Gone very quiet
Discussion
youngsyr said:
A decision of which you seem very proud, but how do you know you haven't paid through the nose for parts that do exactly the same job as those available for a fraction of the price?
In truth, you don’t, until you run them. They have a decent reputation, as do others, like Elephant racing for example, but you can only go on real world feedback.FWIW, ball/rose joints are nowhere near as harsh I people perceive them to be.
Whistle said:
RayDonovan said:
See Tesla for reference. I've got a test drive booked next Wednesday. Used an online form, the test drive appeared on my Tesla app and I uploaded front and back of my driver's license. You turn up, drive the car and they follow up with a online questionnaire.
I don't wanna be faffed over, given numerous finance quotes or indeed drink their coffee. I wanna drive a Tesla Model Y to see if I like it or not.
I turned up at a local Porsche dealer to look at a Cayman GTS they had in. Got told I could have a test drive once I had paid a deposit, I walked away.I don't wanna be faffed over, given numerous finance quotes or indeed drink their coffee. I wanna drive a Tesla Model Y to see if I like it or not.
I wasn’t killing time I am seriously looking to buy the right one.
Jordie Barretts sock said:
President Merkin said:
Twenty years in business in a commodified, over supplied market have taught me a few things about pricing. There's always someone cheaper, it's an occupational hazard. Practically all customers expect champagne service at lemonade prices & you have to have the resolve to not buy work, that is a routine temptation in a competitive environment.
Understanding that you are not the supplicant is key to this. Your customer has a problem & you have the solution. Once you grasp that, you're on your way & if your customer doesn't, then they were never sticking around anyway, so no great loss.
This is so true. Understanding that you are not the supplicant is key to this. Your customer has a problem & you have the solution. Once you grasp that, you're on your way & if your customer doesn't, then they were never sticking around anyway, so no great loss.
There is a massive disconnect between turnover and profit. Too many people think turnover is 100% profit. And then can't understand why there is no money in the bank.
One of our regular customers started using someone else in order to save a bit of money. We told them we wouldn't match the price. Anyway one of our employees was approached one time by one of their employees and he said "I've no idea why our boss stopped using you, the new lot are rude and unreliable."
M1AGM said:
For a bit of seemingly good news, one of my local plant hire companies cannot provide me with a digger and tipper next week, they’ve nothing available at any of their depots. Must be busy!
A friend of mine had a small plant hire business and often used to refuse lucrative hires so he could use the diggers for his own projects at the weekend. I used to say to him you're digging a hole for yourself. President Merkin said:
Not sure whcih end of paper & packaging you're in but I'm seeing a bunch of consolidation going on in that business right now which I imagine is bearing down hard on capex. DS Smith about to be sold, although that looks comlicated & Smurfit Kappa & Westrock tieing up etc.
That is what we are finding, we had a few quite large projects that have all been put on hold or cancelled due to a stop on capex, our repairs are OK but we need a few new machines, hopefully it will pick up soon.urquattroGus said:
A bit worrying if the company paying the persons wages is really feeling the squeeze more than some employees? Not sustainable? Obviously not joined up thinking, but still..
The politics of envy, don't think there's a massive demographic you allude to, but isn't that the beauty of capitalism? President Merkin said:
Twenty years in business in a commodified, over supplied market have taught me a few things about pricing. There's always someone cheaper, it's an occupational hazard. Practically all customers expect champagne service at lemonade prices & you have to have the resolve to not buy work, that is a routine temptation in a competitive environment.
Understanding that you are not the supplicant is key to this. Your customer has a problem & you have the solution. Once you grasp that, you're on your way & if your customer doesn't, then they were never sticking around anyway, so no great loss.
Having that power is a great leveller especially between small companies and large companies (if you can manage to get to that position)Understanding that you are not the supplicant is key to this. Your customer has a problem & you have the solution. Once you grasp that, you're on your way & if your customer doesn't, then they were never sticking around anyway, so no great loss.
