Toyota Salesman Helps Woman Looking For Camry. Then She Calls Back And Says Something Shocking: ‘Wow That’s So Disrespectful'

Sometimes it can feel like everyone is missing social cues these days. These can be especially helpful in stressful situations, like negotiating for a new vehicle. 

So when one woman reached back out to a car salesman she’d been working with, things did not go as she may have expected. DealwithFranc (@dealwithfranc) is a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Toyota salesman who works for the Jim Norton dealership. In a TikTok that’s been watched more than 2.3 million times, he described an unexpected interaction with a customer. 

Respectfully, No

“Respectfully, if you buy a car from me, you can take my time; you can ask questions; whatever it is you want to know on your car, that’s OK,” he assured the internet. 

Then he went into detail about a recent experience where one potential car buyer got the meaning of “the customer is always right” all wrong. 

Franc said that he's here for his customers, but not for the entire world. “Don’t ever disrespect me,” he said. 

His problem: he worked with a client on finding the right Toyota, but they couldn’t get the numbers to work. “Which is OK, you know,” he said, acknowledging that what is right for one person might not be right for another. 

“You don’t like the numbers, so you go, you disappear. That’s cool, it happens all the time,” he added. 

However, he then alleged that his disappearing customer came back. Franc thought he had another chance at the sale. 

“I’m getting excited; emotions are going up,” he said—because he assumed he might get himself a “little dough.”

So, they hop on a call together. He says she asked if he remembered the Camry they were looking at; he did. He asks if she wants to take another look at it. According to him, she replies, “No, I already bought one. But I’m near the area: can you help me maybe get connected to it? They didn’t go over the features.” 

Franc’s reaction? “Respectfully, no.” 

Is There More Than Complicated Technology Happening? 

Instead of siding with a man who’s reclaiming his time, the internet is telling Franc he missed a love connection. And some of the connections are the ones the users themselves are proposing. 

“Bro, she wanted YOU she didn’t need help,” Uzi (@uzi6649) basically shouted. 

Alexis (@alexislarge23283) made an even clearer point: “If I don’t like the number for the car can I get your number?”

Meanwhile, Autumn just wants to talk about efficient time management: “Oh, I’ll take my time,” she wrote, adding an image of an adoring-looking golden retriever to her comment.  

But there are those who take the entire situation much more seriously. 

“She got a better deal. Happen to me with my new car purchase. The salesman was holding back a 2k manufacturer rebate. And then he was surprised when I bought it at another dealer,” recalled Richie Rich (@rr91412). 

Do Car Salespeople Owe You Their Time? 

Most people know that most car sales are commission-based. That means there is a certain amount of often unspoken etiquette in the entire interaction. But it doesn’t mean that a salesman at one Toyota dealership owes you his time when you dealt with another dealership for the sale. 

But the forums do think it means that if you had a good experience with a salesperson, it is polite to return to them. And if you’ve had an experience that makes you feel uncomfortable, ask the sales manager to link you up with another salesperson. The consensus seems to be that once you’ve spent a good deal of time with a salesperson, you're both in it until the numbers come back. 

Still, many experienced car buyers suggest walking away from a sale to avoid looking too eager. Others suggest keeping the sale total in your mind and not sharing what you want your monthly payment to be. 

On a Quora forum thread, Bill Atwood advised, “Don’t give the car salesman a cost per month you are willing to pay… If you say $300… that could be a $5,000 car or a $12,000 car. I never tell them what my budget is.”

He also suggested a technique that suggests looking at vehicles under your budget. Atwood  thinks that when the salesperson thinks they’re upselling you, “they are more apt to deal.” He asserts they’ll do more for a $35,000 car sale than a $15,000 car sale.   

Motor1 reached out to Franc via Instagram direct message and TikTok direct message. We reached out to Jim Norton Toyota via a contact form and to Toyota USA via email. We will update this if there are any responses.