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Volume 3, Issue 12 - December, 2008 - © 2009 by Moose Logic, All Rights Reserved
Cover Story: What Copiers Have Taught Us About Business
Holiday Humor
Interview with Glen Gaidos of 3R Technology
Interface For The Win
Moose Logic Coming Events
(Moose Views is a monthly newsletter prepared by Moose Logic to bring you information and tips on maintaining a trouble-free network)
What Copiers Have Taught Us About Business
SHANE KALLES—You may have noticed that last month’s newsletter came out very late, and by very late I mean the November issue got to you on the 1st of December or later. Here’s why, and how it became an object lesson for us.Moose Logic is a small business facing many of the same challenges in our daily operations as other small businesses face. Our most recent obstacle has come in the form of toner, fuser, and paper trays. That’s right, copiers. No, this article is not about which new copier works best for your office, but rather about a lesson in business.
The copier we had (and which we used to print Moose Views) was coming up to the end of its lease and it was time for us to upgrade. We invited the company that held our lease (let’s call them “Company A”) into the office to talk about a new copier. Since we aren’t copier experts, we decided that we should get a second opinion on price, model, etc. So we called in “Company B” to give us a run down of what they could offer.
Needless to say we found ourselves in the middle of a bidding war for our business, that soon came to an explosive end. Company B showed up at our office one afternoon, with no appointment and unannounced, smiling ear to ear. “This just in” they say with excitement. “We have just the deal for you.” They then proceeded to tell us about a copier that would copy, fold, staple, make coffee, fold the laundry, and fix the economy.
Ok, maybe not all of that, but certainly more than we needed. Now as we are thinking we don’t need that much copying power, the bomb is dropped. All this machine, and it costs half of what we were able to offer before.
Half the cost on lease and copies! We were ready to sign there and then, but we gave Company A one more chance to get our business. The reps from Company A arrived and we laid out the details of the offer that Company B was willing to make.
After looking over the info (about 10 sec.) Rep A states, “You do not want this machine, it is more then you need, and you will not be happy with it.” Of course we responded with the playground attitude of a 5th grader: “Yeah, well, look at the price, look at all the buttons. You didn’t offer that price. Your machine doesn’t have those buttons.” To my surprise Rep A looked across the table at me and said, “I can get you a better price on that same machine - we carry that machine as well - but I am not going to sell you that machine because it is not what you want or need.”
Again, this time with more self-indulgent chest puffing, my response was to basically state the price point and the list of useless features. Rep A, still wanting to hold onto the sale but watching it float away from him, sticks to his guns “You will not be happy with that machine, and I will not sell it to you.”
Soon the meeting ended. We parted ways with Company A and decided to do business with Company B. They brought us the best deal and brought it to us as fast as they could with no appointment.
Needless to say, things did not go according to plan, as was obvious from the tardiness of last month’s Moose Views. The machine arrived with missing pieces, broken pieces, and different equipment than what we ordered. When confronted about the laundry list of issues, the rep from Company B said, and I quote, “Sorry.” OK, so you’re sorry, but will this get me the missing items? The response was a simple no.
Maybe I have more patience then others, but I wanted to believe that Company B would do the right thing and fix the issues. So we hung in there, and after about 4 weeks and 6 visits by techs the machine was up and running. Hurray!! Look at all these cool useless features. It was like a new car with an iPod dock, CD changer, cassette player, and 8-track because hey, you might not use them now, but it’s got them just in case.
Feeling a little better about the machine now (if not about Company B) we press on. Moose Views deadlines have come and gone, and we scrambled to get it printed and out the door.
That was when we made a chilling discovery. Our new copier with all of its might and features could not perform a few simple functions. And these functions happened to be the only functions we asked for the machine to have...anything else was a bonus. After a few emails and phone calls it became clear that Company B either wouldn't or couldn’t rectify the situation.
So, with our stubby little moose tails between our legs we crawled back to Company A and asked them to fix it and make it better. The speed of service and level of professionalism from the whole team at Company A has been great, and this month’s Moose Views has been printed with a great new machine from Company A.
Now to my point. Everyone (well, maybe not Company B) knows that the contract is only half the sale, and even if you have been paid, the follow up is just as important—perhaps more so because it shows the type of company you really are. The most striking point for me in this whole mess was the chance that the rep from Company A had to get our business—by giving us what we thought we wanted—but refused to sell us a machine he knew was not right for us. Despite our determination to be like Plaxico Burris and shoot ourselves in the...um...leg...he did not sway in his position even when he knew it was going to cost him the sale.
Here at Moose Logic we know a lot about what we do and the systems we work on, but do not know much about copiers. Still, despite the salesman's best efforts to guide us in the right direction and do what was right for us as a business and not just what was going to get him paid, we dismissed him based on “bells and whistles” at what looked like a great price. We forgot that clichés like, “You get what you pay for,” and “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is,” are clichés for a good reason.
Moose Logic has always viewed itself as a trusted advisor to its clients, and we hope that you see us that way as well. We have standards that we hold ourselves to in our attempts to be the best at what we do. To have the tables turned on us was a amazing experience. We saw first-hand how valuable it is to have someone that we can trust to advise us in an area of business that we do not know or understand.
I can tell you now that when our lease is up again in 3 years there will be one man and one man only— Dalon Wesner of Pacific Office Automation—whom we will call and know that he will do what is right for us. My hope is that we are delivering the same level of support, competence, advise to our clients that we have received from Dalon.
PS: If you would like Dalon’s contact information contact me at: Shane Kalles
Note that Dalon didn’t ask for this endorsement, nor are we getting anything for it. We just think he deserves it.
Holiday Humor
Two young boys were spending the night at their grandparents. At bedtime, the two boys knelt beside their beds to say their prayers when the youngest one began praying at the top of his lungs. "I pray for a new bicycle. I pray for a new Playstation. I pray for a new microscope." His older brother leaned over and nudged the younger brother and said, "Why are you shouting your prayers? God isn't deaf." To which the little brother replied, "No, but Grandma is!"It was Christmas and the judge was in a merry mood as he asked the prisoner, "What are you charged with?" "Doing my Christmas shopping early," replied the defendant. "That's no offense," said the judge. "How early were you doing this shopping?" "Before the store opened," countered the prisoner.
A four-year-old boy was asked to give the meal blessing before Christmas dinner. The family members bowed their heads in expectation. He began his prayer, thanking God for all his friends, naming them one by one. Then he thanked God for Mommy, Daddy, brother, sister, Grandma, Grandpa, and all his aunts and uncles. Then he began to thank God for the food. He gave thanks for the turkey, the dressing, the fruit salad, the cranberry sauce, the pies, the cakes, even the whipped cream. Then he paused, and everyone waited and waited. After a long silence, the young fellow looked up at his mother and asked, "If I thank God for the broccoli, won't he know that I'm lying?"
Interview with Glen Gaidos of 3R Technology
This is the first in what we intend to be a series of interviews. Our plan is to interview a variety of people on a variety of topics over the next few months and years. Also, if there is something or someone you want us to cover in the interview section, please contact us at info@mooselogic.com
For our first interview of the series we talked with Glen Gaidos of 3R Technology, a Seattle company that provide e-waste recycling services.
Listen to the interview here.
Interface For The Win
Thanks to
everyone that came by our booth at the recent interface show at the Washing ton State Convention
Center. We had a great time working the booth in the most comfortable trade show attire ever, thanks to
Brooks Sports, who graciously sponsored our booth and even helped out with some prizes. Check out the
picture of the Moose Logic sales team working the show, and if you want to get some cool jackets, pants,
or shoes like ours, head to www.brooksrunning.com.
Finally, it just wouldn’t be right to close this last issue of 2008 without saying THANK YOU to all of our great customers and vendor partners. We wish you the best of the Holidays, and look forward to working with you in 2009!
