I haven't got an answer either, but I have seen some good operators in the Retail field who will balance three or more "customers" at the same time by putting the time-waster "on hold" whilst they ascertain what the long-suffering next-in-line wants, and returning to the time-waster only when they have dealt with all the paying customers.
When I was a bank teller a lifetime ago, the branch supervisor would step out the front and channel all the quick straight-forward transactions through a 'gun teller' to thin the mob out a bit.
In terms of "advice", there is only a certain amount that you can afford to give before you start to charge.
I have a mate with a 'smart cash register' business, and he would be a rich man if he had charged for all the free advice & service he has given in his career.
Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
Showrooming...
Collapse
X
-
You guys should work in the building industry! Now that terrible!!'
my wife works for a lighting company that sells to developers and architects. They sell high end German and Italian made lighting that has high end performance.
The architects and developers call her in and get a lighting design, and the expectation is that they buy the fittings from her, yet all that happens is that the lighting design is passed on to the electrician who then offers cheap Chinese alternatives.
you could charge for the design but the expectation is that you are the first port of call for the next job and that it will eventually end up in a sale.
Not a good thing to happen but that's the world we live in.
i would like to believe that the buyer had the integrity to pay a fair price for the service received, not a cheap price and not a gouged price, and buy from someone who has given them their expert advice.
The problem is that asking genuine buyers to give a CC pisses the genuine buyers off as well as stopping the underhanded behaviour.
i haven't got an answer for you, but good luck with it!
Cheers
- Flag
Leave a comment:
-
That's when you need a little book you can sell (at a big mark-up!).
Greg
- Flag
Leave a comment:
-
I stood waiting to buy my last lot of coffee at the local roaster while the poor bugger behind the counter attempted to give an idiot a complete course in coffee. He knew very little about coffee at all, not even what he liked. Eventually the service person called someone from the back to serve me - the guy was still asking beginner questions when I left with my purchases. His last-heard questions were as to whether (having already been told they have 250g, 500g and 1kg sizes) he could get little sachets of all their coffees so he could try them out.
I'd have asked him to go get his wife - apparently from what I overheard, she was the one who dealt with their coffee. But I could easily understand charging him for the time spent addressing things like "I like a strong coffee so I don't think that light roast is for me" - he said that or similar 3 times while I stood there and just didn't seem to get the explanations of roast he was given.
- Flag
Leave a comment:
-
Eh, it is what is is (and if you're sure that you want a machine and have prescreened your retailer it's not a big imposition), and I'm just glad that there's an apparently workable alternative that will keep specialty retailers in business (hopefully). With tech (for instance), I don't need the services of a retailer, but having just gone through buying shoes online, there are some things that are just better selected in person, rather than off a spec sheet.
- Flag
Leave a comment:
-
Yes- we are finding that we have no choice other than to do it.
We gladly provide a certain amount of information and then inform that beyond a point, the client is actually requesting consulting services. The services are credited against the purchase of a machine. On the whole, CS'ers are good, but there is an element of the public who bleed you dry and then shaft you. Their selfishness is sadly beginning to spoil it for others.
- Flag
Leave a comment:
-
Specialty ski gear places are already doing this. They got sick of people getting the correct fit for boots etc, then running off to buy them off the net (or in some cases standing in the shop with their smart phone ordering them off the net).Originally posted by Dragunov21 View PostSerious question; do you think that specialty retail (which I'd consider espresso to be) is ever going to move to a consultancy fee setup where that fee covers time/effort but is creditable toward a future purchase? Or is that just too aggressive a concept for consumers to go along with?
- Flag
Leave a comment:
-
Already going there. Not from a straight out accross the board policy viewpoint, but its happening.
- Flag
Leave a comment:
-
Serious question; do you think that specialty retail (which I'd consider espresso to be) is ever going to move to a consultancy fee setup where that fee covers time/effort but is creditable toward a future purchase? Or is that just too aggressive a concept for consumers to go along with?Originally posted by Talk_Coffee View Post[rant] [/rant]1500 words over 8 hours and then thanks I bought elsewhere without even a look in! Must be time to start the weekend and move on. Have a good one guys....
- Flag
Leave a comment:
-
Happens to all of us...we experience it in our industry too.
It's Happy Bathurst Weekend. All of us self confessed rev heads will be glued to the telly wishing we were there but glad we weren't...
My fave weekend of the year. I never miss it.
- Flag
Leave a comment:
-
As good a reason as any of why I would never want to be in the Retail Business mate. I guess you just have to keep taking it 'on the chin'...Originally posted by Talk_Coffee View Post1500 words over 8 hours and then thanks I bought elsewhere without even a look in!
Mal.
- Flag
Leave a comment:
-
[rant] [/rant]1500 words over 8 hours and then thanks I bought elsewhere without even a look in!
Must be time to start the weekend and move on. Have a good one guys....
- Flag
Leave a comment:
-
Well said Artimus
now it's off to watch the replay of the Moto GP at Phillip Island for me.
- Flag
Leave a comment:
-
And yeah, i was pretty harsh in that first post re-reading it. Sorry about that.
- Flag
Leave a comment:
-
Ok, chill out guys - I was not critisizing Chris. He's a good guy and a valuable resource here. Like I said, I bought my setup from him personally. We all deal with crap customers whatever industry you're in. I don't also think that his business will vanish. What I was referring to specifically is that he IS a popular and valuable resource and the byproduct of that (coupled with being in an industry that requires a lot of knowledge to be attained by the customer - don't take the word unfortunate out of context) means that his expertise and time will be taken by nearly every customer. Its not selling washing machines at Harvey Norman. It's a complicated thing making a good coffee, and selling/buying the right gear to do it.
Yes Chris started on a specific customer with a specific issue, which I think renders a pretty self explanatory answer. Hence why it was a rant, not a question. This discussion though, turned into a rather lengthy one about the value of expert advice and capitalising on that. I haven't been here long, to be honest this is the first day I've considered posting, but that doesn't make my opinion irrelevant, we're not discussing who knows more about coffee. I thought the general tone was getting a bit crabby and there were a few "did you write him a cheque" comments. All i'm saying is glass half full. In small business, being popular is a win. Probably that should have been adressed to the group discussing, not Chris specifically - for that I apologise.
Hi guys. Glad to be part of the gang.
- Flag
Leave a comment:

Leave a comment: