’s been ghosted.”

She sarcastically adds in the caption, “only logical explanation.”

When Too Much Initiative Is Too Much

While Grayson’s clip provides humorous insight into what working the sales desk is like at an auto dealership, other experiences with car dealerships' follow-ups aren’t so jocular.

Numerous posts online describe receiving excessive correspondence from dealerships.

One Redditor who posted to the rant Subreddit earlier this week vented how “sick and tired” they are “of being called over and over by dealerships after looking at cars.

They called the constant barrage of phone calls “absolutely insane.” It’s gotten so bad, in fact, they say they’ve resorted to giving auto sellers a burner number.

The Redditor claims that one dealership called them four times a day for three weeks. In the end, they blocked the number.

“I can understand one call or something but calling that much is straight up harassment,” they wrote.

Car Sales Strategies

There’s a line between being persistent and being insistent in sales.

Analytics firm AutoAlert says that when it comes to sales, “timing is the key to conversions.”

AutoAlert says that data indicates that Tuesdays and Thursdays are the best days for customer outreach. People who checked out vehicles over the previous weekend are probably catching up on work on Monday. But on Tuesday, they still probably have their experience trying out cars fresh in their mind.

By calling on Thursday, you may be able to preempt and plan trips to renew their search over the weekend.

The website states that Mondays and Fridays are less optimal, but shouldn’t be entirely ruled out. The firm further recommends calling folks either late in the morning or early in the evening to try and secure a sale.

Best Practices for Hassle-Free Car Buying

If you’re in the market for a vehicle but don’t want to suffer a deluge of calls, texts, or emails from sales people, there are things you can do.

Create an email account that you can use for rewards programs, outreach, and correspondence you don’t find particularly pressing. Install a mobile application such as Google Voice to get a number, and disable notifications to your phone. This way, you can peruse your voicemail and text messages at your leisure, keeping your primary line free.

Moreover, if you’re not a fan of waiting around in a dealership, there are some “no-haggle” dealerships that sell cars at advertised prices.

In many cases, scheduling test drives and making deposits can be done online, minimizing the amount of time you spend in the showroom.

You may also want to consider supply and demand principles.

If a particular model of car you want is immensely popular in your region, chances are that getting it at a discounted price is going to be difficult. If you want to get a hybrid sedan, it might be worth traveling to an area where pickup trucks reign supreme.

‘I’ll Be Dead by Then’

In comments on Grayson’s posts, other people shared similar experiences as her brother’s.

“This has happened to me before,” one said. “Did a countertop for a woman, gave her the ETA for install. She said ‘I can’t wait that long, I’ll be dead by then.’”

“A few weeks later she was in the obits. I mean she was right,” they added.

Another jokingly replied, “Me when a man ghosts me.”

What do you think?

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Someone else remarked that they check local correctional facilities to see why their customer hasn’t been keeping in touch. “Checking inmate records in case he’s in jail,” they wrote.

Motor1 has reached out to Grayson via TikTok comment for further information. We'll update this post if she responds.