Children learn to speak at their own pace. I, in my experience, do not think it has anything to do with intelligence.
My own husband whose IQ is somewhere in the stratosphere, spoke at four. My children are similarly intelligent, one spoke at seven months and one at fourteen months.
Steve Ortiz, my wonderful car guy did not speak until he was four. He was spoken to, as a child, in Spanish and in English, a lot of info for a little boy. My husband was a stutterer, my kids, I cannot explain.
Steven began to speak when in the Dominican Republic, one summer, on vacation While there, he began to notice cars, their logos and their names. From there he began to speak. It is ironic.
Car salesmen meet all kinds of people Everyday is a different learning experience. Steve had a client who sat with him for quite a while, then left the dealership to take a break. We know that buying a car getting to where you want to be financially, in the car you want to buy, can be exhausting. So this man took his break and came back with a bottle of whiskey.
He opened the bottle and just kept enjoying his purchase. He enjoyed it so much that the business could not in good conscience sell him a new vehicle. Here is another apocryphal story about a purchase of a car. A man who had just won a lottery, came into a dealership in New Jersey. He was already deep into his cups and could not really finish the deal. He returned the next day, feeling much better and bought three cars. Hey, you never know. But it does make life interesting.
It was not Steve’s lifelong dream to be selling cars. He wanted to be an actor. He did study acting a little, but then life interfered and Steve had to get serious. FYI, he did not just want to act, he wanted to be in film.
Fate definitely had other plans. Steve was delivering auto parts and one day the axle on his car broke. No car, no delivering! While looking for a different way to make some money he saw an ad for a car salesperson. Kismet! Steve is a gifted salesperson.
He is kind and interested in what his customers needs are and he makes it happen. He is as authentic as can be, and that uncomfortable feeling you frequently get at a car dealership is not present here. It is not present with Steve nor any of his colleagues or Tony, the manager. I had had two bad experiences and really did not even want to sit at anyone’s desk.
Little by little Steve won us over. I wound up with a fair price for my car, a great newer car and the payment I wanted. It was awesome.
Steve and his brother grew up on the upper west side of Manhattan. He is a most interesting and complex person and a lot of fun to talk to. He loves mediterranean food, going to the movies, playing video games, merengue music, and his girlfriend. We were really fortunate to find ourselves at Riverside Nissan in Hackensack and to meet Steve.
Steve Ortiz
Riverside Nissan
400 River Street Hackensack
(201) 918-8017 Cell
(201) 489-6330 Dealership