Shoo, Man, You CRAZY!

[Greg]

Or as I personally witnessed, the "kid" dressed in a sweatshirt and old jeans...

I have been that kid.

...

There are a surprising number of car salesmen who really do notice and understand these things.

And there are surprisingly many who don't...

My dress style outside work is usually "eccentric millionaire", i.e. scruffy. I spend more than enough time in work wearing sober suits and expensive ties, so I like to dress casually otherwise.

I once went to a car dealership fully intending to buy two new vehicles, cash on the nail - I had picked out the exact specs I wanted to order, and only wanted to test-drive something similar, to be certain I liked the "feel" on the road. The salesman blew me off, probably because he wasn't impressed with how I was attired. He lost two instant cash sales, and probably never even noticed it.

It's taken a while for the rest of the population to figure out that tech geeks often have money, despite their often aggressively casual appearance. As in at the least have nice 6-figure salaries and nothing to spend it on, and often are actual literal eccentric millionaires, like the folks who lived down the street from me (and still shared a student apartment together) despite being early employees of ATG and thus all multimillionaires.

If he looks a little scruffy and unshaven but is wearing pricey outdoor clothes, like $300 boots and $100 pants, sounds like a geek and seems to know the technical specs of your products better than you do... he's NOT poor.

[Cybrludite]

It is hard for intelligent people to fathom just how dull really stupid people are - with some, it's a wonder they can even remember to breathe in and out.

It is demonstrably impossible for stupid people to fully comprehend just how stupid they are.

Not so hard for me, since taking their support calls is a sizable chunk of my job. The tricky part is staying calm and not rubbing their noses in it. I swear that a big part of why I why I hang out with the people that I hang with & go to sci-fi cons (and Gun Counter meetups) is so I can actually not be the smartest person in the room for a change.

[blackeagle603]

You work on commission right? Big mistake. BIG mistake.

[Aglifter]

I was in a "weird" mood for a couple weeks, and so I just wore my "minimalist" shoes around - not very expensive, and look like less. (Hold up well, though.)

Left the watch, ring, etc in the safe - just an odd mood, didn't even feel like carrying a gun anymore.

It was surprising how differently I was treated. (I've spent my entire life fairly well-dressed.)

The traditional sales thing/hiring thing is to look at the shoes. Both to see what quality, and how they are kept. (A good watch is also a decent indicator, but can be other things as well - for whatever reason, a USPSA match usually looks like a Rolex convention.)

[Weetabix]

Can somebody define "good shoes" with some brand names, links, photos, etc? I've always viewed shoes as commodities, but I do understand that if you get good ones, they tend to last longer, and thus be more economical per mile.

ETA: Or should I say, good "shoo's"?

[HTRN]

Can somebody define "good shoes" with some brand names, links, photos, etc? I've always viewed shoes as commodities, but I do understand that if you get good ones, they tend to last longer, and thus be more economical per mile.:

I dunno, do scuffed up Redwings count as "good shoes"?

[blackeagle603]

all that good shoes and nice watches stuff with an otherwise lowbrow set of togs just strikes me as a sorta smug look at me strutting, I'm really a humble guy and I reallllly want you to know it thing.

Maybe it's a SoCal thing. A thousand players in a San Diego bar making good money (when they actually have a job) with nothing to show for it in terms show for except a 'vette or Ferrari parked outside their apt. Ladies with brains I know see those guys, their watches, shoes and cars and say "there's his house payment. NEXT!"

[Lokidude]

Can somebody define "good shoes" with some brand names, links, photos, etc? I've always viewed shoes as commodities, but I do understand that if you get good ones, they tend to last longer, and thus be more economical per mile.:

I dunno, do scuffed up Redwings count as "good shoes"?

In my trade, yes.

I catch both sides of this. I'm just a dumb electrician, jeans and t shirts, speak fluent redneck, with the accent. I'm also borderline supergenius, spent half my adult life in business/sales, and only got out of it because the atmosphere sucked. I have to ask folks how much they want to understand when they ask a question, otherwise I end up giving full lectures to cover background.

[blackeagle603]

yeah well, the real genius is in the ability to take that huge pile of info and reduce it to something like e=mc^2 so that even your average first day physics student in Jr High can get grok the big picture of it.


I'm surrounded by geniuses -- no wonder I've felt so out of place here.

[Aesop]

FWIW, I've never been less than boggled at the simple effect of vintage leather bootcamp issue oxfords wearing their permanent highly polished shine, with a nice suit, to simulate a veneer of casual wealth, if not opulence, especially among folks whose corporate attire includes a namebadge or polo shirt. It doesn't work at the Beverly Hills Hotel, or the private tables in Vegas, but anywhere else and you're damn near bulletproof if you don't blow your cover. It's like they've never seen business attire in their lives anymore, and if you handed them a shoebrush and can of polish, they'd look at you like you were trying to explain the fundamentals of playing a harpsichord.

But to really experience class consciousness that isn't even shy, visit England with a nice three-piece suit, and take along a set of college-student on bicycle holiday attire, visit any number of places dressed in each, and gauge the reactions and treatment.

This side of the pond, what gets me is the number of certifiably really smart people you run into who look like they clean drains and sweep chimneys for a living, some of whom actually do just that.