Why's the buisness gone bust

[Shane]

Did you ever consider that one sale of a of length of 1"1/4 box wasn't a real money maker for them? I've been on both sides of the counter, and I prefer this side.

It all comes down to manners, RR needn't got shirty if someone needs to call back, likewise the man on the counter should then hold himself to that offer of a callback to sort out the querie, and as said before I think it is important for the firms reputation to deal with every customer properly

 

[wobblycogs]

Whenever I've had to deal with companies where my purchase is well outside what they normally sell, typically because of the small quantity I'm buying, I'm always as polite and helpful as I can be and generally I find I get excellent service in return.

I'm not in this type of business but if one of my established clients phones me up wanting a tiny piece of work doing it puts me in a difficult position. There are certain fixed costs associated with doing a job and if I was to lump all of them into a bill for a couple of hours work it would be astronomically expensive so typically I will barely break even on a small job so that I can catch a bigger job down the line. If I didn't think there was the prospect of more profitable work in the future though I would seriously consider not taking the job - same goes for the metal suppliers.

It's can seem tough to the little customers but when you're in business the only think that talks is money.

 

[Dibs-h]

I can be a proper Mr Grumpy when dealing with suppliers and whilst I (9/10 times) do expect someone on the end of a phone to answer a question more or less instantly - I've come to learn that not all folk are IT'd up to the eyeballs. Some folk still work from paper & calculators. Yes whilst they aren't going to rival Mital et al any time soon, they're happy enough. If they had IT, etc. then who's paying for that kit & upkeep? It ain't them - it's the customer!

I'll leave a number and wait for a call back. I'll probably carry on ringing a few more in the hope someone does give me an answer there and then & use that as a gauge if I'm not in a rush. If I'm in a rush - then the one who give the instant price usually get the business, but if the others ring back - I'll make a note and get in touch with them earlier rather than last minute.

When getting the quotes for the laser cutting - most firms did come back within a day or 2. 1 particular firm did not despite repeated calls\emails. Yes whilst we only spent around £650 in total - they're now my firm of choice and I've got a load more stuff lined up (car stuff). Getting customers may not be hard - keeping them is something else.

Sorry my 2p worth

Dibs