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SCRIPTED encounters: see the world through a new lens

Anything related to matters of the mind

cutthroughstatic

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Background: I own and operate a small dealership.

I was finishing up a deal, and collected the customer's insurance info (he's 19 or 20). $300/mo insurance for a vehicle with a payment of $370/mo. "Have you shopped this around?!" I was shocked.
The mom chimes in: "It's part of being an adult. He's not old enough yet, so they hit you hard with insurance. I told him to just pay his dues"
Good recommendation, mom. Because there's no other choices available, like buy a car off Craigslist for $2k and just have liability... OR SHOP THE QUOTE.
Anyway, we finish up the deal. As I always do, I ask: "How do you feel? Are you excited?" (I genuinely care about my customers feeling like they were in 100% control of the buying decision, and feeling good about that decision). "Yeah, I love the truck.. just never had any debt before. I'm just thinking about how much money this is going to cost me between insurance and payments" (duh...)
Mom chimes in again, ever helpful: "Welcome to the adult world, son (in an all-knowing slightly condescending way) your father and I didn't get out of debt until we were 50. Time for you to be an adult and take on the responsibility".

So if I got that right, debt=adulthood, debt=responsibility. Oh yeah, you got debt free at 50 but you're still working full time now (I guess she was probably late 50's early 60's). So how did that work out for you?

I've been reading UNSCRIPTED at work, so this exchange happened to be perfectly timed. My antennae were up and I was in tune to the SCRIPT and it's seeders.

I thought you all might get a kick out of that story, for one, but for two I also wanted to just comment how interesting it is to have your eyes opened to something. Reading the book just brings things to light that you may have believed instinctively, but hadn't formed into your head consciously. My eyes and ears are ULTRA sensitive to the "SCRIPT" in the wild. It helps me avoid the trappings and pitfalls of our crazy culture.

Another example:
The popular website RANKER promotes these lists on facebook. Mostly clickbait crap that, yes, I do get sucked into sometimes. Well, this morning I saw one that was actually pertinent: "15 tv characters who could never afford their lifestyles in real life" It went on to analyze fictitious characters lifestyles and spending habits on the show, and then how much they would make on average at the job they had on the show. It's ridiculous. Pretty much every sitcom on television is pushing bull. You can't be a waitress and make enough money to live in a huge apartment in NYC and go out for drinks every night! Just doesn't add up. It normalizes consumption and makes people who have no business "treating themselves" go out and rack up debt. #sidewalk

In music:
I like all kinds of music, including country (not sure if I'll get some flak for that. Maybe I will, I don't care). Anyway, Brantley Gilbert has a big hit right now called "the weekend". You can guess what it's about.
Jason Aldean "When the Lights Go Up" has some line talking about how you're a hard working, country strong, blah blah, pour everything you got into a paycheck friday night. HELLO SCRIPT.

Thanks MJ for opening our eyes. Hopefully some people will wake up and see the wool that's being thrown over all of us. This stuff is like subliminal messaging - it's everywhere! And even if you find yourself in the middle of the hustle trying to do everything right, with the right mindset... this crap will sneak in. It's like they say, garbage in garbage out. Be careful what you consume.

Feel free to share SCRIPTED crap you see in the wild. It's everywhere once you're looking for it.
 
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c_morris

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I drove by a sign outside of a car dealership recently that said something along the lines of "Need money to pay off debt? Get $X,XXX cash back when you finance a new vehicle purchase!" All I could do is shake my head as I drove by. Pay off debt by taking on more debt?

Also, recently had a conversation with a mortgage broker friend of mine. He was telling me about the long line of homeowners that refinance their mortgages for various reasons. He was telling me that some of his conversations with these clients actually end with "See you next year!"
 

Van Halen

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Just turn on the TV and all you see is YOU DESERVE YOU DESERVE YOU DESERVE. Majority of all the adverts are either from banks or car manufacturers (Loans and Loans).
 

Argue

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Wtf but excuse my language that mom is f**ing nuts. I feel bad for the kid. You should've suggested unscripted to him before it's too late.

By the way, my co-worker at my slowlane job is 21 years old with a 2016 hynduai. He pays $790 for insurance and $500 for the car note.

I said why did you do this? He said because he's having a baby soon with his girlfriend who's still in high school. He said it's a blessing for him.

I just stood quiet and didn't even waste my time telling him about the book. Some people are just doomed from the start.
 
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cutthroughstatic

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Wtf but excuse my language that mom is f**ing nuts. I feel bad for the kid. You should've suggested unscripted to him before it's too late.

By the way, my co-worker at my slowlane job is 21 years old with a 2016 hynduai. He pays $790 for insurance and $500 for the car note.

