Two kinds of customers

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KVA

Senior Member
Location
United States
Tell them they can buy anything they want at the supply house - their only requirement is they get paid for what they sold. If I give you a price for installing or repairing something it is what it takes to get the job done. If you wanted to supply something you should have let me know what it is before I gave you a price, so I could factor that into the price.

Bottom line is I know what profit I want to make from this job. Customer wanting to save money is understandable, what they don't understand is their savings cuts into my profit which is why I am there in the first place. If I wasn't there for the profits then I wouldn't charge anything and customer would be buying all supplies eleswhere.

When people ask me if they can supply the materials I tell them they won't save a penny. I would have to charge them more because of the risk of bringing me the wrong materials or they may have missing parts. If that was the case I would lose time out of the day to go collect the right materials. I also say I don't provide a warranty on customer supplied materials.
 

rt66electric

Senior Member
Location
Oklahoma
tight-wads ... offer to show them the reciept

tight-wads ... offer to show them the reciept

When dealing w/tightwads.. I offer to show them receipt. These people think that Big blue and big orange charge less than the local supply house. I have often asked the local supply house counterman what my price was versus the of the street customer price.

I have had only one person ask me to show them the ticket.

Another tactic is to send them to the store for an object. It makesthem feel as though they are "helping".

I had one builder ...... buy wire and such at big blue..... He was able get 1year intrest free. It also made my bill seem smaller. I was earning just as much, but, he felt as though he was paying less
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
When dealing w/tightwads.. I offer to show them receipt. These people think that Big blue and big orange charge less than the local supply house. I have often asked the local supply house counterman what my price was versus the of the street customer price.

I have had only one person ask me to show them the ticket.

Another tactic is to send them to the store for an object. It makesthem feel as though they are "helping".

I had one builder ...... buy wire and such at big blue..... He was able get 1year intrest free. It also made my bill seem smaller. I was earning just as much, but, he felt as though he was paying less

Better yet call order in to supply house, have it put on your account and tell them customer will be picking it up. They are quite capable of printing pick tickets that have no pricing on them so customer still has no idea what your cost was.

I have not had anyone want to know what my cost was on something - at least not for the purpose of trying to find a better deal. If the customer does not get the idea of selling something for more than you paid for it.... :slaphead:
Do they they ask HD or Lowes what their cost is on items? They buy things in larger lots and get better pricing because of it, they also mark things up otherwise they would not be in business long.

There are items that are not as fast of sellers at big box store that may cost less at electrical supply house because they do sell faster there and are purchased in larger quantities.

Send customer to Mom and Pop hardware store to look at prices, then your prices will likely look decent. Nothing wrong with Mon and Pop hardware stores but they have to charge what is necessary to keep in business. Customer gains convenience of getting goods at a local establishment instead of spending time and gas getting it elsewhere which is great for just a small amount of items most of the time. Why run all way across town to get a 50 cent fitting when local hardware store just a few blocks away has what you need even though they want $1.25 for it?
 
Customers that want to inform you of how much money they have are usually people I don't want to work for. Sure they have money, doesn't necessarily mean they are willing to part with it, the fact they want to brag about that usually means they are nothing but a smartass and pain to work for, and most of what you do will never meet their expectations.

There are plenty of people that do have money that don't flash it in your face and act like they are better than you because of it.

I'm serious, though. The cat actually ran to me with the money. I had to tell him, "Whoa, cowboy, let me show you the electric work first."
 
Better yet call order in to supply house, have it put on your account and tell them customer will be picking it up. They are quite capable of printing pick tickets that have no pricing on them so customer still has no idea what your cost was.

I have not had anyone want to know what my cost was on something - at least not for the purpose of trying to find a better deal. If the customer does not get the idea of selling something for more than you paid for it.... :slaphead:
Do they they ask HD or Lowes what their cost is on items? They buy things in larger lots and get better pricing because of it, they also mark things up otherwise they would not be in business long.

There are items that are not as fast of sellers at big box store that may cost less at electrical supply house because they do sell faster there and are purchased in larger quantities.

