This week's prompt asks us to reflect on a time when we were stubborn or went against what others wanted us to do. Hm, let's see. Stubborn? Me?
What comes to mind isn't earth-shattering or life-changing, but it marked a passage of sorts for me. I stood up for myself at a car dealership. A woman up against a group of high pressure car salesmen. And I won!
It wasn't my first new vehicle, but it was the first time I went alone without the hubby to purchase a car. I had been driving a Ford Escape for four years and racked up over 100,000 miles. Hubby wanted me to get a new one since I was on the road a lot with a long commute to work. It was summer, I was flexible as a teacher, and he slept days and worked nights, so I had to go by myself to the dealership.
Not a problem! I had just landed a new job as a discipline school administrator, had met a lot of new folks, and felt confident in my ability to state my needs and expectations to the car salesman.
It was just as I expected. The welcome, the schmoozing, the test drive, everything. And it was going well until I told him what I wanted. They didn't have a vehicle on the lot that had everything I wanted. I didn't think it was a big deal. It was probably going to be the last new car I would buy before I retired and I wanted what I wanted--a Ford Escape Limited in green or white, leather interior, running boards, receiver hitch, and all the bells and whistles of the XLT I had at the time.
That's when it started. They began questioning why I wanted such things as the color and the running boards. Because I did! I explained that it might be my last new vehicle and I wanted what I wanted. They tried to convince me to take one of the models on the lot. I knew they could find what I wanted somewhere else if they tried. They could even order it. I stood my ground. I waited. I talked to the salesman's manager and his supervisor. I didn't waver. And eventually I got what I wanted. It wasn't a Limited, but it had everything a Limited had except the GPS, and it was a little less expensive. An XLT all tricked out. And I have never regretted it. Call me stubborn, but I knew what I wanted! And the "little lady" won in a dealership full of "good ol' boys!"
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My light sage 2009 Ford Escape with running boards--new at the time! |
When has stubbornness paid off for you?
XOXO
Labels: car, dealership, Ford, Ford Escape, SUV