Action Plan Comm/315 Week 3

Action Plan

Tee F. Xiong

COMM/315

November 17, 2016

Mary Lisa Russell

Action Plan

I am a member of the lower-middle class. I make enough to get by, but not enough to spoil myself on luxury with expensive consumer name-brand products. I have been in the market for a new vehicle for a long time. After years of saving every penny I could through strict budgeting, I was able to save the amount I needed to finally purchase my dream car.

Upon entering the car dealership, I immediately felt nervous and uncomfortable. Everyone was wearing tailored suits and everyone was sporting the latest in trends. Here I am, a 25 year old wearing a graphic tee, blue jeans, and the pair of shoes I have been wearing for the last 2 years. I immediately caught the attention of every salesman on the floor. I could already sense no one was going to pay any attention to me or help me in finding my dream car. Even though I had the funds steadily available in my account, I knew I was not dressed for this kind of dealership and felt out of place. I knew no one was going to take me seriously. I was not greeted at the door, nor was I even offered a cup of coffee. I am not even a big coffee drinker, but it’s the thought that counted. I felt out of place. After 30 mins of walking around looking through car windows, I finally gave up. If no one was going to assist me then I don’t think my business is wanted here. I can clearly tell it was based on my appearance. I was radiating, lower-middle class, will not qualify for a loan.

After a couple of days, I decided to go back to the dealership. This time I went well prepared. A tailored suit, spit-shined shoes, chest out, and a head held high. I haven’t even stepped inside the dealership yet and every salesman on the floor was already walking towards me with a smile. With a firm handshake, the salesman asked if there was any car in particular I wanted to see. I was treated like a wealthy profit opportunity and offered coffee three times, even after I had replied that I did not drink coffee the first time he had offered. I was introduced to the general manager and then even the owner of the dealership. It was a complete opposite experience from just a couple of days ago. This was all due to just my immediate appearances. After looking at multiple cars, I decided to not purchase a car from that dealership and bid my farewells and headed on my way.

In my observation, immediate appearances is the biggest impact on first impression. Even if you are a millionaire, if you are not dressed for the part, you will not even be considered for the part. This goes with the infamous saying of, “fake it till you make it.” People are general drawn towards appearances that they lack the mental capacity to carefully get to know a person before judging them.

I learned that first impressions and stereotyping someone based on appearances is one of our mind’s first go-to. I decided to go to the same dealership a few days later. Based on the knowledge I acquired from my last two visit, I wanted to try an experiment. My hypothesis was that: if I was to wear the same clothing as I did during my first visit but have the attitude of my second visit, would my appearance still effect my chance of getting the service and attention I needed?