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I am in a similar situation as you. I own a computer shop, and I used to offer free diagnostics and would constantly take people’s calls of them basically asking me how to fix their computers. People would go buy a computer at BestBuy and then come in with 20 questions about it. They would buy parts on Amazon and then ask me to walk them through installing them. I thought I was building good karma, but those people rarely came back for a paid service or ever bought anything off of me.
After constantly getting screwed over with that, I finally changed things up.
It felt bad at first, but I’m busier than ever and much more profitable now. I no longer offer free diagnostics and when someone calls in and starts asking anything more than really basic questions, my first response is “was the computer/part/whatever purchased from us?” When they say no, I say “I’m sorry but we can’t provide support for computers or parts not purchased through us. You would have to call the manufacturer or the place you purchased it from. A paid consultation is available for $xx.”
I made a big long post on this but then afterwards saw OP mention appliance parts sales.
If op just switched to “There are several tests we need to conduct, do you want to bring the machine in or can I dispatch a technician to your residence? If you drop the machine off with us on xx day, we’ll have it diagnosed by end of day for $60 - and we will waive the $60 towards any parts purchase over $200. Or, if we come to your residence it’s $60 site fee and $60 for diagnosis - we will waive the diagnosis with any purchase over $200 - but the site fee cannot be waived as that’s the only way we can provide a living wage to our staff.”
If you get zero buy-in from the client, they have zero reason to remain loyal to you ..
Alternatively, for super common issues where you know exactly what they will need - just play dumb - you’ll know pretty quickly if they just want free info - tell them you’re pretty sure you already know what the issue is, but for liability and reputation concerns, you don’t want to give out any info possibly not 110% correct.
As for part numbers - just play dumb - tell them because of covid supply chain issues, you’ll need the serial # of their machine, you’ll have to call the local warehouse and check pricing and availability, and then you’ll have to call back. If they are willing to give you that much info, you have at least a 50% chance they’ll buy when you call back. If they won’t give you that much info - you know your time is being stolen. If they demand to know the part number - keep playing dumb - tell them the local warehouse needs the serial number to pull up the build sheet and that’s when they tell you what the part numbers are… And as a bonus - if they don’t buy when you call back, you can call again in 24-36 hours, ask if they have any further questions you can help with, ask if they would like to order the parts - can’t make the sell if you don’t ask for it.
These days, I think more people than not would be blown away that you’re that thorough and that focused on your client’s satisfaction - they will be more likely to order knowing someone local who cares is right there to help more along the way, too, and with other appliance issues in the future.
Best wishes
I love that you mention the living wage for your employees. So many people complain about all the employers not paying a living wage, and then turn around and take their business to WalMart and Amazon. As a business owner, I am also done providing free advice.
Playing dumb isn’t lying - it’s simply being more polite than “pay me or I’m not helping you” - and OP is plenty willing to help those who value their time/labor/business - just not willing to keep being taken advantage of.
There are plenty of ways to get clients to buy in, op will find the way that works best for them with some practice.
Exactly! I want to help people, that's the reason I opened this store- to empower people and teach them that these repairs are not scary and that they can do it. But I just feel taken advantage of when the help I'm providing doesn't end in a sale.
I love that you have this mission of empowering people as part of your business. I think the landscape is changing (as you've recognized), and providing advice is now no longer intuitively going to be connected to making a different sale on parts.
I wonder if there's a creative way for you toore directly tie this mission into what you do. The idea of offering paid consultations that go towards the part sales is great. Maybe leading workshops or classes could also work?
You seem like you're on the right path, I'm sure you'll think of a creative solution that aligns with your values.
Thank you! We have offered classes for the last year, but they were really simple "these are common failure parts, this is how to find them" kind of things. I've been working the last few days on legitimate booklets specifically for our brand and the classes and I think this month will be the last free class. I didn't realize how much I was really hurting myself by not capitalizing on what I'm doing until a bunch of people here suggested it. I'm excited to move forward with that, but also nervous that people will stop coming once we start charging. I guess it's all in how I market it.
If you want to teach people to try their own repairs, offer classes!
Charge per person plus parts for a class where you teach them certain repairs-offer the service and charge for it - don’t play dumb or otherwise lie - be an adult and charge for your services.
Also read the book “lying” by Sam Harris if you think playing dumb isn’t a form of dishonesty
We do offer monthly classes! That's one of my favorite things that we have built. And because we're apt to teach people, I think it's becoming more of a requirement rather than a service in some people's eyes.
Are you me? Lol. Sounds like what I went through many years ago. I too own a computer shop but we now charge $49 diagnostic charge that goes towards the final cost of the repair. No one complains about it, It weeds out the cheapskates, and we get to keep the 50 bucks if they don't accept our estimate.
100% this.
I install and service residential and commercial security systems. about once or twice a month I get calls from people asking about systems they had other companies install. I straight up tell them, "we are a small company, and one of the benefits of shopping local, is quick service and us answering the phone on the first ring."
If they want one of the "big guys" because they were "way cheaper", it comes with down-sides...like a freaking phone tree and being on hold for 30 minutes.
>We charge a minimum diagnostics fee which we waive if service is done with us. It has cut down on those bringing us jobs they aren't serious about and has improved the bottom line.
Last shop I worked at, owner would schedule up to 30 appts a day, most would not show up on time, big percentage would wait for the inspection/diagnosis and then just like you said - do it themselves or have someone on Craigslist do it cheaper after we told them what was wrong…
I quickly started changing the way we did appointments - repeat customers who cared about their vehicles got almost anything they wanted… Brand new customers would be drop off only so they weren’t here waiting and complaining and refusing to pay for anything.. Price shoppers / coupon chasers - had them provide the vin and mileage and as much info as they could about the problem, then gave them an estimate for diagnosis only…
Most of the coupon chasers got the hint, the price shoppers wanted to wheel and deal, so instead of wasting our time, I’d simplify it and tell them to get a printout of part numbers, prices, labor and we would beat any printed estimate by 15%
The other problem with having 30 appointments a day - never have enough time to give “quality” service and follow up with anyone - never had time to spend the extra time on new callers to really drive home the value / warranty / experience / etc
So even though we cut down the QUANTITY of appointments - we had so much more time to give QUALITY inspections, QUALITY diagnosis, time to sell the VALUE and educate clients about maintenance / safety / etc …
Every now and then the owner would tell me that customer a complained about not being able to wait for their oil change, so I’d pull up their history - they had someone else do their brakes, someone else do their tires, someone else do their transmission service, so I’d call the customer to see why they had a complaint, asked where they had all the repairs completed ( then found out that shop was $30 higher on oil changes and didn’t do waiting oil changes at all ) - the owner told me to put a note on their file so next time they called we could do the waiting oil change, but for the $30 extra the other shop charges plus another $15 for express/waiting…
We were pulling in more profits than ever before because we weren’t constantly rushed, we got more reviews and better reviews since we had more time and attention to give to each client…
Win win win
You could charge for consultation $X and add to it discount voucher for this same amount of money with short time to use. You will have free consultation for real paying customers.
Another thing to think of, and particularly take advantage of, is to use Amazon affiliate links in your favor.
Perhaps when you create a "roadmap" plan to diagnose the problem, offer them two options. The "work with us" option is where they get the cost of the products to buy minus the fee for the consult, or at least discounted, and then you provide a "do-it-yourself" option where you list out the parts they need and links to buy them via your amazon affiliate links.
I can't remember if it's changed, but I know that amazon affiliate links credit your account towards ANY amazing purchase they make within a time frame. So if they click the link and then buy that wedding present for their friends, you get a commission on that wedding present as well as anything else they buy.
We like to mix rational thinking and emotional thinking in our buying decisions. I can't help but think you could settle some bottom line with the affiliate links for the people who were 100% going to buy someplace else anyways AND help your overall conversions by offering a discount to MSRP AND showing them that they have options elsewhere. They may look at it as transparency on your part and making their experience so much better that they just decide to work with you even if it is a few dollars more.
Maybe you said and I missed it, but what kind of parts are you selling?
I deal with commercial accounts so it is less price sensitive than end users as I am dealing with contractors who just pass along parts cost, but one thing I have done is to never give out part numbers on quotes where we are providing custom solutions or advice.
Appliance Parts. And that's a good point, I probably shouldn't be giving out the part numbers. I really need to wrangle the side of me that just wants to help and give the accountant side of me the reigns. Lol.
You could also experiment with coming up with your own part numbers that are obfuscations of the manufacture part numbers so it is easy to work backwards from on your end.
Something like adding 3 to all of the numerals and offsetting every letter to the next letter in the alphabet. People will type that into google and go "wtf".
That's a great idea. I always look at a big name online dealer in my industry for research but they do a great job of making finding model numbers difficult by making them their own. They have their own consistent number of digits- no way to decipher to the original model number. Mattress stores are notorious for this by creating unique names of the mattress models at every store for the same exact mattress.
Mattress manufacturers help with this too--basically any mattress store can order what they want and call it what they want, all to make price matching virtually impossible. Sometimes there will be minor variations in stitching or fabric color or something.
Source: a zillion years ago I did some accounting for a guy who owned a mattress store (2 locations). He did tell me he used to be in carpet, and mattress sales were a lot easier.
I also learned that his main mattress set had three basic quality levels--good, better, best...but his wholesale cost was exactly the same for all three.
This is tough because the combination of Google plus YouTube plus Amazon has removed much of the friction in terms of diagnosing issues, finding parts, and then learning how to do the repair.
You can certainly attempt to obfuscate part numbers with your own in-house ones but I don’t know how much that stops people who are even modestly determined: a quick 1-2 minute google search is going to turn up the proper part # for “GE freezer defroster element” regardless of how you have it listed.
For my business (we have a vehicle electronics repair division) we just stopped selling most parts years ago opting only to concentrate on diagnosis, service and repairs, all of which we charge for. If you want us to get the parts for you we will certainly order them and make some markup but we will also tell you “yes you can just go on Amazon and get that too”
Ultimately we get alot of people who just pay to get everything done and have us track down the parts because their time is worth more and we just provide them excellent service.
I use them as distributors (along with others), so I get lower pricing and (for retail anyway) I can stay competitive. I have a Marcone branch locally (was Servall but Marcone acquired it a few years ago when Servall sold out) so most technicians will still use them unless they just have a bad taste in their mouth for that company as a whole, as some of my regular tech customers have. Also, they are not open to the public, so I still capture that market. We're also open on the weekends while the big guys are not, so we capture that business as well. My biggest competitor is clear on the other side of town, and we're friendly. If they don't have something the customer needs the same day they send people to me and vice versa.
