Chat Ed : Welcome Nigel!
kit : hiya nigel
Nigel Done : Hello, I enjoyed the show, hope you did too, it was great fun.
Jasper : Nigel.. good of you to join us :)
Nigel Done grins
Nigel Done : Great to be here.
Chat Ed : Let's get started!
Chat Ed : First, the question on everyone's lips:
jasonpumapeopleco : So... did you *really* drive away with the Metro? and if so.. what have you done with it since?
Andy and Jo : Have you sold the metro yet? and if not then do you want to sell it to us????
Nigel Done laughs
Nigel Done : Good question! I did drive away with it. I was so exhausted at the end of the month that the last thing I wanted to do was to drive from Southend to Somerset! The Metro did make it though and it's parked in my garage. My wife is learning to drive, so I'll give it to her unless a better offer comes up. Remember it's got central locking AND red seatbelts!
Tim Williams : Really great programme and congratulations! Did you mention your experiences in church (as a the subject of a sermon for example)?
Jonty : Hello Nigel. I was wondering how you feel your parishioners will respond after watching tonight's show?
Nigel Done : I watched it with about a hundred of my parishioners on a big screen in the pub, they screamed with delight when I sold my first car. I did try and sell them the Metro on the first weekend that I got back, but they just want their old vicar back now.
JP : Did you have any preconceptions about used-car salesmen or the trade beforehand and were these substantiated or not?
Nigel Done : I was quite cautious about having the Arthur Daley type stereotype of car dealers. However there are good vicars and bad vicars and so I knew the same would go for car salesmen. Dom and Chris had different standards of truth and honesty to me, but I didn't see anything which was illegal.
geeza : Nights out on the town with Dom & Chris, did you ever get drunk to the point where they had to take you home, or where you ever badly ill?
ibangle : Will you keep in touch with the guys you met during filming? will you have them up to the vicarage for tea?
Nigel Done laughs
Nigel Done : Dom and Chris have spent the evening here watching it with me in the pub here in Somerset. They arrived in 30 grands worth of Mercedes (convertible)! They are drinking Somerset Cider, I'm afraid I haven't offered them a cup of tea yet. ibangle, should I invite them for a cup of tea now?
Toby : What did you find most difficult in your involvement with the program?
Adam Bunch : Was there any point at all throughout the experience where you just wanted to give up?
Nigel Done chuckles
Nigel Done : There were moments when I had a sort of out of body experience, looking down watching myself, trying to sell a car and thinking, this is not me. The hardest stuff was about selling finance but all the time I wanted to succeed. I hung on until the end and was hugely relieved when it was all over.
brent : Nigel, have you come to a conclusion as to whether finance is morally wrong?
Nigel Done : If I was going to use finance to buy a car the first thing to remember is you can negotiate as hard a deal as you can, it's not set in stone. The chances are, I would go elsewhere for the finance deal.
Paddy : Did you find it hard to drop the new accent and lingo you had to leard?
enticed by tizer : Do you find yourself acting the Essex boy with the little old ladies back home now?
Nigel Done laughs
Nigel Done : Good question. Funnily enough, the Essex accent left me before I even got to the M25! The little old ladies back home like me just as I am.
Phill Duffy : did you like wearing the gear when you were being mr geezer sales blokey?
Nigel Done : When they chose the black puffa jacket I sulked like a stroppy teenager because I didn't want to wear it. But back in Somerset I love striding around in the jacket and wear it all the time.
DaveM : What is the biggest thing you think you have gained from your experience (not including the Metro)?!
hugh : how did your experience affect you when you returned home?
Nigel Done : Complete reassurance that I was in the right job and not cut out to be a car salesman. I don't know what the programme said to you, Dave, but the biggest thing was the friendships.
Graham : What does your wife think of your new image?
Nigel Done chuckles
Nigel Done : She didn't like the goatee, Graham. That had to come off as soon as I got back. Trendy vicar is a bit of an oxymoron, trendier than before, is better.
Kev : Have any of your mates asked you for tips when buying a motor?
Nigel Done : All the time, I'm getting really bored of that.
RichardWynne : we didnt see you lose your temper at all, you backed down from arguing too strongly over finance & church, do you ever get really angry?
