Re: Limited Distribution Panels

["Bob Worthy" <securinc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Nick Markowitz" <nick-markowitz@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:G2yUf.5692$8G2.3572@xxxxxxxxxxx
> Bosch/Radionics  Silent Knight Squire  DMP etc.
>
> I do not use any of the products i refuse to work on them and pull them
out
> and dumpster them.
> I feel some dealers use them just like limited dist phone systems to keep
an
> edge over other dealers and retain accounts becuse they have trapped them
> with a limited product . I work the market with over the counter products
> any dealer can work on and have to provide good service or loose the
> account. which is not a problem I have a very,very low turnover  I lost
one
> customer last year and that was due to a death.
> While limited dist do make excellent products i refuse to play there games
> to get them .

In some cases, to become an authorized dealer for one of these products, one
must either attend, or all of their technicians must attend, a school to
learn the product inorder to become factory trained (a certificate). This is
usually done in one or two areas around the country. Cost of the school,
travel, meals, lost time at your job, ect.(I have seen some of these
programs require 2 weeks and many thousand dollars) can add up to alot of
dollars to use a product that is really no better than what is available
without these type of programs. Another issue is that some require that you
sign an agreement that you guarntee a certain level of annual sales inorder
to maintain your dealership. If you don't meet it, you could loose your
dealership or have your pricing adjusted to a higher level. Again, you don't
have that with other products. If the manufacture sells or goes out of
business, which has happened, you have lost your investment. You cannot get
parts anywhere except through the manufacturer so you better keep an
inventory on every single piece you have in the field for emergencies,
otherwise you will be waiting for shipments and possibly paying overnight
fees on those emergencies. Weekend calls may go without security if you
don't maintain the inventory. On the other side, you may get special pricing
(which you can arrange with anyone), you can get private labeling (which you
can arrange with anyone else), you get their national advertising (which
they don't any more of than anyone else), protected territories (which is
nice on paper but not so in reality), name recognition (not a big deal in
this industry). It is naturally a business decision. If you are a business,
there is possibly some extral cost involved without much return. If you are
an end user, you will get stuck with a piece of equipment (no matter how
good of quality) that a very very limited amount of people, if any in your
area, can work on if you decide to make a change of providers.
>