Tough Decisions in Life

Back in 1979, I was a salesman for Walt Bennett Ford in Little Rock, Ark. One August morning I greeted a young man and his parents. The young man said he was looking for a Thunderbird or a F-150 4x4 pickup.

After test driving six Thunderbirds, all of which were close to what he felt was in line with what he was looking for, he settled on the Lipstick Red one. After that, we walked through all the F-150 4x4s we had on the lot, and he picked out a brown and yellow F-150 4x4 with a 351m motor.

He, his parents and I proceeded to my closing booth to work out numbers on both vehicles. We finally agreed to the terms on each vehicle. Finally, I was ready to ask my  closing question on the Thunderbird – whether he wanted to take it home today. My customer in a non-committal tone simply said, “I don't know.” So, I let that go and moved on to close the F-150, but again his reply to if he wanted to take the F-150 home was was, “I don't know.”

I was baffled and slightly frustrated at this point so, I asked him if he really wanted the car, and he replied, “NO!” and said that he loved the truck.

 “Then, who is the car for?”

His reply: “It's for my wife but I want the truck.”

Not knowing what to say at this point, I asked, “Do you love your wife?”

Without so much as a moment’s hesitation, his reply was, “Get the truck ready.”

Anthony Hughes
West Hornor Toyota
Helena, Arkansas