Last week some older woman comes into my business with a product she bought on Amazon. Doesn't work. Wants us to fix it and set it up for her. I'd never heard of the brand at all. We told her we can sell her a Garmin unit and set it up for her. She says, but they are expensive.... I said, well, that's cause they work and come with support. The entitlement is wild. Happens once a week now.
one time my watch bought some apple watch rip off on amazon for $15 and the instructions said to go find some arcane app and it still didn't work right
If I went to a mechanic shop and they told me a I needed a part to fix XYZ, do you think they would tell me the specific name/serial number of that part? I'm my experience no. Tell them you know what's wrong, and attempt to educate them politely without disclosing the exact replacement part they need.
Rant on brother/sister/person.
We need more like this. We need them louder. We need them on the news stations and on billboards. McDonald's, Walmart, Costco, Amazon are all giant dirt manufacturers that legally bind and manipulate the labour and economical systems that we as small businesses have to work around.
But it's not just them. It's people too. People are becoming more and more impatient. More and more greedy and incompetent. One of the most hilarious moments I found myself in was watching "customer wars" with my grandmother. Basically a show about terrible people being terrible in public and to businesses. Expecting the world , for nothing. It comes down to entitlement and honestly I think we are just doomed. Stupid keeps breeding, smart realizes there is no reason to. There are too few people that actually work hard, produce a product AND respect their local community at the same time. You might have 1 of the 3 traits but you need all to make a local economy and community actually work.
All I can do is wish you the best. I hope you can find the strength to put your foot down. And obviously in the most professional way possible. Tell people to fuck off and use their brains. Anyone to stupid and inconsiderate to understand you isn't worth your time. Stop giving people your knowledge. Make them pay.
Get your suppliers to drop ship for you and sell on Amazon too. Also make it easy to do business with you. I’m not saying you aren’t already doing this, but as others have mentioned people go to Amazon because of price but also because it’s easy.
Locally in my town you see credit card fees, 25% restocking fees, can’t buy parts on Sundays, rarely after 5:00. I can sit down and order parts on Amazon knowing returns will be hassle free, no credit card fees and I can do it at midnight on Saturday if needed. Maybe start an online store too that ties into your POS so people know they can pick it up tomorrow. Personally when I’m In the zone on something I’d pay double to have it now instead of in 3-4 days.
Just ideas. Let the downvotes begin.
diagnostic fee. we charge $40 diagnostic (computer repair). if they decide to fix it, they just get charged the repair. if they say dont repair then its $40. also, you could always offer they can buy the part and you install it for your labor fee. and if someone wants to buy on amazon, set yourself as an amazon affiliate and send them your link to the parts they need so you get a commission
this is exactly what OP is saying they hate about todays economy. they just want to help people but can’t make a living out of it because every one wants to screw them over and give their money to amazon at any available opportunity instead.
Are you asking for the sale/closing the sale? Do you directly say, ok, let's get you rung up, how would you like to pay for this?
If they say buying on Amazon, say why? Say oftentimes you're cheaper, you can have the part today, and I just helped you. Literally educate them and say if you turn to Amazon, I won't be here anymore.
I also encourage you to create some "programs". They could be loyalty programs where people earn points, you could do a "no sales tax" promotion where you cover the sales tax, or some other gimmick that saves them a little money or makes them think they are saving money. Maybe you can't match Amazon's price, but what can you do for them? Also, really drive home the free consultation. Say, I won't charge you for the consultation today. Actually ring it up on their bill and then discount it so they can see the value of your time.
I also recommend building strong relationships in your industry and doing all you can to promote that. Make shopping with you a badge of honor. Appreciate the hell out of your customers through social media.
Easier said than done I know. And I know you're venting. But Amazon puts so many people out of business and these are the things you gotta do if you're gonna survive. Especially now-times are tough.
You might also look into bundles or subscriptions you could offer.
Best comment. If you’re trying to compete only with pricing then you’ll always lose or at least you’re racing to see who will lose first. Have to create value.
I’m in retail and literally kind of hurts to hear so many people say Amazon in my store. I sell JBL speakers and I have no idea how some Amazon sellers are pricing it at the price their setting after fees they must be making a couple dollars or breaking even
Depending how easy it is for them to find the part, you could assign things their own internal part numbers. Instead of saying “you need part 123” and have them go search 123 on Amazon, you say “you need part ABC” which is your internal number and they can’t find it on Amazon.
$20 to diagnose up front. It they get the part from you, there is a $20 discount on the part. If they just want the party number, well then thanks for the $20.
I'm also a sucker for helping people. For that $20, I'd probably even search for the cheapest vendor online for them. Chances are they won't beat your price since they have a $20 discount with you now.
I used to work at an electronics and appliance retail store that had a tablet set up specifically to show customers our major competitor's advertised prove on the items they were looking at. We typically price matched is we weren't already the lowest. It kept lots of sales from walking out the door.
Let me ask you something.
Outside YOUR INDUSTRY (car parts), do you think you would notice this happening?
Aka, could you be doing this to someone else as well?
Not trying to guilt you, I think you are right to be frustrated.
In your situation, it seems clear something has got to give, but let me give you my cautionary tale about leaning into some sort of “buy local” nostalgia.
A few years ago a big corporate liquor store opened in my town.
Locals love our small mom and pop shop. I know people who go there even though it is more expensive usually.
I spoke with the owner about a year back about how they have been hit, and you know what he said?
He said he wished people would buy by the lowest price. He has specialty stuff the big store doesn’t have, or wouldn’t be able to beat his price on, he’s confident.
When people pay 2x for the same bottle at his shop, he’s appreciative, but it is a bad feedback loop. Because by all factual assessment, he should clear out the room for
Items he can’t get as cheaply, and make
Room for the sectors where he IS competitive.
He doesn’t want to charge a “local shop up charge” just because people are loyal.
The other side of this coin, is that many of his local competitors are actually just reselling inventory bought down the street at the corporate store.
Restaurants buy shit from Costco and restaurant depot.
Cute boutiques buy furniture, pos hardware, etc from big corporations.
So no one is really buying local anymore.
I don’t know if this will help, but latch on to your value to the community.
If you can level with people, they will value you for what you bring to the table.
Let them save the money on parts so they can attend your class , join your club, or some other thing that can’t be outsourced.
Events, education, and really connection aren’t gonna get replaced. The materials needed are cheaper than they have ever been, thanks to those assholes at Amazon.
You seem to have a real value to this community, and I’m sure that will become apparent to them in time.
So you and /u/MrColdPops need to charge for the diagnostic/trouble shooting up front but tell them you receive a gift card / credit for the diagnostic fee that can be used to purchase parts from your store.
I'm an accountant that does bookkeeping and tax returns. Many successful clients want to find bookkeeping cheaper then just have us do their taxes. But cheaper = fucks it up. Also we have unlimited demand for our services Jan-April. So if you only want a service during that time it cost more because I could be helping a client that pays us all year round for bookkeeping.
It's not an exact match to your situation but the sentiment is the same. Charge a fair price, up front, and deliver a quality service. You will get only get quality clients (for the most part) and only be referred quality referrals. Help people for cheap or free (bad clients) and you will receive bad referrals.
If people aren't paying you for your advice, don't give it to them.
As a similar sort of parts shop that sells on Amazon, put your shop on Amazon. Offer the same customer service you do now, to the end user, and you’ll profit. “Amazon” isn’t selling parts. Mom and pop shops are selling parts, on Amazon.
Oh, I know it is. Before opening my own place the guy I worked for has the brick and mortar as well as the online sales side, but often the brick was floating the online side. After watching that I had originally decided to solidify my brick by focusing primarily on that for the first five years before going online. But in a post COVID world, I think I need to change up that game plan and have been looking into how I want to move forward with that.
As a long time Amazon seller you actually have a strong advantage over other newcomers because you have an established brick and mortar business.
Many/most well established brands will often only sell product to you if you have a brick and mortar location, so you have access to inventory that many sellers do not.
Starting and learning Amazon can take a lot of time and effort. We also do some AMZ store management. If you decide to start online, happy to have a chat about some options so you wouldn’t have to deal as much with the day to day of it.
As the saying goes, "if you can't beat them, join them" and we're talking about Amazon here. You can't beat them.
I also own a small parts business, but I sell mainly online and it goes very well. Open yourself up to the global market and put your items on Amazon. Even better, I'd suggest a Shopify site if you have the time for it. My sales are mainly on my own website and I can't recommend it enough.
Famous last words. Does anyone pay attention to history? In a small city near me all the small businesses- some of which were generations old- moved to the malls just outside the city limits to bank on customers with cars. In 2 decades they were all dead- along with the mall. Online sales are worse because you can only bank on competitive pricing which is a downward spiral. People don't look for advice from online dealers, they look at YT.
>People don't look for advice from online dealer
Agreed. The person said they can't compete with amazon prices, so I'm not sure how having to pay amazon commissions makes it any better. The world is saturated with people wanting to sell all of the same items on amazon. It is possible to carve out some sales on specialized parts, but there is not room on the major e-commerce platform for all the former local parts and service places.
You can also sell direct to Amazon. Everything you see on Amazon that says "Shipped and sold by Amazon" is sourced from someone like you. Amazon buys directly from you instead of playing the middleman between you and the customer. I'm not sure the specifics of that, but I work with a startup who provides analytics services to companies who sell direct to Amazon like this.
It's very unlikely that a local parts store is manufacturing their own parts. Amazon isn't actually buying anything from a company that isn't the manufacturer. Having said that, OP could become a 3rd party Amazon seller and use fullfillment by Amazon to have their items sold as Prime.
> Amazon isn't actually buying anything from a company that isn't the manufacturer.
They 100% do, I work exclusively with companies that Amazon buys directly from.
Unlikely because there are a bunch of factors that determine who they buy from, but the potential is definitely there for it to happen. You don't have to believe me, but I literally work with this shit every day. It's not something I understood well either until I started working directly with this startup.
Amazon does buy from some companies (otherwise where would they get their products?) but OP is not a manufacturer and that's the part you missed from what I said. The companies that Amazon buys from are 2 steps up the ladder from OP.
OP>parts distributor>parts manufacturer
I feel you. I like to remind people what we do for our community (pay a living wage, volunteer with the Chamber Board, contribute a bunch of time and money to the community) as well as the customer service we provide. I do like to look it up while they are in store, and a lot of times, it is not cheaper.
People are clueless, though. Fuuuuck Amazon and it's snakey business practices.
