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How not to win sales....


rorschach

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Sounds like these guys went to the same business school as Altair astro! see quote below from a previous post of mine.

"After the previous problems I decided to find a shop nearby that I could go to.

Altair Astro filled this requirement, well almost it's 85 miles away, but I was happy to drive ther if it meant I could actually get a scope.

I contacted them on friday about buying a 150p or maybe a 150pl, I was fairly sure on the 150p. Ian had one in stock we talked about going there or getting it sent....... I advised him I would let him know on saturday morning as it was already past when he should have closed.

Saturday morning I contacted Ian and advise him that I would be coming over to buy a scope and I would be there about 12:00.

After driving 50 miles Ian text me and told me he had sold the scope I was coming over to collect, he had also sold the 150pl!

By this point I had already travelled 50 miles and about 2 hours (The A140 is awful) and I was absolutley fuming!"

On the positive side I believe I have managed to get myself a scope now from a different supplier, it should be with me tomorrow so if it arrives then I will let everyone know.

Steve

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Davew, yes "I" was there, the conversation, was transcribed as it was said.I was not given the oppertunity to even ask for assistance about the purchases I was wishing to make.

My mistake was to ask a simple question about 'scope set up first.

how would it make you feel?

I used to sell high end audio, and its fair to say ALL of my sales were made on good sound advise from me, good demonstration and listening to the customers needs. not everyone bought at the time, but the majority came back.....due to the , and i will quote "good service"

maybe its my attitude thats the problem here. If someone asks me for help.....I do

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Rorschach. When I wrote my little piece, I had the feeling you weren't going to like it. What's more I understand. I can assure you I don't think you're lying or trying to misslead. However ( there has to be one of those ) I've been on this earth long enough to have witnessed and / or heard things that in later conversations I really wonder if I was at the same event.

Some good may come of this thread. If indeed Simon was rude to you, he may now re think his attitude. On the other hand he may be annoyed to be, in his opinion, misrepresented.

As you may be aware, a vendor has recently gone bust leaving a couple of people out of a job and many people short a few thousand. One reason so many were trusting could have been the possitive feedback that was given. A balance has to be struck. I don't know you and I suspect you wouldn't now want to know me. Shame. I don't actually think what you said in the thread was so bad.

I'm glad the Admins have left this running but I would like readers to consider all possibilities.

Dave.

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Dave,I concur.

and as for the meeting you, are you local to North London? can you show me how to make best use of the equipment I have? and do you have Beer?

one view about one subject does not the person make! this is a discussion, nothing more :)

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Rorschach, if you are in north london, if you need need help, and if you can find them maybe you can call the errr..... WOLAS - west of london astro soc. their meetings alternate between Harrow and Ruislip. There's also ASH - astronomy soc of harringay, who meet in ashmole school in southgate, nr picadilliy line tube.

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Rorschach,

Good things do come from threads. I love beer. Yorshire beer usually.

I don't live near London but am going to send you a PM shortly.

And just so people can be quite sure, once again, I am most certainly NOT calling you a liar.

Dave.

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it's all so variable - i found Altair Astro great when i dealt with them - good advice and sent me stuff to try out and send back if it didnt fit etc.

there might even be someone who would find a good word to say about scope n' skies :)

Altair was the shop I used and let me collect from his home after hours, popped in today for some advice that although I had read up on, was much better to have it explained in person, so yes experiences can differ from situation to situation, but the old adage is proven here;

Offer someone great service and they may tell a friend, treat someone badly and they Will tell 10.

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On the flip side the salesman at Jag WOW!!! you went out to buy an AUDI and knew what you wanted but you ended up buying a JAG "Now that's how you SELL!!!"

Spaceboy he even went out of his way (after we had made it clear we were taking the car) to point out a couple of small issues such as a slight tear in the door panel leather, that we hadn't even noticed, and agreed to get them all fixed for us before we would collect the car, all at no extra cost to us.

Going the extra mile (or being perceived to) really makes an impression on customers. Like so many others have said, people will almost always return if the service is good even if it means paying slightly more for it.

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The shop of this post also seems to be not very good at replying to emails asking for pricing and availablilty info.... so not so hot on the cyber-side of things either. Annoying as I have found them helpful at Astrofest in the past.

Cheers

PEter

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Going the extra mile (or being perceived to) really makes an impression on customers. Like so many others have said, people will almost always return if the service is good even if it means paying slightly more for it.

This is my whole point. A good sales man will have you going away feeling like you have just made a new friend. Even to the point he has you feeling obliged to spend money in the store. This is how good businesses become great and why most salesmen are on very good bonuses. With regards to WSC you cannot afford to have off days when you have the over heads a London based retails space has. As I said before...all retailers are under huge competition and if the drop the ball they will go out of business sooner than later.

how would it make you feel?

Rorschach my advice would be keep your chin up. I can understand you may feel a little upset at the way you were treated but forget about it!!! Their loss is someone else's gain. Spend your money on the net or try another store. Any advice you need to make your choice can be sourced from the helpful members of SGL. Failing this there are plenty of Astronomy societies out there.

SPACEBOY

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I'll tell you my experience with this supplier. I ordered an eyepiece on 5th march last year. My card was charged on the 8th. I sent an e-mail on the 20th asking why I hadn't received my eyepiece - no answer. Finally, in April, I managed to speak to someone on the phone. That person told me it had been sent. 4 days later, it arrived!

Firstly, it isn't accepted practice to charge someone's card a month before delivery.

Secondly, everyone makes mistakes. I could happily accept someone saying "I'm very sorry, we haven't posted it due to an error, we'll do it now". I would consider that good service. But to say it had been posted, when it clearly hadn't, is unacceptable. My first and last purchase.

All is not bad out there though. I've had excellent service and delivery in the last year from FLO, Warehouse Express and Rother Valley Optics.

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Cheers spaceboy, its already done and dusted!

I like having a local retailer , I was looking for one to supply me with advise for EP's et al , I was looking forward to the "see it ,hear it ,feel it, do it" book of learning, from someone who was immersed in astronomy, and i dont mind paying extra for it. FLO will have some repeat custom out of this, and a new customer, my crewmate that was with me (he wanted to look at the Dobs)

just like I do when I take my motorbike to the other side of London for servicing and repair (I didnt even buy the bike off hime either! lol)

big smiles deep breath...look at doing overtime to pay for my quest for a better viewing image! :)

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I would feel very awkward strolling into the WIDESCREEN CENTRE to sort out how to use my scope if I hadn't bought it from them. Admittedly if it was my shop I think I would have bitten my lip a bit more but still, good manners and all that. Sometimes the consumer isn't always right.

It would have been better to explain from the outset that you had recently purchased a scope online but were now keen to support your local shop and were on the look out for some eyepieces. I'm sure the owner wouldn't have objected at that point.

Courtesy cuts both ways.

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