Nigel Done : I was quite angry at that argument, but I don't really lose my temper. I'm the sort of person that goes cold and quiet rather than hot and flaring up.
Linda : It's always good to have an insight into other peoples lives and an awareness of cultural differences. How do you think Dom and Chris would cope with your job?
Nigel Done laughs
Nigel Done : Well they are getting on very well with all my old ladies down here in Somerset here tonight. I think both of them could do a very good school assembly at the local school, but they might struggle a bit with getting in the pulpit to deliver a sermon.
Peter : Was there a point at which that you realised that you could pull it off, as you appeared quite negative until near the end?
Nigel Done : As the weeks went by I was more and more nervous that I would not be able to do it. When I went to breakfast with the 4 other salesman I was sure one of them would spot me straight away. When I got onto the forecourt and gained some confidence that I had sold cars I just let my instinct take over.
ibangle : were you intimidated by the other salesmen on the test day, and do you think they sussed you out?
Nigel Done : There was one moment where Jason said in front of the other salesmen and me, 'You're the fake aren't you?' I said to one of the others, 'You look like a policeman, that would be the opposite of a car salesman I bet you're the fake'. I seemed to scrape through by the skin of my teeth on that one.
MarkJ : Did you feel happy at the end of it all that you had managed to maintain your Christian integrity while trying to be a car salesman? I know this was a concern to you.
ROBERT2 : i honestly thought your morals were going to stop you, how did you overcome that difficulty?
Nigel Done : When I sold the car to the single mum and her 2 kids in the test, there was a lot in me that wanted to point out to her the high mileage, large engine size - all the negative points about the car. That was pastoral concern rather than moral integrity. I had to give that second place for the sake of what was going on. I'm a bit sorry about that.
Oliver Adam : If car sales is like any other business, does that mean all business is dodgy, or car sales is legitimate?
Nigel Done : I think if I were looking for an ethic applicable to all business, including selling cars, it would be "do to others as you would like done to yourself". That applies to selling cars and giving bank loans, whatever business you are in.
Kempy : What reason was given to the punters for the presence of the cameras?
Nigel Done : Punters were told that they were doing a documentary on training car salesmen. There was no mention that I was anything other than a trainee car salesman.
Chat Ed : Another popular question:
Charlotte : Nigel what about swearing ethics?
Nigel Done : The f and c word, such common currency amongst the people I was with, meant that saying bollocks sounded positively polite.
Alloys : Were there any scary moments on test drives or parking on the forecourt?
Nigel Done : The only scary moment was when I had to drive an MGF across Southend and I was so close to taking off in it for the weekend!
DaveM : Are there any bits from the cutting room floor that may crop up to haunt you in the future (and that we can look forwards to seeing)?
Nigel Done laughs
Nigel Done : I'd like to keep all the cuttings! There were some bits of my video diary which, well hopefully I was sober, but they apparently looked like I was quite drunk. They ended up on the cutting room floor.
Chat Ed : Nearing the end of our half hour now, so just a few more questions:
Tears : The programme, your friendships, and your attitude made me (and probably others) look into the mirror and ask myself whether I tend to prejudge people. Did you ask yourself that kind of question too?
Nigel Done : Yeah, very much. However I very quickly realised that Dom and Chris are good blokes and that I would enjoy being with them. That was a good reminder not to pre-judge people on what they do and how they look.
andipants : I hope you feel you served God at the same time as succeeding on the fore court... would you say you did?
Nigel Done : andipants, what do you think? Was the TV programme honouring to God? That was my main ambition.
alcapone : now you understand the sales process are you a difficult customer ?
Nigel Done : You bet!
jord : Any regrets about doing the whole thing?
Nigel Done : There were a few painful moments. Pain is gain and so no regrets.
Chat Ed : OK, that's it everyone! Thanks Nigel!
Robert Leggat : Many thanks, Nigel. Great!
Mork : yeah cheers Nigel
Jonty : thanks, i enjoyed the show
Nigel Done : I hope you enjoyed the programme and the chat, I certainly did. Thanks very much, goodnight.
The Comers : Well done nigel!
adamd : l admire your courage nigel
Nice_one_Nigel : nice one nigel
Nigel Done leaves the room
