Archived Posts

[Admin]

[URL=http://img183.imageshack.us/my.php ... .jpg[/img]
hope this goes- from imageshack
J[/url]
nyet
photobucket

[Admin]

I am having trouble signing in to the image hosting-- is everything working?
-fang

[Admin]

whats the fee for hosting the pics ???
whats another option ?

[Admin]

whats the fee for hosting the pics ???

No fee. Thanks to Juggie it is all free. Just go to the first post in this thread for the details.

whats another option ?

go and buy your own hosting service. But if you don't need much, that is not necessary. Have fun.

-fang

[Admin]

An engineering or accounting student type comes in the shop on Friday with a set of tires he's bought off of Ebay. He wants US to install them NOW but doesn't like the prices on our 'Tire Installation Rates' chart plainly posted in two different places in the showroom. For tires purchased elsewhere on loose wheels we charge C$55.00 per wheel. For 'Sudden Service' (1 hour) add C$75.00 to any price shown on the chart.
On the other hand, our way of encouraging people to buy tires from us is by having the dismount/mount/balancing INCLUDED in the tire prices for loose wheels AND offering (normally) 8 hour service on tires purchased from us. This is our way of fighting back against the low loose tire prices of the 2 big-box bike stores in town.....who can't offer installs in less than 2 weeks at this time of the season....and 48 hours in less busy times.
The guy gets all huffy and tries the old 'use logic' routine on the boss....but the boss isn't having any of that. What's worse, this is all taking place in front of his girlfriend who Accounting Boy brought along to impress with his supposed 'bargaining/logic powers'. I'm watching all this (and stoking the fires with an occasional 'revelation' for Accounting Boy). Please take the poll and let me know your feelings about this.......

[Admin]

I would Have Used the BB bat and Showed His Girlfriend what a Little Weenie he was.


I had to make that choice because you didn't have Cuban Knecktie Listed. With his Tires of course.

[Admin]

I liked the fourth option -- the rolled up newspaper -- because it shows him to be no more important in the grand scheme of life than a puppy that just missed the paper (especially to his girlfriend).

Juggy's idea of 'necklacing' him (popular in Chechnya and South Africa. Yanking a tire down over the shoulders to the elbows and setting fire to it), while colourful, is a bit extreme, although it has the advantage of insuring that he'll not be a 'repeat customer'.

[Admin]

I gotta tell you Rick; gouging labor costs to "encourage" sales pisses me off. To me, and hour's labor is an hour's labor; and I can change a tire in half an hour with hand tools.....easily.

I understand that online sales are hurting local dealers, but I can't help what their "dealer" costs are, and neither can they. The business world is changing rapidly because of the internet, and direct buying by the consumer.

Charging extra for "rush-jobs" does make sense, however. If the little weenie doesn't want to pay what you charge, I'd say he should buy some tire irons. That's what I did.


Lane

[Admin]

I gotta tell you Rick; gouging labor costs to "encourage" sales pisses me off. To me, and hour's labor is an hour's labor; and I can change a tire in half an hour with hand tools.....easily.

Well, rngdng, your point would be well taken except that:

1) our tires are sold at the distributor catalogue MSRP
2) we offer 10% OFF the MSRP if/if you bring in BOTH loose wheels from the bike at the same time for tire replacement
3) we offer tire irons for sale at catalogue prices so the Ebay/Dennis Kirk shoppers CAN do their own tire changes, if they have the mental/physical wherewithal to accomplish the job

