I like PG and his essays. And I followed him on twitter also. While I really admire him but no one is perfect including PG. What I notice is that he always stubbornly believe he is right on all things he believe and look down on others who have a different opinion. I think PG should reflect on himself, if he believes he is right on all things all the time, then it is probably objectively not true. This is the smart people trap. They are right a lot of the times and that make them too errogant.
What I’ve learned from users
251–260 of 339 posts
Re: What I’ve learned from users
#252PGs take on why early stage VCs gain so much experience reminds me of my opinions on why car sales is the best sales experience. I sold cars for almost a decade and was pretty good at it averaging 30 cars a month. That means every year I helped people sign for $16 million of products. In the end I probably sold 3000 cars for over $100 million. (Note, I stayed in it way too long. I think most of these benefits would c…
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Re: What I’ve learned from users
#253Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree, the "finance person" that technically does your paperwork and pitches you all those aftermarket products is the biggest crook in the industry (right next to the service advisors that tell you what service your car needs and the price). I would sometimes fill in for finance on a rainy day, and even though I was top 0.3% in the country when it came to car sales, I Couldn't sell that garbage even with a gun poi…
It seems somewhat simple to just stand firm with the finance person and refuse all the add-ons, but how does one figure out what services are actually needed when the service adviser comes to you with a list of issues?
> how does one figure out what services are actually needed when the service adviser comes to you with a list of issues?
As a basic set of rules:
a) say no to everything.
b) look at the service intervals in the book (or what the maintenance minder in the car says).
c) ask them if the factory service plan would cover it
d) ask them if it's critical to safety, and if so, explain what would happen if you didn't do it, how you would notice it was an issue, and how you should respond while it's happening on the road.
e) as soon as you run out of factory service, and maybe factory warranty, use an independent mechanic
Now, sometimes the factory service intervals are wrong, and sometimes there's stuff you probably should do that the factory doesn't say to do ever; but for the most part, the factory schedule is a good baseline, and dealer service wants to do extra frivolous stuff. Some independents do too, I have never seen a next oil change sticker printed with factory intervals.
Re: What I’ve learned from users
#254Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'd rather go get a cavity filled, then buy a new car. Do it as infrequently as possible (hoping to get another 10 years out of my 11 year old Toyota). Every time I visit a new car dealer I feel a need to take a shower, just to get the stink off of me.
I once dated a girl whose dad's idea of a fun Saturday was to spend the day at a car dealership to see how low a price he could negotiate for a car. He'd always walk away, regardless of how low they went. I thought that was hilarious.
Jesus, that just feels cruel to me.
Re: What I’ve learned from users
#255Earlier quoted context omitted.
> the sales manager was a Jewish accounting major One of these things seems out of place when listing qualifications
I'm glad I'm not the only one who found it odd.
GGP is screaming #quityourbullshit.
e.g., How do you fail an MCAT? You get a score.
The rest sounds like partial truth + embellishment.
Re: What I’ve learned from users
#256Earlier quoted context omitted.
Used car salespeople are even worse! Are you buying from individuals or from a dealership?
What do you mean? Buying a used car from a dealership is about 5x worse than buying a new car. Of course they're buying from an individual.
> Buying a used car from a dealership is ... worse than buying a new car.
Yes, that's what I said.
> Of course they're buying from an individual.
That was not clear.
Re: What I’ve learned from users
#257More of a meta discussion, but it's interesting that pretty much all HN threads on PG's recent essays have a strong, negative sentiment. My guess is that this is explained by 3 factors: 1) The quantity and quality of new ideas in PG's essays is declining. 2) Readers' expectations of quality in PG's essays is increasing. 3) The pool of disenfranchised readers is growing. The quantity and quality of new ideas is decrea…
I would lay out a fourth possible option: 4. PG is thinking about YC at a high level of abstraction (e.g., making it a productive place for thinkers and makers like Xerox PARC was) while also having Inside Baseball-level knowledge [1] of YC strategy and tactics (both successes and failures) in ways that most people don’t understand well and don’t really appreciate. Based on my personal experience and on the experienc…
I'd agree with this. Those who think at a high level of abstraction often come to conclusions that almost sound like cliche to those who are not: "what the users want", "think counterintuitively", "because smart people cluster," etc. The advices sound hollow, almost like a bad sales pitch. The weight comes from the one giving the advice. It may be an issue of writing technique, but not an issue of credibility.
Re: What I’ve learned from users
#258Re: What I’ve learned from users
#259PGs take on why early stage VCs gain so much experience reminds me of my opinions on why car sales is the best sales experience. I sold cars for almost a decade and was pretty good at it averaging 30 cars a month. That means every year I helped people sign for $16 million of products. In the end I probably sold 3000 cars for over $100 million. (Note, I stayed in it way too long. I think most of these benefits would c…
Interesting. I rank buy a car from a new car salesman as the worst consumer experience of my life. So much so that I've since bought used cars and in the future hope to buy a Tesla in large part to avoid that experience. I understand that it could greatly benefit the salesperson in understanding the social psychology of the consumer ... but never again will I subject myself to that process.
If you do enough sales of virtually any product buying a car gets easy. It's just a game. When the salesperson says "I'll need to talk to my manager," you just say "No problem. I'm not in a hurry." And when they try to add stuff to the contract at the end, just say "No."
Re: What I’ve learned from users
#260PGs take on why early stage VCs gain so much experience reminds me of my opinions on why car sales is the best sales experience. I sold cars for almost a decade and was pretty good at it averaging 30 cars a month. That means every year I helped people sign for $16 million of products. In the end I probably sold 3000 cars for over $100 million. (Note, I stayed in it way too long. I think most of these benefits would c…
Interesting.
On the other hand, I learn that working in car sales might teach you about wrong sales "skills". At least, one does not learn skills needed for companies which want to have relationship with their customers.
But you also learn a lot right skills (follow up, tick skin, read people, etc.)