iamwhatiseem
Diamond Member
Hate to see this. A good friend and colleague bought a business in 1984 that had been in existence since 1952. Between 1984 to 2000 he nearly tripled the business. His revenue last year was half what it was pre-recession.
In February he lost another large account...he can no longer survive.
I talked to him for a good 45 minutes this morning. His words hit home for me, and I bet a lot of you...
"I am so very disappointed in the direction this country has been going for the past 10-15years. For 16 years I provided great service and a consistent product that other businesses needed - and the orders just kept coming in. I would say 80% never even asked a price, they knew we took care of them and that my pricing was fair. In the past 12 years or so little by little it reached the point to where it is today - every single order people want the price up front so they can compare your price to someone else. They call back and ask if we can match a price they got from so and so, they call to see if I can do the job faster at the same time can I work with them on the price? There is no such thing as a fair price anymore. There is only the lowest price. I just can't do it anymore. I am sick to death of this "kill or be killed" environment where the only way you get new business is if you undercut someone else while they are trying to undercut you - all to try and satisfy a client base whose only concern is the price."
In February he lost another large account...he can no longer survive.
I talked to him for a good 45 minutes this morning. His words hit home for me, and I bet a lot of you...
"I am so very disappointed in the direction this country has been going for the past 10-15years. For 16 years I provided great service and a consistent product that other businesses needed - and the orders just kept coming in. I would say 80% never even asked a price, they knew we took care of them and that my pricing was fair. In the past 12 years or so little by little it reached the point to where it is today - every single order people want the price up front so they can compare your price to someone else. They call back and ask if we can match a price they got from so and so, they call to see if I can do the job faster at the same time can I work with them on the price? There is no such thing as a fair price anymore. There is only the lowest price. I just can't do it anymore. I am sick to death of this "kill or be killed" environment where the only way you get new business is if you undercut someone else while they are trying to undercut you - all to try and satisfy a client base whose only concern is the price."
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