I'm amazed at the way some businesses treat people

[Blaze]

I just had a VERY rude conversation with a local body shop. They talked with me at a show I was a vendor at last weekend and were very interested in me doing bed liners for
them. We talked a price and were going to try and get something worked out, but then I found out the owner's true colors. He tried to talk me down to a ridiculously low price saying the Rhino guy could do it cheaper (which is a lie, I know how expensive he is) and said he was trying to help me out(which I don't need).

I told him I couldn't do it for that price and he got upset and said ok, he could do it for what we had agreed on. Then he tried to schedule it for the day before Easter, which I told him I am going to be out of town with family and he really got angry.

He started saying he was going to do it himself and charge $150 and he'd get my business and then said he was going to contact Scorpion and get set up and charge less than me and pull people from my area to his shop and, more or less, was threatening to try and steal my business if I didn't do his work for this asinine price. I do not need his business and do not
care to deal with people like that, so I politely told him I am sorry we couldn't work something out but best of luck.

Man, I am still fuming over this. I try and be polite to everyone and treat everyone the way I would like to be treated if I was a customer. I am amazed at the way he treated me, but at least I can sleep tonight knowing that my customers can trust me and that I am a good person.

Bah!

 

[bfeller]

I just had a VERY rude conversation with a local body shop. They talked with me at a show I was a vendor at last weekend and were very interested in me doing bed liners for
them. We talked a price and were going to try and get something worked out, but then I found out the owner's true colors. He tried to talk me down to a ridiculously low price saying the Rhino guy could do it cheaper (which is a lie, I know how expensive he is) and said he was trying to help me out(which I don't need).
I told him I couldn't do it for that price and he got upset and said ok, he could do it for what we had agreed on. Then he tried to schedule it for the day before Easter, which I told him I am going to be out of town with family and he really got angry.
He started saying he was going to do it himself and charge $150 and he'd get my business and then said he was going to contact Scorpion and get set up and charge less than me and pull people from my area to his shop and, more or less, was threatening to try and steal my business if I didn't do his work for this asinine price. I do not need his business and do not
care to deal with people like that, so I politely told him I am sorry we couldn't work something out but best of luck.
Man, I am still fuming over this. I try and be polite to everyone and treat everyone the way I would like to be treated if I was a customer. I am amazed at the way he treated me, but at least I can sleep tonight knowing that my customers can trust me and that I am a good person.
Bah!

He sounds like he took a page from the purchasing book for WalMart buyers.

 

[jeepn-jason]

Sounds like bullshit i hear everyday. I install 12v audio and do custom work. Had a guy come in the other day and quoted him to build a console, rebuild his doorpanels, and he was gonna buy all the speakers and a ddin dvd radio from me. Come in today and told me he was gonna buy his dvd elsewhere....so ask where? He says ebay. I ask him how much...and he was 150 cheaper than you. Hmmmmm so i promptly answered back....um your labor just went up 150.00.....he left. Oh well.

 

[jeepn-jason]

Oh...the point of my story....you win some you lose some. Your work looks awesome and sounds like you are charging a fair price. I wouldnt worry about him. You are in buisness for one thing only.....to make money. The same reason every other business in this world is open. You will get faithfull customers and they will tell there friends and so on an on. Word of mouth is where its at.

btw...wish you were closer i need my truck bed sprayed bad.

 

[Blaze]

Yeah, it didn't break my heart that I'm not doing his business. It was about a 30 minute drive from my shop, but I was going to do it just to be able to say I do work for a body shop. Mostly, I was doing HIM a favor.

 

[WCURoverd90]

My family owns an office equipment business where we provide copiers, faxes, printers, and document solutions to clients and I run into people everyday who "price shop" for the cheapest thing out there. Normally I tell them that I am not a Non Profit and will not give them my product for free. The majority change their minds but there are the people out there who are looking for the cheapest thing on the market no matter the quality. Business is good enough for us to be able to turn around and walk away without whoring ourselves out like the rest of our competition. Most of our sales reps try to match prices etc. but I have told many people who bull shit around that "if you can get it cheaper somewhere else why are still talking to me."

Just remember the "bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten."

 

[Ron]

Good for you Blaze, way not to bow down to his demands.

I've told this story before, but I had an account I had called on weekly for over a year, without so much as a courtesy tiny order. Then he called me in a panic on a Friday needing a gen they were supposed to set Monday of the next week. Just so happens I have one in stock.
"Yep, Ive got one and can deliver it Monday morning"
"How Much?"
"$145,000"
"That's crazy XYZ only wants $110,000 for theirs"
"Ok I understand if you need to buy from them..."
"No, they dont have it in stock and I cant wait 6 weeks"
"Oh! They dont have it in stock? I understand when I dont have them I sell them for $65,000"

 

[SHINTON]

Yep / body shop guy also does NOT understand the concept of being good at what YOU do / and getting referral biz!

