"Speechless" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 26 Aug 2005 21:11:35 -0500, me wrote:


Just wondering if this is a widespread issue or if I'm expecting too
much...

I knew I shouldn't have done this, but I purchased a Miller welder online
after contacting the local Miller guys via Miller's website "Request a
Quote/Availability" page. Several days later, they hadn't responded and I
even received an automated email from Miller asking if I had received a
response yet. So, I purchased the unit online. The day after ordering it,
I finally received a response from the local guys.

How many days is "several days"?

In business to business relationships, which includes the purchase of
industrial machinery like welders, a written response to a Request For
Quote (RFQ) within ten days is considered prompt if no deadline for
response is specified. Did you give them sufficient time to respond
before making your purchasing decision?

I would assume that sending and receiving such a request by snail mail, the
ten day turnaround might be considered reasonable, but, in today's world,
where email is almost instantaneous, I'd use the slow (or no) response as an
accurate measure of a commercial firm's interest in its customers. If
nothing else, a quick response of "we received your inquiry and will provide
a proper response in xx hours or days" would have shown that they are
keenly interested in providing good and proper service to those that may
choose to do business with them, and they welcomed the business.

Looks like, at least to me, the "response" he received from the local store
is in keeping with their less than good service---------sort of a "to hell
with the potential customer----we'll show him that he made the right choice
by not doing business with us".

What better way to have convinced this buyer to do business with them than
to have bent over backwards to assure his machine was back in business
quickly, rather than resorting to high school games of making him sorry.
I'd not do business with people with that mindset, even if it cost me more
to go elsewhere. Those damned fools should have been working hard to get
him back, which would have been more what I'd have expected if they were
interested in their customers. He did the right thing avoiding doing
business with them, as would others. From the sound of this problem,
that's one business that should fail, and the sooner, the better.


As a courtesy, it is common business practise to advise, IN WRITING,
those who took the time to respond to your RFQ, why you chose to do
business with someone else, with copies of this communication being
sent to the local sales office, the headoffice, and in some cases, the
manufacturer of the industrial equipment in question -- it helps them
to get their act together and not screw up their next sale.
Is your local dealer fully aware as to why he lost the sale?

Interesting concept, but one I've never encountered. I spent 16 years
bidding on work for my shop and don't recall *ever* receiving a notice from
even one buyer that he had placed his order with a different shop. It
may be a polite way to do business, but it's not practiced where I came from

Harold