Not judging a book by its cover is more than just a saying; it can be an expensive lesson.

So, what would you do if you were ready to make a big purchase and were ignored because of your appearance?

Would you insist on being helped?

Or would you take your business somewhere else?

In the following story, one man finds himself in this exact predicament.

Here’s how he handled it.

How my uncle cost a car dealership $300k

My aunt and uncle never had kids and were pretty well off financially.

They had 2 vehicles: an old 60’s Chevy Pickup and a mid-80s Cadillac (only a few years old at the time).

The Cadillac was their town car, and they drove the old truck to and from their cabin or if they needed to haul something.

My uncle, on his way back home from the cabin, decided he was going to buy a new Cadillac.

He bought a new one every five years or so.

It’s important to note, my uncle wore overalls and a plain tshirt every day.

So he pulls into the Cadillac dealership with his old beater truck, dressed like a farmer.

Not one employee offered to help him, so he took his business elsewhere.

He walks around for 45 minutes looking at the cars, and not one employee comes to offer any assistance.

He gets angry and leaves without speaking to any of the employees.

He went home, showered, threw on a suit, hopped into his Cadillac, and drove straight back to the dealership.

As soon as he pulled in and got out, every single salesman walked up to him immediately.

He then said, “Forget all of you, I was here for 45 minutes in my old truck and wearing overalls. Not one of you even spoke to me. I’m going to [Next closest Cadillac dealership almost 100 miles away]”.

Over the course of the rest of his life, he bought 6 brand-new Cadillacs from that other dealership for roughly $300k altogether.

That dealership lost $300k in sales because they thought he looked too poor.

I bet they never made that mistake again.

They should really warn all salespeople about situations like this.

Let’s see what the fine folks over at Reddit have to say.

Good for this guy!

Bet the other salespeople were mad!

Nice! And they paid cash!

This is excellent advice.

The uncle did the right thing!

Hopefully, everyone at the original Cadillac dealership learned an important lesson that day.

If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.