I would MUCH rather let someone else do the work they want to do and let me do my stuff!

That is why my rig is at a local NC4x4 vendors shop right now getting a bunch of work done! I could have bought the product a few dollars cheaper but I WANT him in biz next year so I can go back and get MORE done!!

Mostly because I am a lazy son of a biscuit eater and want him in biz so I don't have to do this crap myself!

 

[tjfreddy]

price, quality, availibility.
you can only have two of the three, some people understand but most people don't.

I wholesale tropical hardwoods and flooring throughout North America. Even though the market is crap right now I have to remind people almost daily that we are not a non profit orginaziation. we are here to make money just like everyone else.

 

[Blaze]

No kidding, you guys helped calm me down a bit. Thanks.

I mean, seriously, I could do three trucks at my place and make three times as much in the time it takes me to pack up my gear, drive out there, spray their one truck, pack my stuff back up, and roll back to my shop.

 

[Fart]

Sounds like bullshit i hear everyday. I install 12v audio and do custom work. Had a guy come in the other day and quoted him to build a console, rebuild his doorpanels, and he was gonna buy all the speakers and a ddin dvd radio from me. Come in today and told me he was gonna buy his dvd elsewhere....so ask where? He says ebay. I ask him how much...and he was 150 cheaper than you. Hmmmmm so i promptly answered back....um your labor just went up 150.00.....he left. Oh well.

You offended a customer who will probably badmouth your business to other potential clients and you lost the business building the console/door panels which I suspect is your bread and butter. The customer will just find someone else to do the work, but it sounds like you're the one who loses in this transaction to me.

 

[hscrugby]

You offended a customer who will probably badmouth your business to other potential clients and you lost the business building the console/door panels which I suspect is your bread and butter. The customer will just find someone else to do the work, but it sounds like you're the one who loses in this transaction to me.

But otherwise the dude would have been bugging him to death, for having it sound like crap when he bought a Fred's brand headunit off of ebay, bringing the whole system down to that level. Or worse, a dead unit, then you have to prove you didn't cook the device, that it was dead, customer goes off and gets the news etc etc.

Not worth bending over for those clowns, cause they're just gonna bend you further when you aren't looking.

 

[Blaze]

And more than likely, their friends are idiots too and you don't want their business either.

 

[Fart]

^^ An install is an install. You just put it in and don't offer any warranty on it since they didn't buy it through you. If it breaks then you get to make money by selling them a new one and installing it. That's how you build lasting relationships with your customers.

 

[Blaze]

Well, it all depends. If someone brings you crap and wants to pay you to install it, you don't want your name on it. Like if someone came and brought me some Joe Blow Bedliner and wanted me to spray it on their truck. Nope!

But my previous comment was more in jest than anything.

And I love your username.

 

[Caver Dave]

I say good for you both!

A bud that ran a fab shop told me something once that blew me away. He said he used to make kits that was of equal quality & fit, but cheaper than most of his competitors. Subsequently, he got most of the "bargain hunters" business (read, um..."underage"). The repercussions of this? He said 99% of them would call whining about minute crap... a scratch on an unfinished chunk of steel or something didn't line the way *they* thought is should/would, and wanted him to refund part/all of the price... even though it was initially lower than others.

He was about to stop the "consumer" kit business up one day (he still did a TON of fab for local industry), but figured that would hurt the folks that didn't have "Head in @$$" disease. He ended raising his prices (slightly higher than his competitors... which kept the "shoppers" away. He said his business doubled and calls related to fit/finish dropped to nothing!

 

[1-tonmudder]

My FIL is not a highly educated man,I dont know even know how far he went,but he is very intelligent and has been successful in buisness for many year's.He has a sayin "I'm not gonna be tired and broke both" and for me that is the way it's gonna be.
It's been my experience in my buisness,as well as when I worked in a shop for somebody else,that those type of customers aren't the ones you want anyway.When the "ol buddy'' pricing ends so does their buisness.
Unless you are or have been in buisness for yourself you might not be able to fully understand how we can feel that way.

 

[doc]

Good for you Blaze, way not to bow down to his demands.

I've told this story before, but I had an account I had called on weekly for over a year, without so much as a courtesy tiny order. Then he called me in a panic on a Friday needing a gen they were supposed to set Monday of the next week. Just so happens I have one in stock.
"Yep, Ive got one and can deliver it Monday morning"
"How Much?"
"$145,000"
"That's crazy XYZ only wants $110,000 for theirs"
"Ok I understand if you need to buy from them..."
"No, they dont have it in stock and I cant wait 6 weeks"
"Oh! They dont have it in stock? I understand when I dont have them I sell them for $65,000"

 

[13bullets]

You offended a customer who will probably badmouth your business to other potential clients and you lost the business building the console/door panels which I suspect is your bread and butter. The customer will just find someone else to do the work, but it sounds like you're the one who loses in this transaction to me.

