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Grumpy Suppliers
Not often post, and not often lost for words!!
Wooden post supplier has sent posts with wrong hole centres, told them we would re-drill for £x, not happy with that, so we said come and collect em, next e-mail is we will put £x in your bank acct for re-drilling, but don’t come back for any more posts!!
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9 Replies
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That’s a new one!
Better than non-paying trade customers whom we’re having to deal with currently, the amount of times I’ve heard ‘We’ll pay you when we have money’ over the last few months.. /sigh
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That’s poor (depending how you spoke to the supplier)
I’ve had suppliers make similar mistakes that we could resolve either in-house or locally, and most have covered the cost, or given some token of appreciation that we didn’t reject the whole lot.
I’ve had some suppliers take back and recut frames or panels, without hesitation when there have been mix ups.
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it says a lot about them as a supplier if refunding a percentage for their own mistake is such a big deal that they bin you as a customer. 🤨
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Not in our acct yet!! Stay tooned
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There seems to be a bit of a trend in how some trade suppliers are dealing with their customers.
Like many companies these days, maybe they are under pressure from all angles and dealing with their problems badly. Maybe a member of staff’s flippant attitude, or maybe not, and they are too busy to care!
Whatever it is, it is a slippery slope down if it persists.-
I’ve heard of one supplier would no longer servicing an account, because the conversion rate was too low. I’ve seen some suppliers start to introduce charges, and minimum orders too.
I can see where some suppliers are coming from.
I get the feeling there’s a bit of shift, or fraction within the industry. Those who are still selling on price, and those who are delivering service. It’s perhaps one of the strangest times I’ve known in the 14 years in the industry.
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If it were one of our customers they would use Facebook or Google, or even Checkatrade to name and shame. i think this website is no different i would call them out!
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Going back almost 25 years, when I started UK Sign Group, I have always been an advocate of buying on Product Quality over Price, and the same applies to Service Quality over Price.
It is simply false economy to think otherwise.
Obviously, there are exceptions to the rule if you are selling short-term or promotional signs.I distinctly remember when there was a period where suppliers really pushed “next-day delivery” as a selling point. That there was no need for “us guys” to sit on large volumes of stock, because it can be with you the next day, and they were Correct!
But fast forward 10+ years with industry growth and ever-rising costs, delivery mistakes and more. Something has to give, and judging by my own experiences and what I am constantly hearing, it clearly has!
Coincidentally, my company has been BSi ISO9001 accredited coming up on 10 years now, and Product and Service Quality over Price is something they strongly encourage, and I can see why!-
Agreed, I’ve ended up stocking a full log of a specific colour as the deliveries are so hit and miss.
I’m getting a similar feeling from customers, there are those who are happy to pay for the service and quality, and those who are solely price focussed. It seems more noticeable than I’ve known… Or perhaps my business has just changed from what it was years ago?
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