I said why did you do this? He said because he's having a baby soon with his girlfriend who's still in high school. He said it's a blessing for him.

I just stood quiet and didn't even waste my time telling him about the book. Some people are just doomed from the start.

No, the mom isn't nuts. She's just regurgitating the garbage she's been fed and the garbage she's used to justify whatever debt she has been in all her life. A seeder. We are the ones that are nuts, because we swim against convention.

I run a small operation. We're not in with any big banks, we're not bankrolled or back by a big investor. Long story short, we rely on small independent Credit Unions to process loans for our customers. Credit Unions require *generally speaking* 600+ credit. We don't have subprime lenders (not our market anyway).

YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE the amount of calls I get asking if we do "in-house" or "buy-here-pay-here". Will you finance open bankruptcies? Will you finance me if I got my car repo'd three months ago? Will you finance me if I have collections on ten accounts? The kicker is THIS: when I tell people (politely) that no, we cannot, they get legitimately angry at me. Like somehow I judged them for their poor financial decisions that have led to a 450 credit score and no ability to purchase anything (which I did, in my head anyway).

But you can't be mad at these people, because they are sheep, led to believe that regardless of their credit "WE'LL GET YOU APPROVED! WE DON'T EVER SAY NO! AT LUCIFER LEXUS WE'LL GET YOU A NEW CAR FOR NO MONEY DOWN AND 99 EASY PAYMENTS OF ($600mo)" LOL it's the SCRIPT keeping people on the freaking sidewalk.

I feel like more than most, I get a front row seat to this nonsense. My line of business attracts a disproportionate amount of unqualified buyers, even though I DO NOT advertise for those people in any way.

The underlying reason is the American (and maybe in other countries, idk) obsession with immediate gratification. It's probably correlated with technology and social media and instagram in some way. The rise of video gaming and social gaming. All these things that subtly program our brains to expect frequent dopamine releases in the form of "reward". People's inability to wait/save for unnecessary expenses can be mind-boggling.

The saving thing for me and my sanity anyway, is that the majority of buyers we deal with are commercial (due to the type of inventory niche we are in). So, most of the time I feel really good and we help a lot of other small businesses get into the vehicles they need to operate.

The worst clientele I ever dealt with, we took in a ten year old BMW 3-Series on trade with around 100k. It was pretty clean - usually I'd send that to the auction as it doesn't fit our inventory, but it was nice so I decided to sell it. WORST MISTAKE EVER. Attracted 100% the wrong type of people. Sidewalkers who couldn't afford the Slowlane lease BMW, but wanted a badge. Took four weeks to sell it and I was afraid to answer every phone call for fear of having to explain to the 100th person that no, you can't have that car with no money down and a 450 credit score.
 

Imgal

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The car example @cutthroughstatic shares is tough. At 19 you are effectively an adult, but let's be honest most of us were still being ruled (and a large percentage funded) by our parents so she's effectively leading her son down a path he feels isn't right, but feeling she must know right... though I'd question that being in debt still at 50.

Truth is though that lots of people like the Scripted Life. It works for them and they're content.. and I have to say good for them. It is the most uncomfortable position in the world for me to be and so I'll do anything to not follow it.. on the tough days you do though wish you weren't so maverick ;)
 
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Argue

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No, the mom isn't nuts. She's just regurgitating the garbage she's been fed and the garbage she's used to justify whatever debt she has been in all her life. A seeder. We are the ones that are nuts, because we swim against convention.

I run a small operation. We're not in with any big banks, we're not bankrolled or back by a big investor. Long story short, we rely on small independent Credit Unions to process loans for our customers. Credit Unions require *generally speaking* 600+ credit. We don't have subprime lenders (not our market anyway).

YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE the amount of calls I get asking if we do "in-house" or "buy-here-pay-here". Will you finance open bankruptcies? Will you finance me if I got my car repo'd three months ago? Will you finance me if I have collections on ten accounts? The kicker is THIS: when I tell people (politely) that no, we cannot, they get legitimately angry at me. Like somehow I judged them for their poor financial decisions that have led to a 450 credit score and no ability to purchase anything (which I did, in my head anyway).

But you can't be mad at these people, because they are sheep, led to believe that regardless of their credit "WE'LL GET YOU APPROVED! WE DON'T EVER SAY NO! AT LUCIFER LEXUS WE'LL GET YOU A NEW CAR FOR NO MONEY DOWN AND 99 EASY PAYMENTS OF ($600mo)" LOL it's the SCRIPT keeping people on the freaking sidewalk.

I feel like more than most, I get a front row seat to this nonsense. My line of business attracts a disproportionate amount of unqualified buyers, even though I DO NOT advertise for those people in any way.

