Another Clueless Customer

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aline

Senior Member
Location
Utah
You have to control your costs if that means not paying top wages and benefits then so be it and keep the used truck one more year.I love the Wal Mart model I think it can be duplicated with almost any business.Any business model that can make its owner the riches man in the world gets my attention.
I guess I'm not ok with becoming the richest man in the world at the expense of my employees. I'd rather pay top wages and benefits to my employees. Happy employees will take care of your customers.
 

emahler

Senior Member
add to that, that the model is great for selling products...but I only have a finite amount of time per employee to sell...i need to maximize the revenue from it...i can't sell the same employees time to 10 different people at the same time...
 

nakulak

Senior Member
have at it...i prefer being able to walk into a room full of my peers and not be ostracized...doesn't mean i do things the way they do, but i don't screw them in the process...

there are only 3 ways to get a $100 bill for less than $100...it's counterfeit, it's stolen, or you have a sugar daddy who gives it to you to do as you wish....

with all the good business advice you hand out, I am a little suprised that you have a mindset that appears to be so narrow. in the end, a $100 dollar bill is a piece of paper that is only worth what someone will give for it. there are a million different ways to get the $100 dollar bill, not three. and half a million of those ways are legit.
 

emahler

Senior Member
The idea is to buy the $100 bill for $50, and sell it for $95.

Who is stupid enough to think otherwise?

well in the real world, the idea is to make the $50 bill worth $100 to the buyer.....because I done believe that anyone has figured out a way to to get a legitimate $100 bill for less than $100...
 

emahler

Senior Member
with all the good business advice you hand out, I am a little suprised that you have a mindset that appears to be so narrow. in the end, a $100 dollar bill is a piece of paper that is only worth what someone will give for it. there are a million different ways to get the $100 dollar bill, not three. and half a million of those ways are legit.

understand something...I have 8 hours per day per man to sell....if each hour costs me $100 (my break even cost) there is no way I can sell that hour for $95 and make a profit...the only way I can make a profit at $95/hr is to:

a) cut overhead (you can only cut this so far)
b) cut labor costs (lower wages, less/no benefits, etc)
c) cheat (sell things you really aren't providing)...

that's the facts of life...
 

emahler

Senior Member
if i can get my cost per man hour to $50, and convince someone to buy it for $100, then yay for me...but I still only have a $50 bill...and if I sell it for $45, I still lose money...

but if a good journeyman in my area costs $50/hr total package (+/-)....then what kind of employees am I sending out for a total cost of $50/hr including OH?
 
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emahler

Senior Member
now, if i could figure out a way to sell the exact same man hour to 5 different customers....then i could follow the Wal-Mart model....
 

emahler

Senior Member
d) increase efficiency

that was a given....in these times, we should be operating at maximum efficiency already...

but lower paid employees typically come with less efficiency...just a fact of life....

but still leads to the conclusion that you can't buy a legitimate $100 bill for less than $100....
 

George Stolz

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Windsor, CO NEC: 2017
Occupation
Service Manager
Rewire has got my mind spinning - but not in the way he intended, I'm on a totally different track now.

I am going to open a Non-Profit. Give away all electrical services, and then take donations. Have you seen the higher ups at those non-profits? They wear suits, never get dirty, have nice houses...

I think I'm onto something here... ;)
 

Rewire

Senior Member
have at it...i prefer being able to walk into a room full of my peers and not be ostracized...doesn't mean i do things the way they do, but i don't screw them in the process...

there are only 3 ways to get a $100 bill for less than $100...it's counterfeit, it's stolen, or you have a sugar daddy who gives it to you to do as you wish....

your metaphor does not translate fully but the gist of mine was to have a greater profit margin.As for my peers I have found that you can be loved by them you can be respected by them or you can be feared by them,I have found that I don't need thier love I don't even need their respect but they darn sure are going to fear me.
 

Rewire

Senior Member
I guess I'm not ok with becoming the richest man in the world at the expense of my employees. I'd rather pay top wages and benefits to my employees. Happy employees will take care of your customers.

If you think money is what makes an employee happy then you just keep throwing dollars at them till they smile.I have seen top payed guys walk off the job because their was no toilet paper in the outhouse.
 

Rewire

Senior Member
add to that, that the model is great for selling products...but I only have a finite amount of time per employee to sell...i need to maximize the revenue from it...i can't sell the same employees time to 10 different people at the same time...

You just aquire more time to sell,how hard is that to figure out.Selling at low prices is not the model ,the model is what allows you to sell at low prices.
 

Rewire

Senior Member
d) increase efficiency

This is the foundation of the Wal Mart business model,At their distribution centers they even watch how much space is between the boxes on the conveor belt in order to move more product it is the eye on these small details that allow them to sell at the price they do.
 

aline

Senior Member
Location
Utah
If you think money is what makes an employee happy then you just keep throwing dollars at them till they smile.I have seen top payed guys walk off the job because their was no toilet paper in the outhouse.
If a top payed guy walks off the job because there's no toilet paper in the outhouse he has other issues. If I'm being paid top dollar and receiving top benefits I can afford to bring my own toilet paper to work. :)

Money isn't the only thing that makes an employee happy but it's a big part of it.
Try telling your employees that there will be no raises for the next five to ten years and you'll no longer be providing health insurance and paid vacation but you'll make sure there's plenty of toilet paper in the outhouse. See how happy that makes them. :)

I guess if you can make working for you so much fun the employee is happy even if they aren't getting paid anything then that's great. Maybe they'll even be willing to pay you to come to work and have so much fun. :)

If I'm getting filthy rich I can afford to provide top pay and benefits to my employees and I'll make sure there's plenty of toilet paper to go around. I can see operating more effiecently but I don't agree with operating more effiecently at the expense of the employee. That's just my feelings.
 
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aline

Senior Member
Location
Utah
I've worked for companies where they told us how tough times are and they can't afford to give raises this year and need to cut benefits, etc. They laid off workers at the same time the plant manager was having a $5,000 solid mahogony door installed for his office along with all new furniture. Then there's the quarterly reports that came out stating the company had record profits and the CEO received a huge bonus. I can tell you the employees that I worked with at this company weren't all that happy.

http://consumerist.com/250838/ceo-pay-up-298-average-workers-43-1995+2005

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0412-10.htm
 
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