Send customer to Mom and Pop hardware store to look at prices, then your prices will likely look decent. Nothing wrong with Mon and Pop hardware stores but they have to charge what is necessary to keep in business. Customer gains convenience of getting goods at a local establishment instead of spending time and gas getting it elsewhere which is great for just a small amount of items most of the time. Why run all way across town to get a 50 cent fitting when local hardware store just a few blocks away has what you need even though they want $1.25 for it?

Keep in mind, some of the younger forum members may not even know what a mom and pop hardware store is:p
 

KVA

Senior Member
Location
United States
When dealing w/tightwads.. I offer to show them receipt.

Never would I EVER do that:blink:

I think I'll try that at Walmart and ask the store manager for his wholesale price list for products. What other business do you know is obligated to provide that information?

If I ever had that request from a customer I would say sure I'll show my receipts and you show me your pay stubs.:thumbsup:
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
I'm serious, though. The cat actually ran to me with the money. I had to tell him, "Whoa, cowboy, let me show you the electric work first."

Maybe it is illegal laundered money and you will end up stuck with cash that is worth nothing, worse yet go to jail for having it.:sick:

Keep in mind, some of the younger forum members may not even know what a mom and pop hardware store is:p
If from big city I wouldn't be suprised at all. Out here in rural areas some of these stores are important to have in the community, even if people drive 50 miles to go to Wal Mart often they still need some of what those stores have to offer at times and can't wait until the next trip to the bigger city.
 
Thank you to all respondents and readers of this thread. One of my goals (besides the obvious venting) was to see if I could actually start a topic that didn't get closed or deleted like a few of my other posts. Man, it feels good!
That "other" forum is not for me. I like the rules here that keep discussions on a proper, professional level.
Thank you, everyone.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
Thank you to all respondents and readers of this thread. One of my goals (besides the obvious venting) was to see if I could actually start a topic that didn't get closed or deleted like a few of my other posts. Man, it feels good!
That "other" forum is not for me. I like the rules here that keep discussions on a proper, professional level.
Thank you, everyone.

Just don't try to start a ground up or ground down thread, or ask why single phase is not called two phase:eek:hmy::happyyes:
 

charlie b

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Lockport, IL
Occupation
Retired Electrical Engineer
Hey, quick question. Does Mike Holt ever participate here?
His post count is 439, but the vast majority of those were announcements of his newsletters and videos. I think those are posted on his behalf by a member of his staff, or perhaps automatically (i.e., every time a newsletter is posted on his web site, a new thread is posted here).
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
Well, I wish he would say hi sometimes. Every one needs a good electrician's advice.

There is plenty of advice to go around here anyway.

If you were him would you hang out here (using your real name anyway)?


What if he does hang out here using another name and ends up getting banned somehow?:lol:
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
Please, moderators, don't shut this thread because of what other people say. I like Mike Holt, I am a huge fan.

If a thread goes off topic it may get closed. If you or others have no information to add that will keep it on topic it is not necessarily your fault the thread ran away in another direction. They will probably be lenient with this post even though it is not the topic of the thread but when it is just horseplay only so much will be tolerated sometimes.

If it would get shut down and you have more to discuss on the topic - start a new thread. Sometimes there is just no interest in a topic or those with an interest just didn't see it, or were not active at the right time to see it.
 
If a thread goes off topic it may get closed. If you or others have no information to add that will keep it on topic it is not necessarily your fault the thread ran away in another direction. They will probably be lenient with this post even though it is not the topic of the thread but when it is just horseplay only so much will be tolerated sometimes.

If it would get shut down and you have more to discuss on the topic - start a new thread. Sometimes there is just no interest in a topic or those with an interest just didn't see it, or were not active at the right time to see it.


I guess you don't see that you're the one messing it up.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
I guess you don't see that you're the one messing it up.

You know a little fun is allowed as long as it is friendly, moderators even join in on it at times, and every post puts your thread back at the top of the list of new posts and more people will see the thread that otherwise may miss it increasing your chance of someone contributing what you are looking for.

Lighten up a little, nobody insulted you or said anything bad about you, bickering like this will get a thread closed faster than a little fun here and there. Sorry if this starts to get out of control, but maybe something is learned from it.
 
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