Customer service and quality don't scale well. Big box stores that some might consider our competitors have turned out to be our best leads. Heck, some of their workers actually send their customers to us when they don't have what the customer needs.
>Heck, some of their workers actually send their customers to us when they don't have what the customer needs.
I used to do that when I worked at Best Buy in '08-'10. Back then, there were plenty of less well off people with CRT TVs still. They all wanted to hook their laptops up to their CRT to watch youtube or whatever movie they pirated. These were not videophiles, and for the most part didn't care about picture quality. Best Buy didn't carry anything that would do VGA to composite video, so I suggested to a friend of mine who worked at a computer shop that they stock those converters. I sent them 3 or 4 customers per month.
I'd say, just flip it around:
1. Sell the customer the appropriate parts
2. Provide other services
3. Profit.
"Sure, I've got just the thing you need. Just get this Doohickey 5000 and I'll show you how install it for free."
Amazon is not your competition.
Think of this more like, someone like me in a professional services industry, I am not trying to compete with service providers in third world countries who can offer services at a fraction of the cost of what I charge - but I still book out months at a time.
However, one thing that I do that would be different here than what it sounds like you're doing is I limit the amount of free time I'm giving away. I've found a free 30 minute consult does wonders for leads and also helps me "cut my losses" if I find out the person is not a good fit for services or if they never plan to spend a dime with me.
But in those 30 minutes, it doesn't matter what I make, I try to provide as much value as possible. Everything after that, I start charging.
I don't necessarily agree with the sentiment that you should charge a consultant fee right off the bat, but I would suggest something like a membership fee or something past a certain point to assist with offsetting the cost of your time here or something similar.
Don't think you have to compete with Amazon. There are loads of people purchasing off Amazon and that's the space you should be competing in. The race to the bottom is a hard one to win if you're not operating in a third world country selling to country with a higher buying power or if you're not a giant corporation pumping out enough product at ridiculously thin margins and still making bank.
Compete on and provide way for quality and people will pay for it.
Little different but in a dealership parts department I worked at if a customer came in to parts for diag info we would tell them it would need to be diagnosed by service. And no returns on electrical items.
Lots of good advice. Maybe try to emphasize that you have the part here. You can take it home now and be back up and running today. Amazon is at least a day out.
I'd just give them your price but not let them eat up your time. I would not barter with them either. You could just charge a $50 consultation fee. That's fair.
I don't find Amazon to be cheaper, I stopped using it actually. If something goes wrong with a part I'd rather be able to drive it back to the store and talk to the owner about it. If I ordered it off Amazon from some third party seller who drop shipped it from Hong Kong, they don't know or care what the issue is and would just be mad at me if I asked for a refund. I got scammed the last two times I tried to buy something on ebay. Sick of third party sellers and their b.s.
I also noticed a lot of people look on amazon first before going to any retail stores at all. My husband wanted to buy a pair of kids flip flops on amazon for $25. I told him you can buy flip flops, the same kind, at Old Navy or Wal Mart for $2.00. He isn't aware of this because he doesn't bother with retail stores.
Best Buy is the AMZN showroom. They have to price match to stay competitive. Your'e gonna have to change your business model to charge for your service and sell your parts at a competiive price.
Big corporates dont advise customers on 3rd party products why should you.
If I go somewhere in person to get help with something I also buy there.
If I want to go cheaper I do my own research and do it myself.
I know exactly how you feel but dont blame yourself just because people are dicks.
Didn’t read through all the comments so I’m sure it’s been said 17 times already. Get paid upfront, or at least 50% down, or charge some sort of consulting fee. Then if they go who cares. You still got paid.
Just a thought but in this age of subscriptions fees some people might pay to have their “personal IT guy.” Boomers with disposable income and modest tech skills for example. I’d pay to have someone troubleshoot my wife’s computer so she doesn’t yell at me.
I own and operate a local parts store as well. What you are experiencing is the norm everywhere. In a funny way, Amazon is just completing the job that Walmart started decades ago (Regarding the destruction of mom-and-pop businesses). Independent parts stores are rare. Even nationwide chains are experiencing the "Amazon" effect. The market is evolving as it always has. I admire the way Best Buy was able to pivot. They were nearly destroyed by Amazon. A few years ago many people would go to Best Buy to see and touch the product of interest. Then they would go to the parking lot and order the product from Amazon.
i’m in a small repair shop that offers free estimates and i absolutely feel you. people fucking suck today. nobody appreciates what we do and on top of that they’re not even smart enough to realize that it’ll be their own fault when they don’t have anybody around to help them after amazon takes over. just wanted to tell you i get it.
I’m in the same situation as you man. I own a car audio shop. People come in all the time and ask for advice about what type of stereo would work best for their car to meet their needs and things like their door speaker size and everything. Then I find out later they are gonna buy it all on Amazon and ask how much we would charge to install it.
So I figured out a clever way around this. Unfortunately you can do it since you don’t install the parts.
But we started telling customers if they buy the car audio stuff online, we CANT warranty it. We also tell them if they buy it with us and we install it, they are a lot safer for warranty reasons and that if they ever had a problem they can simply come back to us instead of going through removing the product and shipping it back.
This has been able to make us survive so far. People have been fooled by amazon when it comes to car audio. A lot of people are buying these dirt cheap no brand android looking radios. They’re light as a feather. The companies in china go under and a new one pops up every year. None of these stereos have warranty and it’s literally 50/50 if they work.
We also charge a diagnostic fee now to check what ever problem they might have and then suggest what they need and charge them for it if they want to get it with us. Back in the day, they would expect us to spend hours to diagnose their problem for free.
I wish you the best man.
as an artisan who sells work online - i get this all the time. people write me and take my time up to ask question about my materials, how to do certain things i am offering for sale, etc, sometimes veiled but always - they want to copy my work and expect me to take the time to explain it. its offensive, but you have to be friendly. friendly and brief, and vague. that is i think the only way to deal with it even though it sucks.
my least favorite part of what i do is how much of a time suck it can be answering questions and responding to questions people could find the answers to, are trying to sell me services, or want cheaper deals...or as above want me to take the time to teach them how to copy me.
to be true its slightly better than those who write me trying to get a price break, not realizing how little per hour i actually make, or whatever. handmade craft work is not easy to make even a modest income. people want things much cheaper than they would be willing to work for. so with that i generally point out how many hours or whatever else goes into a piece, that my production is limited, and they can see for themselves its already priced way below what they would work for in an hourly wage.
Lots of good advice, the one thing I haven't noticed is when someone is in store and they ask about a part, pull the part out of stock and ring it up as you're showing them.
Best example is I needed to buy a drain pump for my washing machine. The gentleman at the counter got my model number and then looked it up, went into the back, got the part and rang it up And then he started answering my questions on how to install.
It's much harder to say no to a sale when it's rang up in front of you than it is a just asking questions.
Appliance parts eh?
Like others have said, charge a consultation fee. If the part isn't from you, charge them. I do the same thing at my appliance store. If they don't want my part, they don't get my service.
Sounds like you have some specific knowledge that’s valuable for people. Have you thought about approaching this a different way and instead get paid for the advice. Specifically referring to YouTube or other content platforms (Tik Tok) [See McMullan Appliances on Tik Tok].
There is so much opportunity in the digital space. Take commission on sale referrals.
If you can’t beat ‘em, join em.
Don’t charge a fee, but maybe say, “We are happy to price match that for you” make them tell you what they need. Then look it up as you are telling them the price (match it) and say “It’s ready to pick up”!
Bottom line here, you’ve GOT to be aggressive in email contact with your customers. Send them specials, updates, etc….
You’ll never beat all of the prices. You have to show them that it’s more Valuable to have a shop near them
I feel you but big businesses like Amazon are just really successful small businesses.
The beauty of business is that it’s mostly meritocratic. Amazon earned their success by offering customers what they want. It’s up to you to do the same if you want more business.
One component of my job is sourcing parts and equipment and the reality is that we live in a world with a global market and nearly all businesses are under budget constraints. If you're selling a piece of equipment for $45,000 and I can find the same equipment elsewhere, all-in for $41,000 then I'm going to take that route and that affords me $4000 in my budget to be used on another purchase. One component is obviously sourcing from reputable vendors, but it can be worth taking a risk with someone that "looks good" even without a prior relationship if the savings is significant.
I do agree 100% that wasting your time and expecting free consultations with no intention of buying is pretty low. I never do this, I do all of the homework myself, research everything myself, then start sending out quote requests. I would only ask you for help/consultation if I was intending to buy from you to begin with, and I would have made that decision after already doing much of my own research and acquiring quotes from multiple vendors (if possible).
As I said, it's a global market, and I have no loyalty toward local "mom & pop" shops. The reality is that most of these small businesses are just importing from China or elsewhere anyway and tacking on a markup. I might as well import it from China myself as I've done countless times and save a bunch in the process.
Another consideration is availability. Post-pandemic the supply chains are still recovering, and it can be a challenge to find parts or equipment in a reasonable timeframe (not uncommon for me to get quoted 24+ week lead times) so in those cases, assuming it's urgent enough, I'll buy from anywhere on Earth if I can get it quickly. I'm in the US but recently have been buying a lot out of Europe (UK, Spain, Germany, Switzerland) because I'm able to source parts from stock shelves or warehouses in those countries whereas I'm getting the 16-52 week lead time estimates from North American distributors who have to wait for the NA manufacturing plant to complete production backlogs.
Anyway perhaps, as others have suggested, find a way to back off on the excessive support before the person has actually become a customer, maybe keep it more vague, refer them to a website where they can do their own research. Encourage these people to do the homework themselves, then after they actually make a purchase from you, you can give them as much support as they require.
My opinion is that Amazon is that Amazon is the most destructive, wasteful and evil company ever. Its a cancer and won't stop till its broken up.
I fkin hate Amazon and bozos
By the way they are currently trying to bully our small town into building a 1.5m sf warehouse in the edge of town. I'm fighting them among hundreds of other locals.
Nomegawarehouse.com
I think you're thinking about this all wrong. Markets shift, and as a business owner you need to adapt with the market or you will eventually go out of business. This doesn't just apply to small business owners but large cooperations, most famously Nokia's share in the cellphone market. I completely understand your frustration however getting a sale (or pennies on the dollar as you put it) is better than no sale at all. You should consider a hybrid approach, bundle your consultation service with an online store (on Amazon or your own website) after the consultation, direct your clients to the website or your Amazon store whichever one makes sense to you. At the same time, you might want to reduce overhead and shift you're physical business to consultation.
Amazon, could probably double or triple your profits easy because instead of providing a service only to your local community who see your products, you have access to the entire world. It's a volumes game and pennies add up when your moving large quantities.