We've structured our pricing so that we get more repeat business of ALL kinds, not just tires. We want people to come to us for everything (tuneups, crash repairs, etc), not just tires. We'd like to be their store of 'first choice' rather than just a store of 'low' prices. The boss is very big on 'continuing business relationships' (my words, not his, but that's how he thinks/feels) and so the tire pricing setup is his way of encouraging such a relationship.
The underlying problem with Accountant Boy is his ignorance of the way business actually works in the real world. He didn't think the whole problem through all the way.
Realizing that he couldn't/didn't want to change the tires himself, he figured he could just walk into the first shop he came to and the shop people would fall all over themselves to accomodate his smallest desire.
And do it for free/very cheap AND give him free coffee/beer on top of the whole deal.
WRONG !!!
When anyone (the shop people, in this case) has a solution to YOUR problem, YOU'D better be very circumspect in your approach to the guy that can solve YOUR problem.....and always keep in mind that it's YOUR problem, NOT the shop peoples' problem. Of course, if your 'logic' doesn't succeed at shop #1, you can always try shop #2 down the street. Maybe they'll have free coffee/beer...... Or maybe try the guy who sold you the tires on Ebay.....
Hopefully Accountant Boy has learned that you can catch a lot more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.....
......or that he should learn how to do things himself if he wants to save big bux......
Say, maybe we did him a big favour.....

[Admin]

Rick,you could offer to rent him a set of spoons and video his efforts in a locked sound proof room as entertainment for the front office.
If you have the ability and time do it yourself/If not,hire a pro,pay the price and be done.

[Admin]

I worked at a Salvage yard for over 10 years and the cost of on or off the bike tire changes was the same weather we sold the tire or the customer brought them in.

We looked at it this way, if your money was green then it was okay by us. I personally wouldn't turn away a dollar. This got us lots more business. As rngdng stated. The labor was the same. I actually got more tire changes and made more money doing so by people bringing in the tires and I didn't have to worry about buying them.

MPO

[Admin]

Rick, whatever you charge for your work is you and your company's business, and any customer who does not like it has the abilty to go elsewhere if they don't like it. If you can afford to let them do that and stay in business, that is great. However, with the attitude that your company is doing someone a favor by agreeing to take care of THEIR problem does not work out to well in most businesses. Maybe your business and the demand for it in your area allow that, but it would not work for a mimnute here.
Hell, I took a wheel that I had bought the tire on the internet and mounted myself to the local Kaw/Suz dealer to get it balanced. They put it on a spin balancer, then brought it back and said, "here you go --no charge" and I had never ever been in their service dept before and knew no one there. Guess where I go now when I need to buy something?

Wayne

[Admin]

Zook-e: I understand what you're saying but the boss (and, incidentally, myself) both support HIS 'business model'. The cost/benefit ratio of doing it your way hasn't worked for the boss in the past......so we'll agree to disagree with you on this.

Wayne: One important thing in your post is that the customer has the privilege of going elsewhere if he doesn't like the prices/service in ANY shop.
However, in this end of the world, ALL the shops treat 'outside' tires the same way.....they go to the end of the line.....if the shop will mount them at all.
So going elsewhere will get the customer NOWHERE......especially since they were bought off of Ebay.
When you took your wheel in for balancing, I'll bet you asked very politely with a few 'pleases' thrown in too. That kind of thing can go a lonnngggg way towards getting good service.....and it costs YOU, the customer, absolutely nothing. Attitude is everything and Accountant Boy hasn't learned that yet. He'll burn a lot of gas (and quite a few bridges) before he figures it out, methinks.

Eric:

If you have the ability and time do it yourself/If not,hire a pro,pay the price and be done.

Exactly right...and you've got to approach the pro with hat in hand if you're really in a jam, like Accountant Boy was. You NEVER give a pro ANY attitude at all....at least not if you expect to get any work done by him.....EVER.

To all posters: This has been a thought-provoking thread and I've picked up a few viewpoints I hadn't considered. Things wouldn't have worked out differently in this case because of the attitude of Accountant Boy but there may be possibilities of steering the NEXT problem guy in the right direction and also making some money for us, as well.
So, we'll see how it plays out next time......

[Admin]

Rick, I fully agree that the customer's attitude was all wrong, and I always treat shops with respect, and recognize when I'm asking for a favor. I also thank people very thoroughly when they've done a good job for me.

Your little weasel-of-a-customer needs to be taught some manners.


Lane

[Admin]

Well Uncle Rick it goes like this;"splain it to me,come down to my level and justify your position.If the shop says "take it or leave it" with no reason,then hasta by by.However if the shop says because....and they are not bs'ing me,then I will use them and untill
they screw up or I die I will remain their customer.