That's pretty much what I was thinking. So what if the guy buys his HU off ebay, that's no reason to pull a dick move by telling him his install just went up by the exact amount he "saved." Not providing a warranty/guarantee is acceptable, but I'd have told you to eat shit, just like he did, had you said something like that to me.

 

[doc]

Some people are just "bent" in the head when it comes to business.....

 

[Ron]

You offended a customer who will probably badmouth your business to other potential clients and you lost the business building the console/door panels which I suspect is your bread and butter. The customer will just find someone else to do the work, but it sounds like you're the one who loses in this transaction to me.

That's pretty much what I was thinking. So what if the guy buys his HU off ebay, that's no reason to pull a dick move by telling him his install just went up by the exact amount he "saved." Not providing a warranty/guarantee is acceptable, but I'd have told you to eat shit, just like he did, had you said something like that to me.

Did either of you guys stop to think that a shop makes money selling components?
If you dont want to buy from me, why in the hell should I offer engineering and support to you?

There is a reason its cheaper on ebay. They dont have to staff support personnel, they dont have to factor in warranty and customer service returns. They dont have over head.

rock bottom price is GREAT if you can install/support your own product. I think it was a stand up business move. The jack ass move would have been to tear the car apart be ready to do the install work and then call the customer and tell them their ebay unit was defective and they could either buy a new one from you, supply a new one from ebay or pick up their disassembled car.

Fart, my first thought was guess we found the customer...

 

[1-tonmudder]

Did either of you guys stop to think that a shop makes money selling components?
If you dont want to buy from me, why in the hell should I offer engineering and support to you?

Here's what would have happened.He would have installed the HU and if/when it was bad they would have expected him to eat the labor removing the old one/reinstallin the new one when it wasnt his fault or product.
We had this problem when I worked in a shop.People would want you to find em a cheap motor for their ol car and when it went south they wanted you to take care of it.We finally started makin them find their own motor's so when they blew up we weren't liable.People got pissed because we charged them to replace the bad engine they picked out.It wasnt our fault they picked a crappy motor,but they expected it to be replaced for free.

 

[13bullets]

Sure, and it's ok to make money on components. But the conversation going like the quote below, just sounds assholeish. Tell the guy you can't warranty or guarantee the HU or sound quality, and move on with the install at the agreed upon price minus the HU.

Or better yet, go the extra mile, and bench test the HU before tearing the guys car apart. If it doesn't work, tell your customer he got hosed on his ebay special, and hat you'll be glad to sell him one in the meantime. That's how you build your company's reputation, not by winning a pissing contest.

I ask him how much...and he was 150 cheaper than you. Hmmmmm so i promptly answered back....um your labor just went up 150.00.....he left. Oh well.

 

[jeepn-jason]

Sure, and it's ok to make money on components. But the conversation going like the quote below, just sounds assholeish. Tell the guy you can't warranty or guarantee the HU or sound quality, and move on with the install at the agreed upon price minus the HU.
Or better yet, go the extra mile, and bench test the HU before tearing the guys car apart. If it doesn't work, tell your customer he got hosed on his ebay special, and hat you'll be glad to sell him one in the meantime. That's how you build your company's reputation, not by winning a pissing contest.

Trust me fart...and 13 i do everything i can for my customers and then some. This particular guy has been in the shop before with the same results. I am working 6 days a week 60 hours weeks right now....i have a great reputation. I am extremely busy right now and i priced this guy his equipment and labor telling him i would be doing it in the evenings when i should be going home, because its the only time i have to do it. If i were hurting for buisness it would have def been done for what was quoted. I was pissed when he told me that and sure i coulda handled it totally different but im glad i didnt. I install Walmart junk, Bestbuy junk, Fleamarket junk, and Ebay junk everyday. Its my bread and butter. I do charge more when its not purchased from me and usually end up getting these customers for life after they deal with me. I dont think i posted what i did to get ridiculed in the way i handle my customers, and if you guys would like to take a drive to my shop im sure you will see im not the normall carstereo hot head asshole.

 

[jeepn-jason]

Did either of you guys stop to think that a shop makes money selling components?
If you dont want to buy from me, why in the hell should I offer engineering and support to you?
There is a reason its cheaper on ebay. They dont have to staff support personnel, they dont have to factor in warranty and customer service returns. They dont have over head.
rock bottom price is GREAT if you can install/support your own product. I think it was a stand up business move. The jack ass move would have been to tear the car apart be ready to do the install work and then call the customer and tell them their ebay unit was defective and they could either buy a new one from you, supply a new one from ebay or pick up their disassembled car.
Fart, my first thought was guess we found the customer...

BINGO!!!!!