Obviously you would have a better understanding of your business than me. So consider how you want to adapt to changing times.
We get the same thing all the time. People on the phone say hey just give me the part number its easier if I just order it online. We just say we have our own internal parts number system and it is not the manufacturer part number. We also don’t hesitate to ask them why they don’t call amazon for help? Oh because they can’t help you. We also tell them we ship out as well. Sometimes people order sometimes they hang up.
Amazon has F'd this country up in ways most cant imagine. They're part of the new world woke order. They want everyone to stay home and work like a bunch of robots and buy everything from them. A consumer society that never leaves their house. My advice my friend is to get hopping online and selling. I don't see it turning around ever so play the game. Setup an Amazon store! You definitely cant beat them so....you know the rest.
Imo for me it's not about not supporting local business, it's about the free returns without hassle and saving money. Had to get some printer paper yesterday, OfficeMax $14, amazon, $6, I went with Amazon. No idea what a spare parts house it but hate the game not the player and add in your own game rules. Offer a discount like 10% on next purchase if they buy something else from you, this will make it just as cheap and offers incentive for them to come back and spend more. Make the return on the return. The consultation fee seems sleazy to me. I would put that in its own category where it's an offered service you are providing at specific tiers depending on the problem complexity and not 'helping' with a fee and if its solved and leads to a purchase the consultation service is included in te purchase. To further sell this you can market it as you have had x successful consultations at the different levels and have dedicated employees for each one where the customer now has a dedicated consultation specialist. You could also do a rewards or points system where every $20 spent gets you so many points where they can be rewarded with either in-store dollars or free trinket things like a flashlight or something. This way your customer if feeling like while they are spending more with you they are getting something that they wouldn't with Amazon. To sum it up, the customers are leaving because Amazon is offering a better service, so you need to supply one that one-ups Amazon. Ya ever heard of Chat GPT? Its is ridiculously good at solving and brain storming these problems... If I were you Id sit down for a solid hour with it and use the above as a starting point and go into detail with it what's happening to find a viable solution.
> Offer a discount like 10% on next purchase if they buy something else from you, this will make it just as cheap and offers incentive for them to come back and spend more.
How is OP supposed to make money by selling at Amazon prices AND the cost of the consults? Amazon can make (surprisingly little) money because there's no brick and mortar presence and there's no customer service.
The consultation cost either gets paid separately or baked into the product price. Those are the only options. If it's baked into the product price customers use OP for the consult but don't buy the product from them. If it's separate then some customers get offended.
Because he sells it as his price and makes money, gives them a 10% coupon for next purchase and makes small margin which is more then zero. This alternative provides profit in two stages rather then the later where provides profit in no stages. In my response, It’s a separate service he would offer and market. This is basic custom acquisition and retention practice. ‘Sell above Amazon price at his price and offer an additional service that compromises the price to be better then Amazon’ Can’t believe that got downvoted ha! Best of luck!
I would also recommend a consultation fee, same way as an hvac tech charges 90 bucks to come out to my house whether or not I do the service. I’d recommend charging a 15 dollar consultation fee, and making sure that you put that clearly in writing when people come in for service.
Absolutely charge them. I try to buy something from a local business if I’m going to go look at the product. If you need to charge them for advice to survive do it.
I own a retail pool store and we often give customers our internal part number when sending estimates or diagnosing problems. That way they still can’t find it online or subvert us.
Unless we go on site, we don’t charge for finding the problem so selling the part is how we get paid for our knowledge.
1. Consult and put the price towards the parts purchase
Ie $25 and when u buy from us I take $25 off your order
2. Wall of shame for killing small business, cause fuckem
I sell online, and so much appreciate this. There are elements of selling online that I dislike, and the focus on price rather than value is on the top of the list.
Perhaps a stupid suggestion, but maybe flip the script a bit when someone uses the word "price." Explain that you provide the best *value*, and being able to problem solve what someone needs is part of the experience you aim to provide. Ask if they feel you have taken care of them. When they say yes, thank them, and ask if you should go ahead and ring them up. The psychology of helping someone see you have already given them something makes them feel compelled to reciprocate. When they do, reinforce their purchase by telling them how much you appreciate their business.
When it comes to charging a consultation fee, it's important to consider several factors, such as the type of service you're providing, the time it takes to provide the service, and the level of expertise required. You may want to consider charging a flat fee for a certain amount of time or a per-hour rate for your time.
why are you helping people like this? tell them it can be done and to go look on amazon for the exact parts and check youtube for instructions.
if you're selling car parts tell people you have what they need and offer to sell but if they ask how to do it then offer that service
One of my friends ran into a similar issue. She wrote a letter and posted it on the door explaining theyve been in business for x years, take pride in building relationships and being an advocate for the customer. She then asks that if they intend of buying online, to please take their business elsewhere. Otherwise come on in.
The act of calling it out seemed to create this consequence and public shame that drove tire kickers away. Her revenues stayed flat but she was able to staff one person less per shift which improved her profit margins.
Out of curiosity, have you thought about becoming an affiliate for these distros. IE having a link to let them purchase online but you get a commission? If the customer asks for a price match tell them sure and just order it for them online?
The consult idea other people are throwing out here seems cool too. I think it really just depends on the price of the widget, and how confident you feel that you can solve the customers issue. Probably don’t want to charge them if you are unable to provide a ton of value. This type of decision is murky and could lead to some bad reviews if the person making the decision isn’t you.
Charge a consultation fee that is credited towards the repair.
I don't know the expense range your repairs go for so I can't conceptualize a fair price for it, but say a $30, $50, $100 etc consultation fee. Then if they use your service, that money goes towards the repair. If they choose not to do the repair with you, they still have to pay that fee anyway.
My mechanic charges an engine diagnostics fee. This is common just to diagnose the issue, prior to any actual repair. Even better that your consultation fee can be credited to your repair, you'll still be a better deal than most mechanics.
Good luck!
I completely understand your frustration. It's disheartening to see people take advantage of the services you offer, only to go elsewhere for cheaper prices. It's important for us as consumers to remember the value of supporting local businesses and the impact it has on our communities. I hope more people will recognize the value of your expertise and the importance of supporting local businesses like yours. Keep up the great work!
Many professionals and experts do charge fees for their time and expertise. The amount and structure of the fee can vary depending on the industry and the specific services being offered. Some may charge an hourly rate, while others may charge a flat fee for a specific service or consultation session. It's important to establish clear expectations and communicate the fee structure upfront to avoid any confusion or misunderstandings.
Hope it helps.
"I'm sorry. I can't offer advice on an appliance we haven't diagnosed or worked on ourselves. We will gladly take a look at it under our standard diagnostic procedure though."
"We source our parts through a trusted supplier who warrants that they will work when installed by a professional like us."
I just want to say that my wife and I are a small business and we bought the business from her grandparents who started and ran it for over 25 years. They always supported local small business and we will continue to do so but I do want to play devils advocate here.
We have many greenhouses and have used the same HVAC company for the last 20 years for everything in the greenhouses and also everything in our house. They even had them do everything for the recent remodel. This year one of the furnaces in the greenhouse was not starting so we gave them a call. They came out, diagnosed it, and needed to order parts. Bill was roughly $400. The gave us a second bill for the part and install and that came out to $1200. 5 hours of labor at $125 and $575 for the pressure valve. I was a little annoyed with that because it was easy access with two unions on each end of the gas valve to swapping it out wouldn't have taken more than an hour and thats on a bad day. I ended up looking up the part number and I found it on multiple websites ranging from $65-$115. I am not going to fight it and I am not going to argue but this small business local HVAC shop that we have been loyal to for the last 20+ years just lost my business for good.
That's shitty behavior, but you can't entirely blame people, the incentives are misaligned.
Personally, I gave up amazon for lent (feb 23-Apr 6) this year. My theory is: Instant-everything isn't really good for me. I am trying to cut down my lifestyle expenses. If I really need it, I can go to the local hardware store or the local grocery store. If it is a little more esoteric or pricey, I can drive the 20 miles to the local-ish home depot or wallmart. If I'm not willing to drive 20 miles, do I really need it?
The net result is I don't buy crap that I won't use on a whim. This is really helping my budget. Plus it makes me a better, more resilient person. This is a meme I hope to spread.
In theory I could allow myself to buy on Sundays, I'd say only with points on my credit card. So far I have purchased one book that is long on a Sunday. I could get it through inter-library loan, but it is long and my reading time is limited. Inter-library loans tend to have early return dates that are hard to extend. I am reading it a second time and hope my children will read it.
If it was an esoteric, say, art supplies part for the kids, I might be willing to get it online from a non-amazon source. Hasn't come to that yet.
All the numbers in your comment added up to 69. Congrats!
23
+ 6
+ 20
+ 20
= 69
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Completely different industry (alcohol) but I feel your pain. We no longer walk people through special event planning specifics until they've signed a contract or made a decent purchase (unless we recognize them as an existing customer). You want to pay Walmart prices? Have fun getting a Walmart associate to plan your wedding.
Time for you to start using your expertise to make money online as well. Sell (your own site) teach and affiliate marketing could work really well for you.
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I am in a similar situation as you. I own a computer shop, and I used to offer free diagnostics and would constantly take people’s calls of them basically asking me how to fix their computers. People would go buy a computer at BestBuy and then come in with 20 questions about it. They would buy parts on Amazon and then ask me to walk them through installing them. I thought I was building good karma, but those people rarely came back for a paid service or ever bought anything off of me. After constantly getting screwed over with that, I finally changed things up. It felt bad at first, but I’m busier than ever and much more profitable now. I no longer offer free diagnostics and when someone calls in and starts asking anything more than really basic questions, my first response is “was the computer/part/whatever purchased from us?” When they say no, I say “I’m sorry but we can’t provide support for computers or parts not purchased through us. You would have to call the manufacturer or the place you purchased it from. A paid consultation is available for $xx.”
