Has the pricing changed?" "No. The commercial fleet prices are the same figures our fleet department authorized before anyone at the dealership knew about your relationship to Mr. Hayes. I've included the calculation basis so you can compare it with other quotes."
Gloria was quiet for a moment. "Good," she said. "I have two other proposals on my desk, Anna. I want you to know that." "You should," Anna replied. "This is a major purchase.
You ought to compare the terms." Gloria smiled into the phone. "That is the correct answer. Come at nine, and bring shoes you don't mind getting dusty. Calvin will want to see the van specifications one more time."
Later that afternoon, Gloria found Malcolm in the depot's break room, drinking terrible coffee and staring at a paper copy of the customer complaints. He looked up as she entered. "I took action," he said. "Derek and Kelsey are no longer employed by the dealership. But that's not the part I came to tell you." She sat across from him, giving him the time he had clearly come to ask for.
"I reviewed the other complaints," he continued. "There were people who went through things similar to what happened to you. Not exactly the same, but enough to show the branch was judging customers by appearances. We missed it because our reports focused on the people who stayed long enough to make a purchase."
Gloria listened without interrupting. Malcolm rubbed the back of his neck. "I should have seen it. I built those reports."
"You can't see everything," she said. "That's why you have to build a company where people feel able to tell you what you're missing." He looked down at his cup. "One of the junior employees said he was afraid to complain because Derek controlled the good leads.
I kept telling myself the numbers meant he was doing a good job." Gloria placed her hand beside his on the table, close enough that he could take it if he wanted. "Numbers are useful, son. They're not substitutes for paying attention."
He looked at her for a long moment. "Were you trying to test me?" he asked. The question had been sitting between them since Thursday, and Gloria appreciated that he finally said it aloud. "No," she answered.
"I needed vehicles. I was already out in the old bus, and your showroom was on the way back from a parts supplier. I stopped because it made sense. I didn't tell them who you were because I never tell a salesperson my family history when I'm asking about a product."
"You could have called me the minute he touched you." "I know. And maybe I should have told you earlier. But I wanted to see whether the company could respond to an ordinary customer with an ordinary complaint.
Anna did. That matters." Malcolm gave a rueful smile. "You always find a way to make the lesson harder than it needs to be."