Sounds like you did the right thing to me. You own a business, had a rough week, came on here and vented to get it off your chest instead of taking it out on employees and clients. Ahh, the joys of being the boss. Now get back to work slacker.

 

This young hot-shot moves into town with a fast-food franchise, stops by and tells me he wants to buy a new 150. We go for a test-drive, I give him our price (you know me, the price is the price, period), and he says he'll think about it. I spend the next 6 months making sure I eat at his restaurant at least once a week, make small talk with him and the staff, ask him how his truck shopping is going, etc... Then he shows up at our service department with a brand-new F-150 FX4. I ask him about it, and he tells me he got a better deal out of town, in Buffalo (about 60 miles west). It turns out he took my price to this other dealer, who beat it by $150 (it's a $36000 truck we're talking about here). I haven't been in his restaurant since.

So, a few months go by, he shows up again in our service department with the 150, and wants to know why he hasn't seen me in awhile. He asks, "don't you believe in supporting local businesses?" I just shook my head and walked away. The best part is this: lunch at his place would cost me about $6 each time I walked in, and I ate there once a week. Let's see, $6/week x 52 weeks = $312. But he saved $150 on his truck by driving 60 miles to Buffalo. Makes you wonder how much longer his restaurant will be open, as it's being managed by such a financial genius.

 

"Doing business in a small town 101." I think my dealers wrote the "how to" book on this subject.

 

He didn't realize that he spent $312 to save $150 on a $36,000 pickup. It doesn't add up. But the remark about supporting your local economy is a two way street.

 

That was EXACTLY the point I was trying to make. He expects me to eat in his restaurant and support HIM, but he couldn't care less if I make a living. He thinks he's smart by saving $150 on his truck purchase, but he'll lose more than twice that in one year by losing my business. Like I said, a real "financial genius..."

 

He prbably spent that in gas getting his new truck

 

So why didn't you inform him of why Jeff ?

I would have

I do it all the time.

My famous last words : Well Bud, You can get me once, but the general idea is to get me to return

 

I didn't think it would make any difference (you'd have to meet this guy in person to understand). With some people, you just need to "move on." Any further discussion would have been pointless.

 

The reasons you give about penny pinching customers, and yahoo's, that don't know squat about pricing is why I got out of the landscaping business. After doing it for 12 years, it seemed like it was an up hill battle, dealing with all of the crap. I....nevermind, I had enough of it PERIOD!