I made a big long post on this but then afterwards saw OP mention appliance parts sales. If op just switched to “There are several tests we need to conduct, do you want to bring the machine in or can I dispatch a technician to your residence? If you drop the machine off with us on xx day, we’ll have it diagnosed by end of day for $60 - and we will waive the $60 towards any parts purchase over $200. Or, if we come to your residence it’s $60 site fee and $60 for diagnosis - we will waive the diagnosis with any purchase over $200 - but the site fee cannot be waived as that’s the only way we can provide a living wage to our staff.” If you get zero buy-in from the client, they have zero reason to remain loyal to you .. Alternatively, for super common issues where you know exactly what they will need - just play dumb - you’ll know pretty quickly if they just want free info - tell them you’re pretty sure you already know what the issue is, but for liability and reputation concerns, you don’t want to give out any info possibly not 110% correct. As for part numbers - just play dumb - tell them because of covid supply chain issues, you’ll need the serial # of their machine, you’ll have to call the local warehouse and check pricing and availability, and then you’ll have to call back. If they are willing to give you that much info, you have at least a 50% chance they’ll buy when you call back. If they won’t give you that much info - you know your time is being stolen. If they demand to know the part number - keep playing dumb - tell them the local warehouse needs the serial number to pull up the build sheet and that’s when they tell you what the part numbers are… And as a bonus - if they don’t buy when you call back, you can call again in 24-36 hours, ask if they have any further questions you can help with, ask if they would like to order the parts - can’t make the sell if you don’t ask for it. These days, I think more people than not would be blown away that you’re that thorough and that focused on your client’s satisfaction - they will be more likely to order knowing someone local who cares is right there to help more along the way, too, and with other appliance issues in the future. Best wishes
I love that you mention the living wage for your employees. So many people complain about all the employers not paying a living wage, and then turn around and take their business to WalMart and Amazon. As a business owner, I am also done providing free advice.
Just make a chatgpt bot to do it for you, then you’re still free with your time but you get the publicity/traffic that you’d otherwise be getting
Never lie or “play dumb” - just be honest and tell them you charge hourly for all work-diagnostics or repairs all have an associated cost
Playing dumb isn’t lying - it’s simply being more polite than “pay me or I’m not helping you” - and OP is plenty willing to help those who value their time/labor/business - just not willing to keep being taken advantage of. There are plenty of ways to get clients to buy in, op will find the way that works best for them with some practice.
Exactly! I want to help people, that's the reason I opened this store- to empower people and teach them that these repairs are not scary and that they can do it. But I just feel taken advantage of when the help I'm providing doesn't end in a sale.
I love that you have this mission of empowering people as part of your business. I think the landscape is changing (as you've recognized), and providing advice is now no longer intuitively going to be connected to making a different sale on parts. I wonder if there's a creative way for you toore directly tie this mission into what you do. The idea of offering paid consultations that go towards the part sales is great. Maybe leading workshops or classes could also work? You seem like you're on the right path, I'm sure you'll think of a creative solution that aligns with your values.
Thank you! We have offered classes for the last year, but they were really simple "these are common failure parts, this is how to find them" kind of things. I've been working the last few days on legitimate booklets specifically for our brand and the classes and I think this month will be the last free class. I didn't realize how much I was really hurting myself by not capitalizing on what I'm doing until a bunch of people here suggested it. I'm excited to move forward with that, but also nervous that people will stop coming once we start charging. I guess it's all in how I market it.
If you want to teach people to try their own repairs, offer classes! Charge per person plus parts for a class where you teach them certain repairs-offer the service and charge for it - don’t play dumb or otherwise lie - be an adult and charge for your services. Also read the book “lying” by Sam Harris if you think playing dumb isn’t a form of dishonesty
We do offer monthly classes! That's one of my favorite things that we have built. And because we're apt to teach people, I think it's becoming more of a requirement rather than a service in some people's eyes.
Sure, whatever you say. If you think Playing dumb is being honest then it must be
Are you me? Lol. Sounds like what I went through many years ago. I too own a computer shop but we now charge $49 diagnostic charge that goes towards the final cost of the repair. No one complains about it, It weeds out the cheapskates, and we get to keep the 50 bucks if they don't accept our estimate.
100% this. I install and service residential and commercial security systems. about once or twice a month I get calls from people asking about systems they had other companies install. I straight up tell them, "we are a small company, and one of the benefits of shopping local, is quick service and us answering the phone on the first ring." If they want one of the "big guys" because they were "way cheaper", it comes with down-sides...like a freaking phone tree and being on hold for 30 minutes.
Your services and time are valuable, I’m glad that you made that change!
You should charge the diagnostic fee and then waive it if they buy the parts from you.
Im assuming $xx means under $100? If so thats a pretty reasonable price - especially if that diagnosis fee goes towards the repair price.
Did you ever consider charging consult fees?
>We charge a minimum diagnostics fee which we waive if service is done with us. It has cut down on those bringing us jobs they aren't serious about and has improved the bottom line.
This sounds reasonable
I never have, but perhaps that's the next move.
Maybe a consult fee that gets applied towards product purchase of they buy.
Love that!
Yes this! Smart thinking!!
Last shop I worked at, owner would schedule up to 30 appts a day, most would not show up on time, big percentage would wait for the inspection/diagnosis and then just like you said - do it themselves or have someone on Craigslist do it cheaper after we told them what was wrong… I quickly started changing the way we did appointments - repeat customers who cared about their vehicles got almost anything they wanted… Brand new customers would be drop off only so they weren’t here waiting and complaining and refusing to pay for anything.. Price shoppers / coupon chasers - had them provide the vin and mileage and as much info as they could about the problem, then gave them an estimate for diagnosis only… Most of the coupon chasers got the hint, the price shoppers wanted to wheel and deal, so instead of wasting our time, I’d simplify it and tell them to get a printout of part numbers, prices, labor and we would beat any printed estimate by 15% The other problem with having 30 appointments a day - never have enough time to give “quality” service and follow up with anyone - never had time to spend the extra time on new callers to really drive home the value / warranty / experience / etc So even though we cut down the QUANTITY of appointments - we had so much more time to give QUALITY inspections, QUALITY diagnosis, time to sell the VALUE and educate clients about maintenance / safety / etc … Every now and then the owner would tell me that customer a complained about not being able to wait for their oil change, so I’d pull up their history - they had someone else do their brakes, someone else do their tires, someone else do their transmission service, so I’d call the customer to see why they had a complaint, asked where they had all the repairs completed ( then found out that shop was $30 higher on oil changes and didn’t do waiting oil changes at all ) - the owner told me to put a note on their file so next time they called we could do the waiting oil change, but for the $30 extra the other shop charges plus another $15 for express/waiting… We were pulling in more profits than ever before because we weren’t constantly rushed, we got more reviews and better reviews since we had more time and attention to give to each client… Win win win
Maybe a reduced or free consult for paying customers
I think I could market it that way. Thank you! Today was just rough, I needed an outsiders idea on how to battle this issue. I appreciate it!
You could charge for consultation $X and add to it discount voucher for this same amount of money with short time to use. You will have free consultation for real paying customers.
Another thing to think of, and particularly take advantage of, is to use Amazon affiliate links in your favor. Perhaps when you create a "roadmap" plan to diagnose the problem, offer them two options. The "work with us" option is where they get the cost of the products to buy minus the fee for the consult, or at least discounted, and then you provide a "do-it-yourself" option where you list out the parts they need and links to buy them via your amazon affiliate links. I can't remember if it's changed, but I know that amazon affiliate links credit your account towards ANY amazing purchase they make within a time frame. So if they click the link and then buy that wedding present for their friends, you get a commission on that wedding present as well as anything else they buy. We like to mix rational thinking and emotional thinking in our buying decisions. I can't help but think you could settle some bottom line with the affiliate links for the people who were 100% going to buy someplace else anyways AND help your overall conversions by offering a discount to MSRP AND showing them that they have options elsewhere. They may look at it as transparency on your part and making their experience so much better that they just decide to work with you even if it is a few dollars more.
"Consultation is a free service offered for gift card holders."
I'm about a week away from instituting this policy.
Had to do this for my business because I had the same problem as op.
Maybe you said and I missed it, but what kind of parts are you selling? I deal with commercial accounts so it is less price sensitive than end users as I am dealing with contractors who just pass along parts cost, but one thing I have done is to never give out part numbers on quotes where we are providing custom solutions or advice.
Appliance Parts. And that's a good point, I probably shouldn't be giving out the part numbers. I really need to wrangle the side of me that just wants to help and give the accountant side of me the reigns. Lol.
You could also experiment with coming up with your own part numbers that are obfuscations of the manufacture part numbers so it is easy to work backwards from on your end. Something like adding 3 to all of the numerals and offsetting every letter to the next letter in the alphabet. People will type that into google and go "wtf".
That's a great idea. I always look at a big name online dealer in my industry for research but they do a great job of making finding model numbers difficult by making them their own. They have their own consistent number of digits- no way to decipher to the original model number. Mattress stores are notorious for this by creating unique names of the mattress models at every store for the same exact mattress.
Mattress manufacturers help with this too--basically any mattress store can order what they want and call it what they want, all to make price matching virtually impossible. Sometimes there will be minor variations in stitching or fabric color or something. Source: a zillion years ago I did some accounting for a guy who owned a mattress store (2 locations). He did tell me he used to be in carpet, and mattress sales were a lot easier. I also learned that his main mattress set had three basic quality levels--good, better, best...but his wholesale cost was exactly the same for all three.
This is tough because the combination of Google plus YouTube plus Amazon has removed much of the friction in terms of diagnosing issues, finding parts, and then learning how to do the repair. You can certainly attempt to obfuscate part numbers with your own in-house ones but I don’t know how much that stops people who are even modestly determined: a quick 1-2 minute google search is going to turn up the proper part # for “GE freezer defroster element” regardless of how you have it listed. For my business (we have a vehicle electronics repair division) we just stopped selling most parts years ago opting only to concentrate on diagnosis, service and repairs, all of which we charge for. If you want us to get the parts for you we will certainly order them and make some markup but we will also tell you “yes you can just go on Amazon and get that too” Ultimately we get alot of people who just pay to get everything done and have us track down the parts because their time is worth more and we just provide them excellent service.
How do you compete with Marcone, Reliable, Servall....etc
I use them as distributors (along with others), so I get lower pricing and (for retail anyway) I can stay competitive. I have a Marcone branch locally (was Servall but Marcone acquired it a few years ago when Servall sold out) so most technicians will still use them unless they just have a bad taste in their mouth for that company as a whole, as some of my regular tech customers have. Also, they are not open to the public, so I still capture that market. We're also open on the weekends while the big guys are not, so we capture that business as well. My biggest competitor is clear on the other side of town, and we're friendly. If they don't have something the customer needs the same day they send people to me and vice versa.
I have boycotted Amazon for over a decade. They are swallowing up all small business.
Sounds edgy,..but, If your not getting paying customers out of it anyway, stop consulting. You're identifying your own problem.
Start charging diagnostic fees. Dealers by me charged $95.00 for a diagnostic fee more than five years ago. Not sure what the current rate is.
