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RedTacoDriver

Sales Blackhole Event Horizon

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I have been trying to upgrade my cutter.  I want to remain a direct US Cutter direct customer but it is getting harder and harder to justify that want.  First the cutter I have been looking at has been out of stock for about a month.  When I tried to use the online chat app on the US Cutter website I was given vague and conflicting information.  So after a couple of weeks of the run around I contacted the sales department directly.  After a short wait I got online with a person who gave me a date and quantity that would arrived of my coveted cutter and asked me to wait with patience.  I asked why they were able to show these units available on eBay from US Cutter but I was not able to order them direct and was given a vague and confusing answer.  So I waited with patience and when the date arrive that the cutters should have arrived was yet again disappointed.  So again I called the sales line and waited and waited and waited and waited and gave up.  I had lost all confidence in the chat app.   I began to have a suspicion that the units that were supposed to have arrived got use for fulfillment of the eBay orders but I decided to give it just one more try.  So I called and almost immediately got a sales person.  Again after checking I was told that there would be about a 10 day delay as they were going to arrive in Nashville over the weekend or the early part of next week followed by how he really wanted to keep my business etcetera and so on.

 

Here is my big disconnect from this.  There is a larger version of the same cutter that I am looking at taking pre-orders when I was told that US Cutter did not do such a thing.  The cutter I want is being presold on eBay with a delivery date showing.  While they all said they wanted my business they didn't ask why I didn't just buy it on eBay (I have an order that I was wish-listing until I could make a single shipment order) or was there an offer to give me incentive to "wait with patience" until their shipment came in.  As a matter of fact for all of their words they really didn't make it feel like they valued me as a customer.

 

Now here is a wonderful idea.  If they can put a wish list for products they have in stock, why cant they put a button for a wait list for those products the don't have currently.  Customer care could give an email blast occasionally with updates and everyone would be better served. Also if there was a long delay and someone was willing to hold on until they got what they wanted rather than settling for what was available, they should be given some sort of incentive as a reward for their customer loyalty. 

 

It should be noted that this is a competitive market with a lot of different choices.  Loyalty in this market is often to the cheapest price rather than to a certain distributor.  And there is always the siren allure of the trade show hucksters who tell you that if you can't find what you want "I have an even better machine at a lower price...." 

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You are only 3 hours away you should tell them your just gong to come up there an open a can of whoop-ass on them. Ha ha! I assume you are waiting on one of the Titans? Personally I would fork over the extra to get into a Graphtec (and I don't even own one so I'm not trying to sell you one). The extra cost while initially painful will pay off over the long haul particularly if you ever decide you want to upgrade to something else and try and sell it. You can sell used Graphtec's about as fast as you can write up a craigslist add. 

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I would buy a Graphtec if I had the extra $500 laying around.  I may still if I have to wait much longer but the question is if I am going to buy a non-US cutter machine do I stick with them or take my business elsewhere? 

 

And yes I had looked at them but it makes my liquidity awful lean until mid summer.   Also I am going from the hobby stage to a more business stage in my vinyl work.  

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I would buy a Graphtec if I had the extra $500 laying around.  I may still if I have to wait much longer but the question is if I am going to buy a non-US cutter machine do I stick with them or take my business elsewhere? 

 

And yes I had looked at them but it makes my liquidity awful lean until mid summer.   Also I am going from the hobby stage to a more business stage in my vinyl work.  

I hear ya. Cash flow kinda sucks sometimes. 

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I would buy a Graphtec if I had the extra $500 laying around.  I may still if I have to wait much longer but the question is if I am going to buy a non-US cutter machine do I stick with them or take my business elsewhere? 

 

And yes I had looked at them but it makes my liquidity awful lean until mid summer.   Also I am going from the hobby stage to a more business stage in my vinyl work.  

 

All the more reason to get the "more business like" equipment.

 

Just my opinion...

Sue2

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Good questions.  Here's answers.  (Not good ones - but honest.)

1) Why can't our website do pre-orders, etc?    We've been using our current ecommerce back-end since we were pretty much a start-up.  It's been good to us, but we've outgrown it to the point it's getting kind of painful. Our new platform has to be compatible with the back-end software from our corporate owner (Laird Plastics) and that means we have to work with their IT department to get the implementation done.  It's been slow and painful as they have 54 companies all working to get onto this platform and we're waiting out turn.  The new system is much better, but it will probably be Christmas before we're productive in it.

Someone made the analogy that changing ecommerce platforms is like trying to build a new foundation for your house while you're living in it.  I'd say that's a flawed analogy, but it's the right idea.  If they said "trying to build a new foundation for your house while you entertain 7 to 800 customers a day in it" that might be closer to the truth.

2) Not getting some straight answers.  We lost our purchasing manager about 3 weeks ago to P&G.  The guy left with no warning and he was the one who traffic'd incoming shipments on major equipment.  We know the stuff is in containers headed here, but to a certain extent, we don't have 100% confirmation on what's going to be here when until we get final notification from US Customs.  The probably will fix itself as the new purchasing manager gets up to speed, but my goodness has this been painful.

Such are the struggles of a fast growing company.  I do apologize for the issues, but there you go.

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Again I point out that you are currently doing pre-orders on the Titan 3 54", so I don't quite buy that.  Secondly, while losing your purchasing manager to another business can be the sign of internal disagreement, it doesn't mean that you lost the rest of the purchasing department.  Again I am not quite buying the whole bolt here that this was cut from.  I think a better answer should be forthcoming.

 

As to your first point, I am sorry that you are a growing company.  It must just suck to have that much business.  But if you don't try to take care of your customers in a manner that keeps them happy maybe by Christmas you will be a small company again and your current ecommerce software will be just right sized for you.  Since you have an email server, there is no software problem in setting up a list of customers who are interested in currently unavailable products and providing them with updates, alternatives, or incentives to keep your business growing.  It is just plain good customer service and costs you little.

 

As someone who is just starting my own business I draw upon my years in customer service working for others.  I know that return customers make up the bulk of sales.  They are the best advertising of your brand and your business.  Drive them away and there are dozens of others who will jump at a chance to serve them.  I also remember the rule of ten in sales.  Each customer is impacts for good or bad ten people who only know you from the customer's transaction.  Good contacts travel at the speed of sound while bad contacts travel at the speed of light.

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There is only so much you can voice to folks that do not want to hear it.  I did decide to upgrade and go with the Graphtec machine.  It just means that I will not have money to buy more vinyl for a while so I will live with what I have.  Also my purchase went to another dealer who offered me a better deal than I could have gotten through US Cutter.  After reading reviews of the Graphtec machine I realized the problem with it when purchased through US Cutter is that they give just as good of customer service after the sale as they do during the sales process.  While I may still make purchases there, I will temper it and purchase things that may not require interaction outside of the website as I have come away with a cold and dismal view of their customer service.

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