All's Well That Ends Well

I was working at a Chevy store when the Venture van debuted with remote power sliding doors. A customer came in wanting a minivan so I assisted him in getting one. When delivery time came, his wife had only seen the van parked on the lot.

We had signed the paperwork and I was walking out the door to join the wife standing by the passenger side of the van. Her husband was just inside the showroom. I handed him the keys and keyless remote and said, "When I clap my hands, open the door." I went out, stood beside her and loudly clapped my hands. The passenger side door slid back and locked open. I explained that the feature worked like the Clapper. I clapped my hands again and the door slid shut.

Her husband then came out and we talked briefly, I thanked them both again and went in. I turned around to see the wife look over her shoulder and then turn and softly clap while watching the door. I laughed and went to tell the owner what I had done. He chewed me out for embarrassing the wife and said they would never buy another car from us. He really made me feel bad. When I made my follow up call, I apologized to the owner who told me not to worry about it.

Years later, I was showing a woman an Impala, and on the test drive, she told me who her parents were—the couple that bought the minivan! I asked if she knew  the story of opening the doors with a hand clap, and she laughed and said, "Yes," adding that her mother continues to tell the story at parties and thought it was pretty funny. The daughter still bought the Impala!

Bill Keller
Wolf Auto Group
Sidney, Nebraska