China Rolls-Royce seller lets man of modest means live the dream in car showroom, tells him ‘try hard to succeed’
- Man visits car showroom, admires luxury vehicle, invited to sit in driver’s seat
- He is influencer with 55,000 followers, video attracts 5 million views online
A Rolls-Royce salesperson in China who showed kindness to a man who was looking enviously at the luxury cars but who could not afford one has touched many hearts online.
In a Douyin video that went viral, a man is seen visiting a showroom in Xian, in northwestern China’s Shaanxi province, to admire his favourite car, a Cullinan SUV.
The modestly dressed visitor asks the salesman, Li Zhangchao, if he needs to “verify his capital”.
Li refuses and welcomes him into the showroom, and then helps make the man’s dream come true by taking a video of him standing next to the car, which costs about 7 million yuan (US$1 million).
He also spoke to his mother over the phone, telling her that her son had “made it” and she could stop worrying about him.
Li continued to patiently help the curious man after he asked to sit in the driver’s seat and pose for a photo with a Rolls-Royce umbrella next to him.
When the man tried to put a plastic bag on the seat in case he stained it, Li stopped him, saying: “You have to experience the comfort of the car fully.”
When the man stepped out of the car, he was grateful but sad, telling Li: “I will never have a chance to own a car like this.”
But kind-hearted Li encouraged him: “No one knows about the future. What if you try hard and you succeed? Those who own this car earned it with their hard work.”
It transpired that the man is an influencer with 55,000 followers on Douyin.
After he posted the video @Renjianzaizai, it went viral, attracting about 5 million views.
People were moved by Li’s compassionate and positive attitude, and said he challenged their stereotypes about people who sell luxury brands.
“He is the best Rolls-Royce salesperson, unlike other luxury brand salespeople I have met, who discriminated against me simply for not washing my hair,” one person said.
Another thanked him for “letting me know that not all luxury brand sellers are snobs.”
Li, 41, has been working for Rolls-Royce since the Xian showroom’s opening in 2012.
He previously sold cars for Mercedes-Benz and Bentley and made a good impression with customers of those brands.
Greater China is Rolls-Royce’s second largest market worldwide. The company has nearly 30 shops across China, and sold 1,600 cars in the country last year, a quarter of its global sales.
China’s rising online KOLs, or Key Opinion Leaders, have become a major purchasers of luxury cars, believing they are the ultimate symbol of wealth and success.
