Rhetorical Analysis – Buying a Suit

I had heard that Mr. Mac’s was having a special sale this last week, so I recruited my brother to go with me (for moral support and to give me someone to talk to) to the mall and check out what they were offering. It turned out that their deals weren’t so special after all, but that didn’t keep Ryan (that was the salesman’s name) from trying to get me to buy something I didn’t really want.

WATCO: Buying a suit on my sense of self-fulfillment?

Claim: Buying a suit will increase my sense of self-fulfillment because buying a suit will help me to look stylish and professional.

Implicit Assumption: Whatever helps me look stylish and professional will also increase my sense of self-fulfillment.

Audience = Me

Ryan used several different techniques in his attempt to persuade me to purchase a suit, or socks, or pretty much anything else from the store. First of all, he presented himself well. He let us browse for a bit before asking if there was anything specific that we were looking for. I hate it when salesmen jump on you the second you walk through the door. He was also dressed very nice in a dark blue suit with a light blue pinstriped shirt and yellow tie. His appearance gave him credibility that he actually knew how to dress stylishly and pick out clothes that matched. I feel that these are very important traits for a suit salesman. This is about where the positive things ended, however, because he started being very pushy after the initial greeting. Instead of bringing out the suit I was considering, he brought out five completely different styles. I still can’t figure out why he did this. Maybe he had other issues he was dealing with at the time, but he just didn’t really seem to listen to what I was saying, and he wasn’t particularly nice about it. His whole attitude seemed to be, “Our suits are very nice, so you should pay lots of money for them without complaining about it.” It may not be his fault that the store wasn’t having a very good sale, but there was no way I was going to spend $300 for a new suit. I’m cheap, and he didn’t help me overcome that concern very well. The best deal he could think to offer was to give me $15 off a new shirt if I were to purchase the $350 suit. That’s it? He didn’t try to build any emotional or logical connection between me and the suit(s) he was offering, and while his arguments were sufficient, typical and accurate – that is, he knew his stuff when it came to suits – nothing he said was relevant to how I was feeling.

As you can tell, Ryan was completely unsuccessful at selling me a suit. I expect people who are paid on commission to be pushy and maybe a bit cranky sometimes, but he just seemed to be off his game when I came in. His complete lack of regard for what I wanted turned me off to the idea of buying a suit from him.