Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 21:30:09 -0500
Reply-To: The Bus Depot <ron@NETCARRIER.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: The Bus Depot <ron@NETCARRIER.COM>
Subject: Bus Depot - REPLY
In-Reply-To: <35E48DA2.76EF@sunlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Oh if only it were as easy as just hiring more people and adding more phone
lines! I learned about upstart business growing-pains in college, but now I
get to enjoy them in all their splendor!
Sure, I could hire and train six more people, add six more lines, and raise
my prices 10 or 15 percent in order to cover the costs. But I don't think
any of us want this "solution." My approach has always been rock-bottom
overhead, resulting in rock-bottom prices, and I intend to keep it that way.
Still, unanswered e-mail and frequent busy signals are, of course,
unacceptable, and have cost me dearly in terms of lost business. (I'd like
to note for the record, though, that even at our busiest, most orders do
ship within 24 hours. It's waiting on hold that people have complained
about, not waiting for their parts once ordered. Big difference.)
Some months ago I made the decision to think long-term, and invest in a
state-of-the-art internet-based parts database and ordering system, rather
than opting for the short-term "band-aid" approach of throwing manpower and
phone lines at the problem. The nice thing about an online database is that
it doesn't cost squat to maintain (and remember, every dollar I pay is a
dollar you pay in higher prices). A good infrastructure can replace many
employees, and at a much lower cost. Why should I hire a bunch of people to
sit by a phone and look up parts prices while you wait long-distance, when
you could have looked them look up yourself just as quickly, and been able
to peruse different brand alternatives yourself? Besides, the manpower and
phone lines I already have are more than sufficient if they're devoted to
answering customer support questions and filling orders rather than just
quoting prices. So with no additional overhead, everybody gets served
better, and as the business grows, the computer system grows to match it.
Better service, better prices. Everybody wins.
Of course this takes time to get together - much more than I ever expected.
My goals have been very high - as many as 10,000 items, search engines, the
whole bit. But still, I thought we'd have it together by the beginning of
the summer. When this didn't happen, I did hire an additional person to help
ease my workload, only to lose another who moved out West. Problem is, it
takes months to train someone to even begin to do what I do. Had I hired
more people at that point, by the time they were capable of significantly
helping "plug the leak in the dam," the website would already have been up
anyway.
The good news is that I (knock wood) expect the new website database to be
beta-testing this week, and accessable to the public within a couple of
weeks. So a solution is very much in view. I'm sure there will be plenty of
bugs at first (no pun intended), so it may be a gradual fix. But it will
also be a long-term one, and I hope, a year from now, I'll look back at this
harrowing summer and decide I made the right decision in opting for
technology over manpower. I think it's the best way for me to keep offering
you better prices and the best possible service, even if the wait has been a
very tough one (and costly to me in terms of lost business). I can say
this - once the site is up and working, and in the capable hands of Jerry,
Dan, et. al., I'm taking a long vacation!!!!!
Meanwhile, the best times to call (215-234-VWVW) are evenings between 5 and
7 pm E.S.T. The worst are 11-12 am and 4-5 pm, which are when UPS comes.
If you get a busy signal or no answer, just try again in 10 minutes, or fax
your order to 215-234-0890. Believe me, most people do get through - you
may just have to try 2 or 3 times.
Thank you all for your continued support, and your feedback, which is always
appreciated, and taken in the most positive way.
- Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot
http://www.busdepot.com
P.S. I'll need some people to try out the search engine and provide
feedback before the site is polished up and made public. If you wouldn't
mind helping, please e-mail list@busdepot.com with the subject header
WEBSITE TEST. I'll respond to maybe the first 30 or 40 with the temporary
URL, when it's ready.
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