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scfs
7/19/2010
06:40:56
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 Subject: are we back in business yet?
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after loseing half of my business to the bad economy, things seem to slowly manifest back. a good trend i hope/believe.thoughts on your businesses please.after all, even we technicians need to print or copy something from time to time.
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Copyman
7/19/2010
06:48:02
|  RE: are we back in business yet?
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I'm down a little this year after having a pretty good year last year. Seems to have slowed down since the 4th around here but there are a lot of tourist things going on. My regular IT guy is already gearing up for the up comming school year so things could be a lot worse! Good Luck!
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copiertech1
7/19/2010
08:48:34
| RE: are we back in business yet?
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things here in montana for me has been real good sells up from last year this time (10 machines). service n supplies sell been steady. bill
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Desert Tech
7/19/2010
09:14:50
| RE: are we back in business yet?
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Same here, haven't seen much of a difference. It always slows a little in the summer but it's been steady
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Keith
7/19/2010
12:55:30
| RE: are we back in business yet?
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Not bad, used machines are selling at a steady rate. Been getting a lot of people looking for jobs lately so I guess the competition is having a hard time.
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Steve
7/19/2010
17:29:30
| RE: are we back in business yet?
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We are dead in the water this summer- what has always been a relatively short lull in activity has become longer with each year over the last 5 or so. These days its over a month with only a toner delivery or service call here and there and nothing else. We've been steadily losing significant business over the last few years to customer mergers and the inevitable bugger national IT outfits that comes in on the back of one of the merging businesses. They get their hooks in with the computers and then the next thing you know, they are shipping your customer whatever printers they prefer to support, followed by scanners and copiers....kinda like Dell. And it is VERY difficult to compete with someone in another state who is hired by someone in yet another state that services what used to be your relatively profitable customer. I used to love business. I used to see it as a challenge worth pursuing limited only by your creativity and tenacity, but these days I am just sick and tired of it. I am a couple of years into re-tooling my intellectual arsenal with an additional degree in BioTech, at which point I hope to gain a place among Satan's minions in "Big Pharma" or Big Agriculture."
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Desert Tech
7/19/2010
19:52:53
| RE: are we back in business yet?
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It's like fishing.......all the anglers around the lake want "the big one". They throw back the small ones and spend hours fighting with each other for the one or two big fish. You can waste time [and money] fighting with them or you can collect the ones everyone else throws away. Sure, it means more work, but at least you'll eat tonight.
These are sad but true facts-
1-There is no loyalty among customers anymore. Everything is about saving a buck, no matter how good you've taken care of them
2-Some competitor will always come in and low-ball you no matter how good your quote is. Many dealers out there are more than willing to take a loss just to get the account and beat out everyone else. As John Ruskin said "“There is nothing in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and he who considers price only is that man's lawful prey.”
3-In price wars you will always be wasting your time and getting nowhere
4-The guy that gets the contract/account will ultimately provide poor service. The customer gets what they pay for. If the customer stays with the crummy service because the price is low, that is a customer you don't want. Let them be your competitors problem. If they get fed up with the poor service, the door will eventually reopen and you can get them back. In the meantime focus your time and energy on accounts you can win
Business is tough and the bad economy is making it worse. I found a neat little bumper sticker and I keep it above my computer screen where I can see it everyday..."Accept, Adapt, Move on"
Adapting is the key to surviving this economy IMO
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Barry
7/19/2010
22:18:41
| RE: are we back in business yet?
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Dont worry, next year this time everyone will be hurting, that is after the Bush Tax cuts are gone and Barrys Healthcare kicks in.
So you guys are now slow, with Obamas plan, they will be helped by the guys who are busy. Spread the wealth baby!
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Desert Tech
7/20/2010
07:08:29
| RE: are we back in business yet?
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Who let "you-know-who" back in? Keep the door closed
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Steve
7/20/2010
08:51:44
| RE: are we back in business yet?
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Yeah. Funny thing is that I can think of no greater waste of time than fighting the cola wars. Even when the debate is framed as to which is less healthy, it is still a red herring. The fact of the matter is that water is never allowed into the discussion.
DT- most small outfits are long past the days of being choosy with their customers. Many of us have been spending 2 nickels to chase a dime for years. And the small fish scenario only really works when you have a few decent anchor customers to balance things out. It is the anchors that I am referring to. Let's also not forget that many of those 'small' customers have been rejected for good reason- they were deadbeats, crooks, mentally unstable, etc..
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Desert Tech
7/20/2010
09:40:46
|  RE: are we back in business yet?
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Well, we're small too. The reality is that even with anchor-type customers someone is always beating the door down to get in and there is only so much you can do to save it. As for the smaller fish, I couldn't disagree more. Granted there are a few bad ones, but most haven't even been looked at closely enough to be rejected. Most sales people being on comssion are not even going to consider the smaller ones. Everybody wants to make the big bucks on one sale. We have a number of smaller accounts with a half dozen or so desktop machines. They're not big enough for other dealers to bother with, but between service and supply sales they are very profitable for us. I think alot has to do with our attitude towards smaller customers. Being adrift in a deep ocean is not the time to be picky about what you cling to to keep afloat and survive. But again it's just my opinion
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raym
7/20/2010
12:24:26
| RE: are we back in business yet?
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i agree 100% on your above posts DT. very sound logic IMO.
ray
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i3fusionguy
7/20/2010
19:19:15
| RE: are we back in business yet?
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Well said DT. When I was a full-on indy in KC, we quickly learned that the small fish need to be caught to, because they lead to the rest of the school, and even bigger fish!
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tonerjockey
7/20/2010
21:37:52
| RE: are we back in business yet?
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last year we were good. this year last few months, i have slow days, and then a crazy day. so its extreme in both directions. but the little customers, as many as i have, are in the long run great. they will call here and there for supplies and service. that all in all keeps me going. very few i will turn down. just keep adding them to your base. i have had customers over the years that at first i would say "fire them" but some somehow i did keep. amazing how years later, those exact ones are the ones that wont ever call any one else. so, keep adding when you can. you never know what ones will turn out to be gems in the rough. but for me to, it has lately really been taking a toll on my sanity. its getting a little harder all the time. network with good vendors that will give tech help here and there. and not all tech support is created equal, as you know. good luck guys, jim
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Whataload
8/12/2010
14:30:35
| RE: are we back in business yet?
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DT your such a crying whining little girl, You should be jumping up and down in joy, you've been supporting all the clowns that flushed the economy down the toilet
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i3fusionguy
8/12/2010
21:57:28
| RE: are we back in business yet?
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If by clowns you mean "greedy people" and "people who hope for the best from irresponsible people" I would be inclined to agree....but I doubt DT would support those individuals.
Ducks float. Hope floats. Therefore, Hope is a Duck, and its always duck season somewhere.
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Desert Tech
8/12/2010
23:19:40
| RE: are we back in business yet?
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Thanks for the support i3, but "Whatacrock" is just our resident village idiot in disguise. Eventually he'll go away again. He's like a submarine....surfaces every now and then to stir up trouble
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i3fusionguy
8/13/2010
13:10:37
| RE: are we back in business yet?
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I would thing TOA would go troll the Craigslist forums....many more individuals to get a rise from and many more subjects to pontificate about. Guess hes got a special place in his cockles, maybe his subcocular area, for us. Ha!
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