Richard Turen
Our Covid-recovery graphs are headed upward, spurred on by optimistic feelings of medical and financial improvements just around the bend. We'll be back to our new normal, although, in truth, most of us are expecting to resume where we left off.
For many of us, "normal" means a multi-step process of discussion, exploration of options, pre/post arrangements, air schedules, dining arrangements and insurance.
And that is how we will be operating in our new normal. Which is why I want to tell you about a purchase I made the other day that was different than any I had experienced in the past. I want to share it with you because it could be a forerunner of new technology-enhanced changes in the way we interact and sell upscale products.
I decided to surprise my wife with a new car. I had been able to drive the brand once, and I really liked it, so I went to the showroom in our most upscale shopping center. I had allocated three hours for the shopping, negotiating and ordering process.
The showroom had a single "representative" and vast empty space where cars would have been parked. "We can't keep enough in stock to display them," he explained. "Most of our customers test-drive them and then order on our website."
There was no negotiating. He had a laptop and asked me five questions about color, interior, tires, etc. He added my information and asked for a credit card. The deposit was $100. Buying my car did not take three hours. It took 11 minutes.
Three weeks later, my car was built and delivered. It did not have any dials or knobs on the dashboard. None. Everything was done on a large computer screen. The car did not come with keys. It recognizes the owner via cellphone. I also have a credit card that the outer door could read for entry.
The car does not have a spare tire. If you get a flat, you press a button on your touch screen and a Road Ranger comes to your location and changes it. The car has two trunks, one in back and one in front where the engine would be on other cars. It doesn't have an engine. It only has a few moving parts, and it runs on a battery. I will never again have to pump gas or have any reason to visit a gas station.
The car has to be named because the manufacturer sends it notes from time to time and important updates. If there are new features in next year's model, they will be loaded overnight to my car via the advanced computer system. So my 2020 model will become a 2021 automatically.
It is assumed that at some time or another, a skeptic regarding electric vehicles will join me in the passenger seat. For that special person there is a setting to produce the sound of flatulence when they sit down.
The car was delivered with zero problems and no need to visit anyone -- dealership, service center or sales person of any kind.
Compare this experience with the time I devote -- the multiple meetings, planning, reservations, e-mails, confirmations, payments, etc. -- in a similarly priced travel sale.
This is why we must never assume that things will always remain the same. We need to make the purchase of travel as simple and hassle-free as the car purchase I have described. And it wouldn't hurt to hope, perhaps pray, that Elon Musk does not set his sights on the travel industry.