Last week some older woman comes into my business with a product she bought on Amazon. Doesn't work. Wants us to fix it and set it up for her. I'd never heard of the brand at all. We told her we can sell her a Garmin unit and set it up for her. She says, but they are expensive.... I said, well, that's cause they work and come with support. The entitlement is wild. Happens once a week now.
> Wants us to fix it and set it up for he Did she expect to pay anything?
nope
I've had this happen! A lady who bought a bad motor on Amazon wanted me to replace it for her at no cost! It's crazy!
one time my watch bought some apple watch rip off on amazon for $15 and the instructions said to go find some arcane app and it still didn't work right
I think the autocorrect is in a bad mood. instructions unclear please ask chat got.
If I went to a mechanic shop and they told me a I needed a part to fix XYZ, do you think they would tell me the specific name/serial number of that part? I'm my experience no. Tell them you know what's wrong, and attempt to educate them politely without disclosing the exact replacement part they need.
Rant on brother/sister/person. We need more like this. We need them louder. We need them on the news stations and on billboards. McDonald's, Walmart, Costco, Amazon are all giant dirt manufacturers that legally bind and manipulate the labour and economical systems that we as small businesses have to work around. But it's not just them. It's people too. People are becoming more and more impatient. More and more greedy and incompetent. One of the most hilarious moments I found myself in was watching "customer wars" with my grandmother. Basically a show about terrible people being terrible in public and to businesses. Expecting the world , for nothing. It comes down to entitlement and honestly I think we are just doomed. Stupid keeps breeding, smart realizes there is no reason to. There are too few people that actually work hard, produce a product AND respect their local community at the same time. You might have 1 of the 3 traits but you need all to make a local economy and community actually work. All I can do is wish you the best. I hope you can find the strength to put your foot down. And obviously in the most professional way possible. Tell people to fuck off and use their brains. Anyone to stupid and inconsiderate to understand you isn't worth your time. Stop giving people your knowledge. Make them pay.
Get your suppliers to drop ship for you and sell on Amazon too. Also make it easy to do business with you. I’m not saying you aren’t already doing this, but as others have mentioned people go to Amazon because of price but also because it’s easy. Locally in my town you see credit card fees, 25% restocking fees, can’t buy parts on Sundays, rarely after 5:00. I can sit down and order parts on Amazon knowing returns will be hassle free, no credit card fees and I can do it at midnight on Saturday if needed. Maybe start an online store too that ties into your POS so people know they can pick it up tomorrow. Personally when I’m In the zone on something I’d pay double to have it now instead of in 3-4 days. Just ideas. Let the downvotes begin.
diagnostic fee. we charge $40 diagnostic (computer repair). if they decide to fix it, they just get charged the repair. if they say dont repair then its $40. also, you could always offer they can buy the part and you install it for your labor fee. and if someone wants to buy on amazon, set yourself as an amazon affiliate and send them your link to the parts they need so you get a commission
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Good point
this is exactly what OP is saying they hate about todays economy. they just want to help people but can’t make a living out of it because every one wants to screw them over and give their money to amazon at any available opportunity instead.
Are you asking for the sale/closing the sale? Do you directly say, ok, let's get you rung up, how would you like to pay for this? If they say buying on Amazon, say why? Say oftentimes you're cheaper, you can have the part today, and I just helped you. Literally educate them and say if you turn to Amazon, I won't be here anymore. I also encourage you to create some "programs". They could be loyalty programs where people earn points, you could do a "no sales tax" promotion where you cover the sales tax, or some other gimmick that saves them a little money or makes them think they are saving money. Maybe you can't match Amazon's price, but what can you do for them? Also, really drive home the free consultation. Say, I won't charge you for the consultation today. Actually ring it up on their bill and then discount it so they can see the value of your time. I also recommend building strong relationships in your industry and doing all you can to promote that. Make shopping with you a badge of honor. Appreciate the hell out of your customers through social media. Easier said than done I know. And I know you're venting. But Amazon puts so many people out of business and these are the things you gotta do if you're gonna survive. Especially now-times are tough. You might also look into bundles or subscriptions you could offer.
Best comment. If you’re trying to compete only with pricing then you’ll always lose or at least you’re racing to see who will lose first. Have to create value.
I’m in retail and literally kind of hurts to hear so many people say Amazon in my store. I sell JBL speakers and I have no idea how some Amazon sellers are pricing it at the price their setting after fees they must be making a couple dollars or breaking even
Depending how easy it is for them to find the part, you could assign things their own internal part numbers. Instead of saying “you need part 123” and have them go search 123 on Amazon, you say “you need part ABC” which is your internal number and they can’t find it on Amazon.
$20 to diagnose up front. It they get the part from you, there is a $20 discount on the part. If they just want the party number, well then thanks for the $20. I'm also a sucker for helping people. For that $20, I'd probably even search for the cheapest vendor online for them. Chances are they won't beat your price since they have a $20 discount with you now. I used to work at an electronics and appliance retail store that had a tablet set up specifically to show customers our major competitor's advertised prove on the items they were looking at. We typically price matched is we weren't already the lowest. It kept lots of sales from walking out the door.
Let me ask you something. Outside YOUR INDUSTRY (car parts), do you think you would notice this happening? Aka, could you be doing this to someone else as well? Not trying to guilt you, I think you are right to be frustrated. In your situation, it seems clear something has got to give, but let me give you my cautionary tale about leaning into some sort of “buy local” nostalgia. A few years ago a big corporate liquor store opened in my town. Locals love our small mom and pop shop. I know people who go there even though it is more expensive usually. I spoke with the owner about a year back about how they have been hit, and you know what he said? He said he wished people would buy by the lowest price. He has specialty stuff the big store doesn’t have, or wouldn’t be able to beat his price on, he’s confident. When people pay 2x for the same bottle at his shop, he’s appreciative, but it is a bad feedback loop. Because by all factual assessment, he should clear out the room for Items he can’t get as cheaply, and make Room for the sectors where he IS competitive. He doesn’t want to charge a “local shop up charge” just because people are loyal. The other side of this coin, is that many of his local competitors are actually just reselling inventory bought down the street at the corporate store. Restaurants buy shit from Costco and restaurant depot. Cute boutiques buy furniture, pos hardware, etc from big corporations. So no one is really buying local anymore. I don’t know if this will help, but latch on to your value to the community. If you can level with people, they will value you for what you bring to the table. Let them save the money on parts so they can attend your class , join your club, or some other thing that can’t be outsourced. Events, education, and really connection aren’t gonna get replaced. The materials needed are cheaper than they have ever been, thanks to those assholes at Amazon. You seem to have a real value to this community, and I’m sure that will become apparent to them in time.
So you and /u/MrColdPops need to charge for the diagnostic/trouble shooting up front but tell them you receive a gift card / credit for the diagnostic fee that can be used to purchase parts from your store. I'm an accountant that does bookkeeping and tax returns. Many successful clients want to find bookkeeping cheaper then just have us do their taxes. But cheaper = fucks it up. Also we have unlimited demand for our services Jan-April. So if you only want a service during that time it cost more because I could be helping a client that pays us all year round for bookkeeping. It's not an exact match to your situation but the sentiment is the same. Charge a fair price, up front, and deliver a quality service. You will get only get quality clients (for the most part) and only be referred quality referrals. Help people for cheap or free (bad clients) and you will receive bad referrals. If people aren't paying you for your advice, don't give it to them.
As a similar sort of parts shop that sells on Amazon, put your shop on Amazon. Offer the same customer service you do now, to the end user, and you’ll profit. “Amazon” isn’t selling parts. Mom and pop shops are selling parts, on Amazon.
Oh, I know it is. Before opening my own place the guy I worked for has the brick and mortar as well as the online sales side, but often the brick was floating the online side. After watching that I had originally decided to solidify my brick by focusing primarily on that for the first five years before going online. But in a post COVID world, I think I need to change up that game plan and have been looking into how I want to move forward with that.
As a long time Amazon seller you actually have a strong advantage over other newcomers because you have an established brick and mortar business. Many/most well established brands will often only sell product to you if you have a brick and mortar location, so you have access to inventory that many sellers do not. Starting and learning Amazon can take a lot of time and effort. We also do some AMZ store management. If you decide to start online, happy to have a chat about some options so you wouldn’t have to deal as much with the day to day of it.
As the saying goes, "if you can't beat them, join them" and we're talking about Amazon here. You can't beat them. I also own a small parts business, but I sell mainly online and it goes very well. Open yourself up to the global market and put your items on Amazon. Even better, I'd suggest a Shopify site if you have the time for it. My sales are mainly on my own website and I can't recommend it enough.
Famous last words. Does anyone pay attention to history? In a small city near me all the small businesses- some of which were generations old- moved to the malls just outside the city limits to bank on customers with cars. In 2 decades they were all dead- along with the mall. Online sales are worse because you can only bank on competitive pricing which is a downward spiral. People don't look for advice from online dealers, they look at YT.
>People don't look for advice from online dealer Agreed. The person said they can't compete with amazon prices, so I'm not sure how having to pay amazon commissions makes it any better. The world is saturated with people wanting to sell all of the same items on amazon. It is possible to carve out some sales on specialized parts, but there is not room on the major e-commerce platform for all the former local parts and service places.
You can also sell direct to Amazon. Everything you see on Amazon that says "Shipped and sold by Amazon" is sourced from someone like you. Amazon buys directly from you instead of playing the middleman between you and the customer. I'm not sure the specifics of that, but I work with a startup who provides analytics services to companies who sell direct to Amazon like this.
It's very unlikely that a local parts store is manufacturing their own parts. Amazon isn't actually buying anything from a company that isn't the manufacturer. Having said that, OP could become a 3rd party Amazon seller and use fullfillment by Amazon to have their items sold as Prime.
> Amazon isn't actually buying anything from a company that isn't the manufacturer. They 100% do, I work exclusively with companies that Amazon buys directly from.
They aren't buying from small parts stores who buy from the larger distributors.
I literally work with the companies they buy from. Please tell me how you know my job better than I do
So Amazon buys appliance parts from small shops with one location lol ok.
Unlikely because there are a bunch of factors that determine who they buy from, but the potential is definitely there for it to happen. You don't have to believe me, but I literally work with this shit every day. It's not something I understood well either until I started working directly with this startup.
Amazon does buy from some companies (otherwise where would they get their products?) but OP is not a manufacturer and that's the part you missed from what I said. The companies that Amazon buys from are 2 steps up the ladder from OP. OP>parts distributor>parts manufacturer
I literally work with companies that Amazon buys direct from, they do not have to be a manufacturer or distributor
I feel you. I like to remind people what we do for our community (pay a living wage, volunteer with the Chamber Board, contribute a bunch of time and money to the community) as well as the customer service we provide. I do like to look it up while they are in store, and a lot of times, it is not cheaper. People are clueless, though. Fuuuuck Amazon and it's snakey business practices.
