John Ashworth. Madison car salesman. On the lot at Lexus of Madison.
Maybe it's just my perspective and daily environment as a Madison car salesman. Maybe it's that I haven't had enough sleep, sold enough cars, or seen enough sun over the last few days. Or, maybe I just need to get back to work and stop thinking so damn much. Because from my little corner office with a view of the showroom floor and the world beyond, I fear we've misplaced the real meaning of Thanksgiving. Now that we're so "connected" after all, it seems black friday is all we see or hear about on those little televisions we carry around all day. We have almost completely bypassed the holiday in preparation for the perceived savings.
Surely, my career as a Madison car salesman in the retail business is going to influence my day to day vantage point. But maybe that puts me right in the catbird's seat. A forced witness to the spectacle we've created. Even relying myself now on a busy weekend to help me make my month and make a living as Madison car salesman. It was inevitable, I suppose, that someone would finally breach our sacred holiday with their sale by starting it just a little earlier, actually on Thanksgiving day, so that just as we're finished with dessert and too full to eat any more, we could then continue to gorge ourselves in some other way.
"I want you to give me all the Black Friday deals on the cars you have that fit into my price range." The overly aggressive woman from more than two thousand miles away told me through the telephone yesterday. "And if the car I'm calling on and interested in is in fact sold, even though I still see it online (gasp), then I want you to sell me on the idea of another option." Of course she had no intention of spending any time really listening to me "sell" her on anything, so we forged ahead into no man's land and then she sent me off with a fool's errand.
When I finally hung up the phone, I had to take a quick inventory of my soul. Expeditiously trying to figure out what exactly had just happened, and asking myself if I had in fact held myself to a proper standard when it comes to dealing with a segment of the public that is in jeopardy of sacrificing our sacred holiday. Then I remembered her blank and deafening quietness when I pointedly asked her how many other dealerships she had called or planned to call that day. Using up each one, and each car salesman for her own personal gain. No intention of doing her part to hold up what I have come to call "the integrity of a car deal." And then I thought, YES! I kept myself in check. Let's move on.
I had begun my day, yesterday, by helping to hang tags in all of the used cars in preparation for Penske Automotive's Big Black Friday sale! Wandering the lot in the freezing rain, trying to find cars to hold the special Black Friday tags that had been created in advance. I couldn't help thinking to myself as I did this, that we have all possibly forgotten the real meaning of Thanksgiving. Why have these little black tags taken on such a prominent importance in our lives around this time of year?
Here is what I do know. I get one day off this week. A very special one. And I'm not going to muck it up by leaping forward into some vast and confusing sea of fake savings. Instead, I'm going to perform my work as sous chef with pride. Spend some real quality time with my wife in the kitchen, while connecting with my kids and Allie, our 6 year old Labradoodle. I'm going to read, write and relax and get to bed early. Because like it or not, black friday is coming and there's nothing I can do to stop it.
Happy Thanksgiving everybody. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow...
-John
