Monkeyman - 2013-04-24 8:32 PM Oldman --- I don't think anyone is suggesting a guided tour by a salesman (sorry...sales PERSON). Some of us just want to be acknowleged when we walk in the door. The potential customer (whether he's there to buy a spark plug or a brand new $25k bike) should be the most important person in the store...period. Not the employees, not the vendors, not the mechanics. I want to feel that the dealership as a whole would move Heaven and earth to help me answer a question, fix my bike or sell me another. If you don't want the help, politely tell them that you'd rather look around and if you have any questions, you'll be sure to find them. They've made you feel welcome and now you can look around at your convenience. Twenty minutes later (when you're still looking around) would be a good time for the sales rep (or his boss) to find you again and ask if there's anything they can help you with. Maybe that would be a good time to ask if you'd like a cold bottle of water or a cup of fresh coffee. When I was searching for my current ride, I stopped in a big Harley dealership. They were grilling hot dog outside and as I walked up (after just getting off my metric cruiser), they asked if I wanted something to eat. I declined and walked in the shop. I was greeted at the door by a sales rep who simply asked me how he could direct me. I said I was interested in buying a bike but wasn't sure what I wanted. He pointed me towards 4 or 5 different models and once I told him which caught my eye, he told me a few things about it. "This model has ABS and security standard." "Here. Try it out." "This is a bold color. Are you looking for something bold or something a bit more neutral?" "Ok. Let's try this bike over here." The number of different bikes was a little disconcerting and after a while, I asked the sales rep if I could just walking around on my own. He gave me his card and asked that I seek him out if I had any other questions. Never once did he say "This bike's for you" or "You should buy this". Even when I told him I had decided to NOT buy the RGU, he was curtious (never know when I'll change my mind...can't see it but any good sales staff knows it can happen) and gave me some dates when there would be some big rides so I could look at (and hear) the bikes I turned down. I walked out without buying a thing, got a dog and some chips then went on my way. I could only wish that my local Victory dealer (where I bought my Vision) could have been 1/2 as good. (They weren't.)

What you described is the bare basics of any sales operation.  I have walked in and walked out of dealerships and was never acknowledged, therefore, I did not buy a thing.  I went to another dealership who greeted me and I bought from them.