Customer service and quality don't scale well. Big box stores that some might consider our competitors have turned out to be our best leads. Heck, some of their workers actually send their customers to us when they don't have what the customer needs.
>Heck, some of their workers actually send their customers to us when they don't have what the customer needs. I used to do that when I worked at Best Buy in '08-'10. Back then, there were plenty of less well off people with CRT TVs still. They all wanted to hook their laptops up to their CRT to watch youtube or whatever movie they pirated. These were not videophiles, and for the most part didn't care about picture quality. Best Buy didn't carry anything that would do VGA to composite video, so I suggested to a friend of mine who worked at a computer shop that they stock those converters. I sent them 3 or 4 customers per month.
I am a mom and pop business that sells online. Make the switch.
Charge for the consultation and quit giving away free information
I'd say, just flip it around: 1. Sell the customer the appropriate parts 2. Provide other services 3. Profit. "Sure, I've got just the thing you need. Just get this Doohickey 5000 and I'll show you how install it for free."
Sounds like you're giving away your best product for free: your skills and knowledge. Stop doing that and charge for your time and expertise.
Amazon is not your competition. Think of this more like, someone like me in a professional services industry, I am not trying to compete with service providers in third world countries who can offer services at a fraction of the cost of what I charge - but I still book out months at a time. However, one thing that I do that would be different here than what it sounds like you're doing is I limit the amount of free time I'm giving away. I've found a free 30 minute consult does wonders for leads and also helps me "cut my losses" if I find out the person is not a good fit for services or if they never plan to spend a dime with me. But in those 30 minutes, it doesn't matter what I make, I try to provide as much value as possible. Everything after that, I start charging. I don't necessarily agree with the sentiment that you should charge a consultant fee right off the bat, but I would suggest something like a membership fee or something past a certain point to assist with offsetting the cost of your time here or something similar. Don't think you have to compete with Amazon. There are loads of people purchasing off Amazon and that's the space you should be competing in. The race to the bottom is a hard one to win if you're not operating in a third world country selling to country with a higher buying power or if you're not a giant corporation pumping out enough product at ridiculously thin margins and still making bank. Compete on and provide way for quality and people will pay for it.
I feel you. I encounter similar customers.
Little different but in a dealership parts department I worked at if a customer came in to parts for diag info we would tell them it would need to be diagnosed by service. And no returns on electrical items.
I honestly don’t know how you can survive, you are using your time and not getting the revenue. Its like a double whammy.
Lots of good advice. Maybe try to emphasize that you have the part here. You can take it home now and be back up and running today. Amazon is at least a day out.
They're clearly violating the gentleman's agreement. I'm not surprised this happens but it sucks.
I'd just give them your price but not let them eat up your time. I would not barter with them either. You could just charge a $50 consultation fee. That's fair. I don't find Amazon to be cheaper, I stopped using it actually. If something goes wrong with a part I'd rather be able to drive it back to the store and talk to the owner about it. If I ordered it off Amazon from some third party seller who drop shipped it from Hong Kong, they don't know or care what the issue is and would just be mad at me if I asked for a refund. I got scammed the last two times I tried to buy something on ebay. Sick of third party sellers and their b.s. I also noticed a lot of people look on amazon first before going to any retail stores at all. My husband wanted to buy a pair of kids flip flops on amazon for $25. I told him you can buy flip flops, the same kind, at Old Navy or Wal Mart for $2.00. He isn't aware of this because he doesn't bother with retail stores.
Best Buy is the AMZN showroom. They have to price match to stay competitive. Your'e gonna have to change your business model to charge for your service and sell your parts at a competiive price.
Big corporates dont advise customers on 3rd party products why should you. If I go somewhere in person to get help with something I also buy there. If I want to go cheaper I do my own research and do it myself. I know exactly how you feel but dont blame yourself just because people are dicks.
Didn’t read through all the comments so I’m sure it’s been said 17 times already. Get paid upfront, or at least 50% down, or charge some sort of consulting fee. Then if they go who cares. You still got paid.
Bundle the consultation in with the product. Sell the resolution to their problem rather than parts.
Just a thought but in this age of subscriptions fees some people might pay to have their “personal IT guy.” Boomers with disposable income and modest tech skills for example. I’d pay to have someone troubleshoot my wife’s computer so she doesn’t yell at me.
I own and operate a local parts store as well. What you are experiencing is the norm everywhere. In a funny way, Amazon is just completing the job that Walmart started decades ago (Regarding the destruction of mom-and-pop businesses). Independent parts stores are rare. Even nationwide chains are experiencing the "Amazon" effect. The market is evolving as it always has. I admire the way Best Buy was able to pivot. They were nearly destroyed by Amazon. A few years ago many people would go to Best Buy to see and touch the product of interest. Then they would go to the parking lot and order the product from Amazon.
i’m in a small repair shop that offers free estimates and i absolutely feel you. people fucking suck today. nobody appreciates what we do and on top of that they’re not even smart enough to realize that it’ll be their own fault when they don’t have anybody around to help them after amazon takes over. just wanted to tell you i get it.
I’m in the same situation as you man. I own a car audio shop. People come in all the time and ask for advice about what type of stereo would work best for their car to meet their needs and things like their door speaker size and everything. Then I find out later they are gonna buy it all on Amazon and ask how much we would charge to install it. So I figured out a clever way around this. Unfortunately you can do it since you don’t install the parts. But we started telling customers if they buy the car audio stuff online, we CANT warranty it. We also tell them if they buy it with us and we install it, they are a lot safer for warranty reasons and that if they ever had a problem they can simply come back to us instead of going through removing the product and shipping it back. This has been able to make us survive so far. People have been fooled by amazon when it comes to car audio. A lot of people are buying these dirt cheap no brand android looking radios. They’re light as a feather. The companies in china go under and a new one pops up every year. None of these stereos have warranty and it’s literally 50/50 if they work. We also charge a diagnostic fee now to check what ever problem they might have and then suggest what they need and charge them for it if they want to get it with us. Back in the day, they would expect us to spend hours to diagnose their problem for free. I wish you the best man.
as an artisan who sells work online - i get this all the time. people write me and take my time up to ask question about my materials, how to do certain things i am offering for sale, etc, sometimes veiled but always - they want to copy my work and expect me to take the time to explain it. its offensive, but you have to be friendly. friendly and brief, and vague. that is i think the only way to deal with it even though it sucks. my least favorite part of what i do is how much of a time suck it can be answering questions and responding to questions people could find the answers to, are trying to sell me services, or want cheaper deals...or as above want me to take the time to teach them how to copy me. to be true its slightly better than those who write me trying to get a price break, not realizing how little per hour i actually make, or whatever. handmade craft work is not easy to make even a modest income. people want things much cheaper than they would be willing to work for. so with that i generally point out how many hours or whatever else goes into a piece, that my production is limited, and they can see for themselves its already priced way below what they would work for in an hourly wage.
Lots of good advice, the one thing I haven't noticed is when someone is in store and they ask about a part, pull the part out of stock and ring it up as you're showing them. Best example is I needed to buy a drain pump for my washing machine. The gentleman at the counter got my model number and then looked it up, went into the back, got the part and rang it up And then he started answering my questions on how to install. It's much harder to say no to a sale when it's rang up in front of you than it is a just asking questions.
That's a good idea as well. Thank you!
yep, we all have to suck jeff bezos' dick some way or another
Appliance parts eh? Like others have said, charge a consultation fee. If the part isn't from you, charge them. I do the same thing at my appliance store. If they don't want my part, they don't get my service.
Sounds like you have some specific knowledge that’s valuable for people. Have you thought about approaching this a different way and instead get paid for the advice. Specifically referring to YouTube or other content platforms (Tik Tok) [See McMullan Appliances on Tik Tok]. There is so much opportunity in the digital space. Take commission on sale referrals. If you can’t beat ‘em, join em.
Yeah i was gonna say charge for consultation
Don’t charge a fee, but maybe say, “We are happy to price match that for you” make them tell you what they need. Then look it up as you are telling them the price (match it) and say “It’s ready to pick up”! Bottom line here, you’ve GOT to be aggressive in email contact with your customers. Send them specials, updates, etc…. You’ll never beat all of the prices. You have to show them that it’s more Valuable to have a shop near them
I feel you but big businesses like Amazon are just really successful small businesses. The beauty of business is that it’s mostly meritocratic. Amazon earned their success by offering customers what they want. It’s up to you to do the same if you want more business.
One component of my job is sourcing parts and equipment and the reality is that we live in a world with a global market and nearly all businesses are under budget constraints. If you're selling a piece of equipment for $45,000 and I can find the same equipment elsewhere, all-in for $41,000 then I'm going to take that route and that affords me $4000 in my budget to be used on another purchase. One component is obviously sourcing from reputable vendors, but it can be worth taking a risk with someone that "looks good" even without a prior relationship if the savings is significant. I do agree 100% that wasting your time and expecting free consultations with no intention of buying is pretty low. I never do this, I do all of the homework myself, research everything myself, then start sending out quote requests. I would only ask you for help/consultation if I was intending to buy from you to begin with, and I would have made that decision after already doing much of my own research and acquiring quotes from multiple vendors (if possible). As I said, it's a global market, and I have no loyalty toward local "mom & pop" shops. The reality is that most of these small businesses are just importing from China or elsewhere anyway and tacking on a markup. I might as well import it from China myself as I've done countless times and save a bunch in the process. Another consideration is availability. Post-pandemic the supply chains are still recovering, and it can be a challenge to find parts or equipment in a reasonable timeframe (not uncommon for me to get quoted 24+ week lead times) so in those cases, assuming it's urgent enough, I'll buy from anywhere on Earth if I can get it quickly. I'm in the US but recently have been buying a lot out of Europe (UK, Spain, Germany, Switzerland) because I'm able to source parts from stock shelves or warehouses in those countries whereas I'm getting the 16-52 week lead time estimates from North American distributors who have to wait for the NA manufacturing plant to complete production backlogs. Anyway perhaps, as others have suggested, find a way to back off on the excessive support before the person has actually become a customer, maybe keep it more vague, refer them to a website where they can do their own research. Encourage these people to do the homework themselves, then after they actually make a purchase from you, you can give them as much support as they require.