I can still hear the mix of anger, disbelief & disillusionment when our boss told the head buyer from an Amazon depot that any first order from any company was pro-forma or p
s off after they played the "do you know who we are" card 
We're currently hunger and burst at the moment but enough to keep the lad ticking over with enough capacity for large rush jobs
Demand is growing albeit because raw materials costs are staying static or coming down due to over supply in the market
Edited by Strocky on Wednesday 27th March 10:33
Strocky said:
Having that power is a great leveller especially between small companies and large companies (if you can manage to get to that position)
It is. Some games are rigged. If you supply Tesco or Aldi, chances are they're your biggest customer & they will act accordingly. The criticism of my point about being more in charge of a relationship than appearances suggest is that you as a supplier can easily be replaced, assuming you're not an out & out specialist. This is often true & it's happened to me many times. In all of those cases, I look back & think I would have ended up out sooner or later anyway for various issues around trust, slipperiness, the usual sorts of things that upset one sided business relationships, so in my view, it acts as a filter against clients who were always heading for the exit. My best customers I've hung onto in excess of a decade & I've done that by demonstrating value to them, again in the usual ways - price, service, flexibility, quality and so on. In those cases, they view it as mutually beneficial which is how it should work if you're doing right by yourself.
A lot of words to say something simple: Never undervalue yourself, no matter how tempting it might be.
M1AGM said:
For a bit of seemingly good news, one of my local plant hire companies cannot provide me with a digger and tipper next week, they’ve nothing available at any of their depots. Must be busy!
Good stuff. Excavator sales continued to be below the post-pandemic delivery boom of Jan/Feb 2023.However, most plant firms say they are mad busy in March. I think the weather will be the greatest variable for much of the general construction industry. If (when?) it dries out, things will really gather momentum.
President Merkin said:
It is. Some games are rigged. If you supply Tesco or Aldi, chances are they're your biggest customer & they will act accordingly. The criticism of my point about being more in charge of a relationship than appearances suggest is that you as a supplier can easily be replaced, assuming you're not an out & out specialist. This is often true & it's happened to me many times. In all of those cases, I look back & think I would have ended up out sooner or later anyway for various issues around trust, slipperiness, the usual sorts of things that upset one sided business relationships, so in my view, it acts as a filter against clients who were always heading for the exit.
My best customers I've hung onto in excess of a decade & I've done that by demonstrating value to them, again in the usual ways - price, service, flexibility, quality and so on. In those cases, they view it as mutually beneficial which is how it should work if you're doing right by yourself.
A lot of words to say something simple: Never undervalue yourself, no matter how tempting it might be.
If you are able, not having any single customer over 5-10% of turnover is a very secure base. Not always practical or possible. As President Merkin says, buyers of big firms are ruthless, heartless, soulless bMy best customers I've hung onto in excess of a decade & I've done that by demonstrating value to them, again in the usual ways - price, service, flexibility, quality and so on. In those cases, they view it as mutually beneficial which is how it should work if you're doing right by yourself.
A lot of words to say something simple: Never undervalue yourself, no matter how tempting it might be.
ds. They will screw you if they know their business is vital to your business.Being able to refuse business from awkward, unreasonable, or commerically unviable clients is a superpower. We used to have a fairly large firm who'd always make us, as small business back in the day, wait ages for money. The MD used to live in Florida a few weeks a year and they used his lack of presence as an excuse to not sign cheques. One day, they were in urgent need of a few parts we hand and we told the General Manger we'd warned them enough and their credit account was now closed - payment by card, up front, only. He was furious, said "we won't deal with you again" and we said "yes, fine, we already told you we'd rather you didn't if you don't pay". They ended up paying.
urquattroGus said:
Really hoping that construction machinery sales pick up by the half year point at least.
Jan & Feb odwn over 30% compared to 2023, but they were fairly peak months, due to the supply backlog from Covid. Weather needs to stop killing the job first.Anyway, the Office of Nonsensical Superciliousness have had a "no s
t Sherlock" momment. They confirm recession at end of last year.https://www.cityam.com/uk-recession-confirmed-as-r...
Easter Confectionery sales are going 'ok'. The sales ramp seems to be getting later and later every year which causes no end of problem across supply chain
Smaller items such as Mini Eggs are really suffering though. Combination of weight reductions and price rises have really harmed sales.
Smaller items such as Mini Eggs are really suffering though. Combination of weight reductions and price rises have really harmed sales.
RayDonovan said:
Easter Confectionery sales are going 'ok'. The sales ramp seems to be getting later and later every year which causes no end of problem across supply chain
Smaller items such as Mini Eggs are really suffering though. Combination of weight reductions and price rises have really harmed sales.
Not surprising. Understand the price rises but not the size reduction. I used to enjoy creme eggs as a guilty pleasure but since they made them smaller there's no satisfaction in them. Smaller items such as Mini Eggs are really suffering though. Combination of weight reductions and price rises have really harmed sales.
Better if they kept the size but put the price up a bit more.
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