I just have a question about customers that call for quotes (part numbers, prices, etc.) on equipment and then shop you on the internet. I have customers that buy phones online and then call us to install and program them. Do we just have to just take the labor on these jobs now? Do we raise our rates to compensate for not selling the equipment? Just a few questions. I would appreciate some suggestions and how everyone else is dealing with the internet and losing margins.

This is just part of the reality of doing business today. I quote my standard rate for installation in these situations.

This ususally equates to a higher price than if they baught the system from me as a package. If they don't like it I tell them to call the internet catalog company who doesn't know a co from a PBX and say good luck.

You can thank your manufacturers for this.
They live under the delusion that if they have 20 dealers in a 50 mile radius instead of 5, they will make 4 times as much.

Allowing electric catalog companies who have ZERO knowledge of phone systems is just plain stupid IMHO.

IF YOU DONT SERVICE THEM THEY ARE LOST FOREVER TO SOMEONE ELSE
IF YOU DO SEVICE THEM PROMPTLY AND FAIRLY
THEY WILL STAY WITH YOU
ALSO IF THEY HAVE A BAD EXPERIENCE WITH
INTERNET SELLER THERE BACK
I ALWAYS STRESS THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ITEM
THESE THINGS ALWAYS SEEM LIKE THEY GO 360
WITH PEOPLE AND MOODS CHANGING
AND WE ARE ALWAYS INSULTED THAT THEY
DIDNT BUY FROM US AFTER WE GO ON SUNDAY AND XMAS EVE
HANG IN

If you feel comfortable installing the equipment and can provide necessary training, then it's just another job. It's no different than doing sub work for any of the national companies. Do your work right and you put a smile their face and yours.

I agree. Do the install and the training. Charge by the hour. When something goes wrong with the equipment, you charge them again. It's not your warranty.

Try to push the warranty issue. If we sell a system and it goes down (under warranty), we bring a backup and replace it the same day, the customer pays nothing. What happens with the internet company?

If you do install someone elses equipment, make sure you get paid for your advice also. A salesperson gives free advice, a consultant does not.

Larry

I have a regular customer that buys his Telrad stuff from another internet company. I go there charge by the hour to install and program. He has done real well for himself when buying phones but he just bought a new processor and software upgrade. He went from ver 2 to ver 7 so no easy upgrade have to reprogram the whole system. 2 hours of programming go to load and the memory cartridge is bad LOL. So he sends it back they send him a new ( or new to him) one. He calls me back out I go thru the whole programming again system comes up last 5 mins and it crashes. Bad MPD card. Now I had a brand new in the box for $1500.00 but thats to much he says I only paid 600 for this one. I said ok call me when the replacement gets here and by the way here's the invoice for the labor $1000.00.
I hope they send him another bad one.LOL

SSphone hit it right on the head...we are all subject to the Ebay phenomenon these days, and like it or not, we gotta deal with it. Take the work if your comfortable doing it and charge by the hour for everything you would normally build into your price. You really don't have anything to lose. Besides, when the "prize pig" Mr. Customer saved a couple hundred bucks buying on the net croaks...you'll suddenly be his best friend. Getting "shopped" is more irritating because you're usually wasting your time for nothing and don't usually find out until it's too late...hmmm...I'd love to hear how anybody else deals with that one.

[This message has been edited by drewcom (edited August 24, 2004).]

We run into this all the time, we just put it in and tell them to give us a call if they need us, we end up replacing about 40% of there equipment due to failure. Like someone posted earlier you really have nothing to loose.

I had on cust call and want a couple of phones so I told him if he wanted used or refurbs give Sundance a call, he got back to me and told me they wantd to much and he could get the same phones for 3. a set. Well he got 5 of them and you should have seen them ( what a joke) speakers where taken out of them and almost all the dial pads stuck (they where junk) but he saved a couple of hundred bucks, of course all thos sets are in the garbage now and he had to spend a couple of hundred to get some nice ones. Sometimes I just don't understand people.

[This message has been edited by dtmf (edited August 24, 2004).]

Classic example of stepping over dollars to pick up dimes.

When a customer or a potential customer calls me and they bought equipment on the internet here is what i do ....

existing customer: I give them a price to install and program that includes the profit I would make on the equipment...

New customer...

give them my labor rate to install what they bought... and dam if the stuff that they bought fails and then they have to send it back and call me again to do the same job...

Guys beware, they want us on a pinch and if we cannot make the money we need to support that you might as well close your doors now...

The internet is going to destroy us... If our customers can buy the equipment cheaper and want us to be there to support it (at their becon call) and we do not make the profit on the equipment how can we support that...

Am I missing something here .....

Isn't there a charge for that "becon call"
?? And it should be high.

I guess I ment beckon call .... but I think you got the point....

Walter

I have had this happen to just recently on a 20K deal.

I was so angry, but realized there wasn't much I could do except sell the fact that I was 30 minutes away. Was available 7X24 and would provide a better warranty than he would get by the internet company. Lucky for me the customer chose me but I also dropped by margin by 10%.

Selling your value as a service company and not a sales one usually will open the customers eyes...but not always.