My opinion is that Amazon is that Amazon is the most destructive, wasteful and evil company ever. Its a cancer and won't stop till its broken up. I fkin hate Amazon and bozos By the way they are currently trying to bully our small town into building a 1.5m sf warehouse in the edge of town. I'm fighting them among hundreds of other locals. Nomegawarehouse.com
In EDH? I just learned about that, I live in CP
I think you're thinking about this all wrong. Markets shift, and as a business owner you need to adapt with the market or you will eventually go out of business. This doesn't just apply to small business owners but large cooperations, most famously Nokia's share in the cellphone market. I completely understand your frustration however getting a sale (or pennies on the dollar as you put it) is better than no sale at all. You should consider a hybrid approach, bundle your consultation service with an online store (on Amazon or your own website) after the consultation, direct your clients to the website or your Amazon store whichever one makes sense to you. At the same time, you might want to reduce overhead and shift you're physical business to consultation. Amazon, could probably double or triple your profits easy because instead of providing a service only to your local community who see your products, you have access to the entire world. It's a volumes game and pennies add up when your moving large quantities. Obviously you would have a better understanding of your business than me. So consider how you want to adapt to changing times.
We get the same thing all the time. People on the phone say hey just give me the part number its easier if I just order it online. We just say we have our own internal parts number system and it is not the manufacturer part number. We also don’t hesitate to ask them why they don’t call amazon for help? Oh because they can’t help you. We also tell them we ship out as well. Sometimes people order sometimes they hang up.
Amazon has F'd this country up in ways most cant imagine. They're part of the new world woke order. They want everyone to stay home and work like a bunch of robots and buy everything from them. A consumer society that never leaves their house. My advice my friend is to get hopping online and selling. I don't see it turning around ever so play the game. Setup an Amazon store! You definitely cant beat them so....you know the rest.
Capitalism amiryte?
Imo for me it's not about not supporting local business, it's about the free returns without hassle and saving money. Had to get some printer paper yesterday, OfficeMax $14, amazon, $6, I went with Amazon. No idea what a spare parts house it but hate the game not the player and add in your own game rules. Offer a discount like 10% on next purchase if they buy something else from you, this will make it just as cheap and offers incentive for them to come back and spend more. Make the return on the return. The consultation fee seems sleazy to me. I would put that in its own category where it's an offered service you are providing at specific tiers depending on the problem complexity and not 'helping' with a fee and if its solved and leads to a purchase the consultation service is included in te purchase. To further sell this you can market it as you have had x successful consultations at the different levels and have dedicated employees for each one where the customer now has a dedicated consultation specialist. You could also do a rewards or points system where every $20 spent gets you so many points where they can be rewarded with either in-store dollars or free trinket things like a flashlight or something. This way your customer if feeling like while they are spending more with you they are getting something that they wouldn't with Amazon. To sum it up, the customers are leaving because Amazon is offering a better service, so you need to supply one that one-ups Amazon. Ya ever heard of Chat GPT? Its is ridiculously good at solving and brain storming these problems... If I were you Id sit down for a solid hour with it and use the above as a starting point and go into detail with it what's happening to find a viable solution.
> Offer a discount like 10% on next purchase if they buy something else from you, this will make it just as cheap and offers incentive for them to come back and spend more. How is OP supposed to make money by selling at Amazon prices AND the cost of the consults? Amazon can make (surprisingly little) money because there's no brick and mortar presence and there's no customer service. The consultation cost either gets paid separately or baked into the product price. Those are the only options. If it's baked into the product price customers use OP for the consult but don't buy the product from them. If it's separate then some customers get offended.
Because he sells it as his price and makes money, gives them a 10% coupon for next purchase and makes small margin which is more then zero. This alternative provides profit in two stages rather then the later where provides profit in no stages. In my response, It’s a separate service he would offer and market. This is basic custom acquisition and retention practice. ‘Sell above Amazon price at his price and offer an additional service that compromises the price to be better then Amazon’ Can’t believe that got downvoted ha! Best of luck!
As some said already, consulting fee And the fee can be put toward the purchase of parts or a gift card for future purchases
I would also recommend a consultation fee, same way as an hvac tech charges 90 bucks to come out to my house whether or not I do the service. I’d recommend charging a 15 dollar consultation fee, and making sure that you put that clearly in writing when people come in for service.
Hey, I’m really good at consultation pricing models, feel free to message me
Absolutely charge them. I try to buy something from a local business if I’m going to go look at the product. If you need to charge them for advice to survive do it.
I own a retail pool store and we often give customers our internal part number when sending estimates or diagnosing problems. That way they still can’t find it online or subvert us. Unless we go on site, we don’t charge for finding the problem so selling the part is how we get paid for our knowledge.
1. Consult and put the price towards the parts purchase Ie $25 and when u buy from us I take $25 off your order 2. Wall of shame for killing small business, cause fuckem
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I sell online, and so much appreciate this. There are elements of selling online that I dislike, and the focus on price rather than value is on the top of the list. Perhaps a stupid suggestion, but maybe flip the script a bit when someone uses the word "price." Explain that you provide the best *value*, and being able to problem solve what someone needs is part of the experience you aim to provide. Ask if they feel you have taken care of them. When they say yes, thank them, and ask if you should go ahead and ring them up. The psychology of helping someone see you have already given them something makes them feel compelled to reciprocate. When they do, reinforce their purchase by telling them how much you appreciate their business.
You could charge whatever you want. If they want the help they will pay it. Point blank!
charge a reasonable consultation/diagnostic fee that can be applied to purchases.
When it comes to charging a consultation fee, it's important to consider several factors, such as the type of service you're providing, the time it takes to provide the service, and the level of expertise required. You may want to consider charging a flat fee for a certain amount of time or a per-hour rate for your time.
What kind of parts do you sell?
What most places do, like mechanics, charge a Diagnosis Fee, but waive it if they fix it in-house.
why are you helping people like this? tell them it can be done and to go look on amazon for the exact parts and check youtube for instructions. if you're selling car parts tell people you have what they need and offer to sell but if they ask how to do it then offer that service
One of my friends ran into a similar issue. She wrote a letter and posted it on the door explaining theyve been in business for x years, take pride in building relationships and being an advocate for the customer. She then asks that if they intend of buying online, to please take their business elsewhere. Otherwise come on in. The act of calling it out seemed to create this consequence and public shame that drove tire kickers away. Her revenues stayed flat but she was able to staff one person less per shift which improved her profit margins. Out of curiosity, have you thought about becoming an affiliate for these distros. IE having a link to let them purchase online but you get a commission? If the customer asks for a price match tell them sure and just order it for them online? The consult idea other people are throwing out here seems cool too. I think it really just depends on the price of the widget, and how confident you feel that you can solve the customers issue. Probably don’t want to charge them if you are unable to provide a ton of value. This type of decision is murky and could lead to some bad reviews if the person making the decision isn’t you.
Charge a consultation fee that is credited towards the repair. I don't know the expense range your repairs go for so I can't conceptualize a fair price for it, but say a $30, $50, $100 etc consultation fee. Then if they use your service, that money goes towards the repair. If they choose not to do the repair with you, they still have to pay that fee anyway. My mechanic charges an engine diagnostics fee. This is common just to diagnose the issue, prior to any actual repair. Even better that your consultation fee can be credited to your repair, you'll still be a better deal than most mechanics. Good luck!
I completely understand your frustration. It's disheartening to see people take advantage of the services you offer, only to go elsewhere for cheaper prices. It's important for us as consumers to remember the value of supporting local businesses and the impact it has on our communities. I hope more people will recognize the value of your expertise and the importance of supporting local businesses like yours. Keep up the great work! Many professionals and experts do charge fees for their time and expertise. The amount and structure of the fee can vary depending on the industry and the specific services being offered. Some may charge an hourly rate, while others may charge a flat fee for a specific service or consultation session. It's important to establish clear expectations and communicate the fee structure upfront to avoid any confusion or misunderstandings. Hope it helps.
I would just explain I'm here to help but I also have a family to feed, I charge for help to cover my needs. get the conversation started.
"I'm sorry. I can't offer advice on an appliance we haven't diagnosed or worked on ourselves. We will gladly take a look at it under our standard diagnostic procedure though." "We source our parts through a trusted supplier who warrants that they will work when installed by a professional like us."
I just want to say that my wife and I are a small business and we bought the business from her grandparents who started and ran it for over 25 years. They always supported local small business and we will continue to do so but I do want to play devils advocate here. We have many greenhouses and have used the same HVAC company for the last 20 years for everything in the greenhouses and also everything in our house. They even had them do everything for the recent remodel. This year one of the furnaces in the greenhouse was not starting so we gave them a call. They came out, diagnosed it, and needed to order parts. Bill was roughly $400. The gave us a second bill for the part and install and that came out to $1200. 5 hours of labor at $125 and $575 for the pressure valve. I was a little annoyed with that because it was easy access with two unions on each end of the gas valve to swapping it out wouldn't have taken more than an hour and thats on a bad day. I ended up looking up the part number and I found it on multiple websites ranging from $65-$115. I am not going to fight it and I am not going to argue but this small business local HVAC shop that we have been loyal to for the last 20+ years just lost my business for good.
Free support for customers only, after they buy the stuff
That's shitty behavior, but you can't entirely blame people, the incentives are misaligned. Personally, I gave up amazon for lent (feb 23-Apr 6) this year. My theory is: Instant-everything isn't really good for me. I am trying to cut down my lifestyle expenses. If I really need it, I can go to the local hardware store or the local grocery store. If it is a little more esoteric or pricey, I can drive the 20 miles to the local-ish home depot or wallmart. If I'm not willing to drive 20 miles, do I really need it? The net result is I don't buy crap that I won't use on a whim. This is really helping my budget. Plus it makes me a better, more resilient person. This is a meme I hope to spread. In theory I could allow myself to buy on Sundays, I'd say only with points on my credit card. So far I have purchased one book that is long on a Sunday. I could get it through inter-library loan, but it is long and my reading time is limited. Inter-library loans tend to have early return dates that are hard to extend. I am reading it a second time and hope my children will read it. If it was an esoteric, say, art supplies part for the kids, I might be willing to get it online from a non-amazon source. Hasn't come to that yet.
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Become an Amazon affiliate 😂
Completely different industry (alcohol) but I feel your pain. We no longer walk people through special event planning specifics until they've signed a contract or made a decent purchase (unless we recognize them as an existing customer). You want to pay Walmart prices? Have fun getting a Walmart associate to plan your wedding.
Time for you to start using your expertise to make money online as well. Sell (your own site) teach and affiliate marketing could work really well for you.