I don't really have a pony in this race, but....
Look, I don't list prices on my site. I figure if a potential customer is interested in my product, he/she/it will contact me. However, when that potential customer does contact me (via phone, email, mental telepathy, etc), I'm not going to be rude or short to them, even if I don't really need their business.
I'm not dogging on Bill, and I know he's a good guy to those of you who use him, taking care of what his customers need reliably and swiftly. But bad manners are just that, and there's no quicker way to turn off a potential customer. No...forget that it's even a customer. If another man dismissed me like that, it's going to get my inner bear shook up. Maybe that's just my frail male ego talking. But the way I see it: have respect for your fellow man unless they show that they don't deserve it. But at least give them a chance to justify rudeness before dishing it out.
--nathan
Gotta say... well said. I know that the knife makers and ancillary manufacturers here think they live and work in an environment that is completely different than any place else.
Not so.
If you went in a well recommended restaurant full of helpful people, anticipating to eat fine meal and they snipped you off when you asked what prime rib cost and told you to
order or get out, what would you do? Would you chuckle and tell your friends that you knew they were doing the best they could? Would you have an excuse for the restaurant? I hope the parallel is obvious of a case maker and a restaurant.
You could substitute car dealership, health care provider, roofer, banker, etc. I can't imagine ordering a knife from a dealer or a maker and have him
refuse to tell me what it would cost, considering that it is something he could probably ball park off the top of his head.
I have a small contracting business, and have been in business for many years now. While customers try my patience sorely from time to time, I never forget they pay my bills. When you have an email exchange as posted above, it is obvious he doesn't need more work, want more work, or that he cares about your business.
I get busy, I have too much to do (what small production company doesn't?) and in this economy I may literally stop sawing boards to answer my company phone (forwarded to my cell) while working on a jobsite. But I am not rude to my clients, EVER. I ask them to call back, or I take their number down, or stop what I am doing to talk to them.
After all, it's how I make my living. I am in a service/manufacturing business. They can go anywhere they want, and will. And I figure since I am certainly not the cheapest guy to have repair or remodel your home or office, I should take a moment to make my pitch, especially if it is my first contact.
I don't like rude people and have a bad tendency to call the out on the carpet and try to humiliate them if I am having a bad day. It burns off steam. They make nice targets.
In this case though, I am thinking that hurt feelings and being pissed off is completely out of place. Just go somewhere else. Bill won't know you did and probably wouldn't care if you did, he won't miss the business and or the sale. If he has plenty of work, good for him! Since he obviously takes care of some of the folks he works with, maybe he should concentrate on his core group, and just tell folks he isn't taking anymore orders right now.
Find someone you can work with to get product, service and price and don't let the other guys get under your skin.
As always, just my 0.02.
Robert
and told him I wanted to order a couple cases for my big knives. He asked about the rest of my knives, I said I'd just use the cheap cases for them. He said he would replace all my cheap cases with his free of charge if I'd throw all those others in the trash. Been using Bill since and no shipping troubles.
