Date:         Thu, 9 Sep 1999 18:51:42 -0400
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <ron@NETCARRIER.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <ron@NETCARRIER.COM>
Subject:      Re: Hang 'em High 2 (vendor perspective)
In-Reply-To:  <37D8005A.606A250E@online.no>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

My take on this (from a vendor's perspective, of course), is that the list
is an appropriate forum for notifying members about problems, but one that
should be used with discretion.

I suppose I should note that I'm speaking in generalities here, not
referring specifically to the two vendors that have taken bad press in this
case.

You need to know how much harm you can do.  Even the mere allegation of a
problem with a vendor, whether true or not, seriously harms that vendor's
business.  If someone posts a complaint to the list, it directly affects how
much money I bring home that week, plain and simple. It doesn't even matter
if the complaint is valid - the mere allegation does all the harm, and its
fallout tends to last several weeks. Many people will only remember that a
question was raised about my service or parts. They won't remember any
details, just something like "oh yeah, I heard someone say Bus Depot has bad
parts" or whatever.  So they'll tend to order from a vendor -on the list or
off- who has had _no_ press rather, than the one who had a bad remark
directed toward them. This is compounded by the fact that people are
typically much more likely to post complaints than praise - so very often
it's the one problem that gets aired, not the hundreds of other satisfied
customers. This tends to hurt the higher-volume vendors the most, since we
will have a larger number of "screw ups" simply because we take more orders
in the first place.  If I only shipped two or three orders a week, I'd have
nary a complaint.  If I ship a hundred a week, there's bound to be a
screw-up once in a while, just by the law of averages.

These things said, I feel that it is encumbant upon you to make every
reasonable attempt to resolve the problem directly with a vendor before
airing it to the list.  This is only fair to the vendor, most of whom really
do want to serve their customers well.  Most people are pretty fair about
this, but I have had one or two cases where a person very publicly aired a
complaint that they had not even approached me with first. In once case I
could have resolved it very quickly if they had only let me know about it;
in another they didn't even have a remotely valid complaint in the first
place. One guy has ordered parts twice, and both times publicly criticized
me on the Type 2 list for slow service without even allowing enough time for
UPS time-in-transit.  In other words, we shipped the order the day after he
placed it, and before UPS even had time to get it to him, he was complaining
to the list that he hadn't gotten his part. When someone attacks the Depot
publically, I have to admit I take it personally. I've worked very hard (and
still do, 60-70 hours a week) to build the Depot, and have a lot invested in
it, not just financially but emotionally as well. It's hard to explain, but
when you grow a company from nothing, and invest so much of your time and
energy and "soul" into it, it becomes an extension of yourself.  Those of
you who run your own businesses probably know what I mean. When someone
posts a criticism to the list without talking to me first, it's the same in
my mind as if they posted a personal attack on me. Sort of like being hit
below the belt without warning.

Of course, if all reasonable attempts at resolving the problem with the
vendor fail, you certainly have a right - perhaps even a responsibility - to
warn other listmembers about your experience.   Just be fair about it, and
realize what harm you can do so don't abuse the power.  Most of us are just
small businesses, with the best of intentions even if we don't always
succeed.

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  http://www.busdepot.com