The underlying reason is the American (and maybe in other countries, idk) obsession with immediate gratification. It's probably correlated with technology and social media and instagram in some way. The rise of video gaming and social gaming. All these things that subtly program our brains to expect frequent dopamine releases in the form of "reward". People's inability to wait/save for unnecessary expenses can be mind-boggling.

The saving thing for me and my sanity anyway, is that the majority of buyers we deal with are commercial (due to the type of inventory niche we are in). So, most of the time I feel really good and we help a lot of other small businesses get into the vehicles they need to operate.

The worst clientele I ever dealt with, we took in a ten year old BMW 3-Series on trade with around 100k. It was pretty clean - usually I'd send that to the auction as it doesn't fit our inventory, but it was nice so I decided to sell it. WORST MISTAKE EVER. Attracted 100% the wrong type of people. Sidewalkers who couldn't afford the Slowlane lease BMW, but wanted a badge. Took four weeks to sell it and I was afraid to answer every phone call for fear of having to explain to the 100th person that no, you can't have that car with no money down and a 450 credit score.
Intersting, you're definitely right. You hit the nail on the head. I'm just speechless tho... seems like the script will never end.

(Lol @ Lucifer Lexus)
 

MJ DeMarco

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Background: I own and operate a small dealership.

I was finishing up a deal, and collected the customer's insurance info (he's 19 or 20). $300/mo insurance for a vehicle with a payment of $370/mo. "Have you shopped this around?!" I was shocked.
The mom chimes in: "It's part of being an adult. He's not old enough yet, so they hit you hard with insurance. I told him to just pay his dues"
Good recommendation, mom. Because there's no other choices available, like buy a car off Craigslist for $2k and just have liability... OR SHOP THE QUOTE.
Anyway, we finish up the deal. As I always do, I ask: "How do you feel? Are you excited?" (I genuinely care about my customers feeling like they were in 100% control of the buying decision, and feeling good about that decision). "Yeah, I love the truck.. just never had any debt before. I'm just thinking about how much money this is going to cost me between insurance and payments" (duh...)
Mom chimes in again, ever helpful: "Welcome to the adult world, son (in an all-knowing slightly condescending way) your father and I didn't get out of debt until we were 50. Time for you to be an adult and take on the responsibility".

So if I got that right, debt=adulthood, debt=responsibility. Oh yeah, you got debt free at 50 but you're still working full time now (I guess she was probably late 50's early 60's). So how did that work out for you?

I've been reading UNSCRIPTED at work, so this exchange happened to be perfectly timed. My antennae were up and I was in tune to the SCRIPT and it's seeders.

I thought you all might get a kick out of that story, for one, but for two I also wanted to just comment how interesting it is to have your eyes opened to something. Reading the book just brings things to light that you may have believed instinctively, but hadn't formed into your head consciously. My eyes and ears are ULTRA sensitive to the "SCRIPT" in the wild. It helps me avoid the trappings and pitfalls of our crazy culture.

Another example:
The popular website RANKER promotes these lists on facebook. Mostly clickbait crap that, yes, I do get sucked into sometimes. Well, this morning I saw one that was actually pertinent: "15 tv characters who could never afford their lifestyles in real life" It went on to analyze fictitious characters lifestyles and spending habits on the show, and then how much they would make on average at the job they had on the show. It's ridiculous. Pretty much every sitcom on television is pushing bull. You can't be a waitress and make enough money to live in a huge apartment in NYC and go out for drinks every night! Just doesn't add up. It normalizes consumption and makes people who have no business "treating themselves" go out and rack up debt. #sidewalk

In music:
I like all kinds of music, including country (not sure if I'll get some flak for that. Maybe I will, I don't care). Anyway, Brantley Gilbert has a big hit right now called "the weekend". You can guess what it's about.
Jason Aldean "When the Lights Go Up" has some line talking about how you're a hard working, country strong, blah blah, pour everything you got into a paycheck friday night. HELLO SCRIPT.

Thanks MJ for opening our eyes. Hopefully some people will wake up and see the wool that's being thrown over all of us. This stuff is like subliminal messaging - it's everywhere! And even if you find yourself in the middle of the hustle trying to do everything right, with the right mindset... this crap will sneak in. It's like they say, garbage in garbage out. Be careful what you consume.

Feel free to share SCRIPTED crap you see in the wild. It's everywhere once you're looking for it.

Max rep++ transferred. Love it when the blinders come off!
 

MarekvBeek

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It's sad... really sad... I know exactly what you mean.

Thanks to people like MJ DeMarco, we have at least an opportunity to look at the world in a different way.
 

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