Re: Who are these guys?

["Roland Moore" <nospam@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I don't think it is the nature of the discounts that distribution or
manufacturers gives certain competitors that bother me. No, it's the sales
guys that work for these national companies that gives me trouble. I can
think of one sales guy in particular. This guys heads out the door every day
with the company checkbook under his arm and begins to give the company's
money away (under the idea he is actually doing business). It's not his
shrewd business acumen, his savvy presentation to the customer, his skills
in designing a solution, his cutting edge deployment of new technology or
anything of that type that worries me. No it's pure ignorance, sloth and
refusal to learn anything about the business that concerns me. Example?
Recently on one of his jobs he bid 800 feet of EMT. The installers gave up
counting after they hit 4000 feet mark and were still at it. This guy will
bid 2 hours to install a complete access door (reader, mag lock, REX motion,
REX button, and door position switch). But only on the first door. All the
other doors on the job get bid at 15 minutes per door because "the installer
is already there and set up". If it wasn't for the RMR from the jobs he
sells, they would be a total loss for the company. I guess he figures he
breaks even in 5 years or so, but I somehow doubt that. Those type sales
guys that the big nationals hire (and for some reason retain) are the ones I
fear. The ones that are too stupid to ever learn how to bid a job properly.
No matter what the application from a large commercial fire job to a small
residential job, it's always some flavor of a Honeywell Vista panel that is
going to get bid. Fortunately I never have had to bid against him.
Unfortunately we've been hired to clean up the mess his designs and his
company's "installers" leave behind. Heaven help you if you the poor
customer stuck with one of his designs.

"Nick Markowitz Jr." <nick-markowitz@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:iGNbj.16041$GV4.5538@xxxxxxxxxxx
> I buy around 50K plus a year from ADI and i think there pricing is  good
as
> well as there return policy They have always taken good care of my
account.I
> relize the bigger guys get better discounts naturally since they buy 10
> times what i buy but when it comes to custom fire jobs etc i do since my
> overhead is very low it does not matter how low a price they get on parts
> they still can not beat me price wise unless they give the jobs away for
the
> RMR
>
> "Frank Olson" <use_the_email_links@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
message
> news:1DAbj.8428$DP1.4171@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Roland Moore wrote:
> >> Have you ever noticed that when you do a parts search on google the
Bass
> >> site comes up? I did a parts search and saw these guys. Who are they?
> >> Their
> >> web page claims they are "professional". And yet they push Honeywell
> >> gear?
> >> If you're a "professional" with any sort of reputation with your
customer
> >> base, how in the world would you find the time to run an on line parts
> >> business? Why would you even want to get into that market with such
> >> skinny
> >> margins if your "professional" business was successful? I can just see
> >> quoting a customer and then having him or her say wait a minute, "why
are
> >> you charging me these prices when you sell the same thing on line much
> >> cheaper"? And you get a 24 hour emergency number to call too. Wow.
> >>
> >> http://www.doityourselfsecuritysystems.com/index.html
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> > I think it behooves anyone that's shopping online to have a look at the
> > company's shipping and returns policy.  It often costs more to return
> > non-functioning product than it's worth.  If you're DIY and you "screw
up"
> > you're the one that has to "eat" the mistake.  If you're an end-user and
> > the installer you've hired "screws up" (not likely because they're more
> > familiar with the product, but still possible), you won't see (or have
to
> > shell out) for the error.  These days many suppliers are clamping down
on
> > returns.  They often offer "store credit" on another purchase instead of
> > the cash back.  "Warranty" is still invested with the dealer and not the
> > end user.  The dealer provides his own warranty which, in the case of an
> > installation company, often includes labour. How does a DIYer prove the
> > $4.00 contact he bought was "bad out of the box"?  In addition many
online
> > stores have policies that preclude the return of certain items (they
call
> > them "special order").  The "list" of "special order" parts varies from
> > one store to the next.  When *I* supply a camera, I have to warranty the
> > unit (not only for the manufacturer's term), but I have to make sure
it's
> > the right lens/camera combination for the job.  If (as a DIYer), you
order
> > the wrong part, you're "SOL" for the return.  And in most cases you
won't
> > find out it's the wrong part until you power it up (which often means
that
> > you can't return the item to the online store as well).
> >
> > All in all, I'd suggest "shopping" with a local Dealer.  Most don't have
a
> > problem dealing with a DIYer (and it's pretty easy to find out which
> > don't).  That way, if you run into a problem, it's only a local call to
> > resolve it, and in most cases, it would be a fairly simple "fix" to
> > dispatch a qualified installer.
>
>