letter from peter's heat treating

M

manassas dragon

Joined
Dec 3, 2009
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158
i got a letter from peter's heat treating asking for credit card info for them to keep on file. i can only surmise that somebody has stiffed them. part of the charm of my prior dealings with them was that they would finish the blade,send them to me ,and then bill me later. i have always appreciated that doing business within the knife making community was that you are doing business with upright,honest,and stalwart folks. perhaps it isn't necessarily so. too bad.
 
I'm sure they have been stiffed more then once. Sounds logical to me to do this. Now they just need to list some kind of pricing structure on their website.
 
I got the same letter, and I have had work done by them, so I think it's a legit letter. Still, I'm not going to give someone a credit card before I actually need to use it with them. To ask for a credit card when I have no pending order with them is in bad taste and will probably keep me from working with them in the future. It's a shame, because they did a nice job on the work I sent them.
 
They didn't send me one, but they already have my card on file. :D

This is the way things will continue to move. Not because of Peters, but the small business climate in this country.
 
I don't think it's in bad taste, it's the smart thing to do.

If they didn't do that they would have to raise their prices so you pay the extra to cover the losses from the deadbeats.

Or bump the rate an extra $50 on the base minimum charge to handle the overhead time to handle invoicing and AR


It costs the same to process your $100 invoice and check as it does a $10,000 one.
 
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I didn't get the letter, probably because they already have my info. I am not offended by it. I would guess that their accounting department is just trying to keep their books straight. They are running a business, providing jobs and keeping the whole economy going.

Stop for a second and think of the payroll and electric bills they have to meet every month, so they can provide us with truly outstanding service. I'll hazard a guess and say that knifemakers like us are a fairly small percentage of their customers. Frankly, we're pretty lucky that they serve us.

They have always been completely honest and more than fair with me. By keeping their billing under control, they're saving us money and keeping people on the job, without cutting corners on the services we need.
 
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Peter's HT is one of my best vendors. There are plenty of heat treat shops here is Charlotte, yet I send Peter's the majority of the stuff that I don't do myself. They don't make many mistakes and their attention to detail is phenomenal. They represent an excellent value and resource for us and I for one am grateful for them.

After years of working as a design engineer at a large contract manufacturer and being exposed to many various vendors of various things of this nature I can make couple observations here. One, they were quite unusual in extended credit to various unknown makers and hobbyists, I was very surprised about that. And two, a shop of that caliber that is even willing to work with the random general public like they do is uncommon. I don't. There are too many nitwits and daydreamers that can slowly sink your ship if you're not very careful operating that way.

Anyone who feels slighted about needing a card on file should try operating a real business in the real world for a little while.
 
I'm in favor of it. Makes the whole transaction faster. Much more efficient way of paying for services.
 
I'm cool with it- I'd rather pay the $100 or whatever upfront OR upon shipping rather than try to remember to pay later on.
 
I'm fine with it too. Makes life easier, actually. I spoke to them on Monday about it, and I think they've been stiffed a few times, which is why they're doing this now, apart from making their lives a little bit easier.

I love working with them - Brad and crew are phenomenal at what they do, and they make it very easy to do business with them.
 
I was also surprised at their 'honor' billing system. I'm sure there are more than a few knifemakers out there who owe them money. I never understood why they didn't get paid upfront or at least notify customers when their order was ready and ship after receiving payment.

As someone who's had their Credit/Debit card compromised a few times (and dealing with the hassle that goes along with setting a new one up), I don't allow any company to keep my CC info on file voluntarily. I'm sure there are a few that do it without asking, but I'll take a few minutes to pay online or over the phone.

Do any of you know where your CC info is stored at their location? Is on the Secretaries desk cpu or on a mainframe server? Maybe they store it at an online storage site or do they do it Old School and write it down and file it away (yeah right)? What type of security do they have at their location and what type of security are they using to protect your info? I'm not pointing a finger at Peters, I'm trying to get people to "think" before blindly giving their financial info out. I'm still amazed at how many people will freely give out sensitive info even after all the warnings they see/hear regarding the disadvantages of doing so.
 
I got the letter.....no problems here. I've had a card on file with them per my request ever since I started doing business with them. When my orders are finished, Linda charges my account and sends me an invoice. I think it's the best way to go. They are ensured payment for their services, and I don't have to worry about sending payment. I'm busy enough in the shop so any time I can take steps to make less work for myself it's a good thing. I'm all for it.
 
ron_m80 said:
They didn't send me one, but they already have my card on file. :D

This is the way things will continue to move. Not because of Peters, but the small business climate in this country.
Click to expand...

Ron, I couldn't tell from your post.....do you think the small business climate in this country is positive or negative right now? Just curious. I actually think that's it's positive at the moment and there are more tools than ever out there now that help the small guys streamline things and compete.
 
After being in business for 40 years you need to know who your loyal customers are and cater to them. There are some people who will take advantage and spoil it for everybody. By protecting yourself you are helping the business community. They should publish a list of burners so it would make them think twice before doing it.
 
It also has to do with good business.

Payroll goes out every Friday..... The electric bill comes every month ( I don't even want to think about Peter's electric bill.).....and the postman wants his money up-front for all the boxes shipped out.

Having to wait three or four weeks for the payments to arrive and then for the checks to clear slows things down bad enough, but when things get backed up over 30 days, the delay can hurt you by affecting your available operating budget. Many suppliers/providers get around this by offering a discount for payments made within 7 days. Others have gone to credit card payment or pre-payment only.
 
I got the letter too and am totally fine with it. That is going to be a lot easier than having to remember to write a check.

BTW, I talked to Brad at The Guild Show a couple years ago and he told me their electric bill was around $20,000 each month.
 
jonnymac44 said:
Ron, I couldn't tell from your post.....do you think the small business climate in this country is positive or negative right now? Just curious. I actually think that's it's positive at the moment and there are more tools than ever out there now that help the small guys streamline things and compete.
Click to expand...

I think the small business climate is amazing right now. But the GOV, and the big boys see that already. Thank god knifemaking is a skill and not just an industry.
 
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