dumb customer and dumber businesses

[tweek]

I realize it is a holiday weekend - however this is the weekend where idiots spend tons of money so....

I just receive my shiny new Troy Claymore muzzle break for Ebbie and I was all excited to get it installed so I could try it out. First thought was the guys at Quail Creek would take care of it. Nope - they gave me a card for some gun smith off of 170. I called and got no answer. So I googled. Called Old Town Gun Shop in Lewisville: no answer. S&S: no answer. Worse: most of these jackasses don't even have web-pages to provide any details on their business. Guess I shouldnt be surprised: they can't figure out how to answer a GD phone. How the F would I expect them to do something as complicated as a web-page. In fact - if you can't handle an Fing web-page I'm not sure I want your grubby paws on my AR.

So being the redneck engineer that I am I figured I could handle it. Which is where being a stupid customer comes in. Laid Ebbie down on one of my work tables put a 3/4" wrench on the flash hider and pressed down - about 30ft/lbs of pressure and it popped loose so I could unscrew it the rest of the way. swapped on the troy brake w/ it's crush washer, screwed it down finger tight and then used the wrench to finish the job. I had to put my knee on the body of the gun to finish so that the Troy logo was on top.

So this is where stupid businesses come in to play: b/c they couldnt friggin answer the phone I know that I can do more of the work on my gun than I originally thought I could. Which basically means I am now an unlikely customer. Worse: I have a loud mouth, I write pretty well and I'm all over the friggin net so other people will read this stuff and a percentage of them will take matters in to their own hands (yeah run on - shoot me). So basically I'm poison to them because I'll inform people of really simple stuff they can do themselves instead of paying somebody else to do. 2 stage trigger anyone?

As an IT consultant I really have to wonder about these people. This stuff isnt new. Answer the friggin phone. Throw up a simple web-page with some basic info. If you're really advernturesome get on the Facebook and write little articles. At least then customers can find you to give you money. Otherwise smarter people will open shops (I'm actually kinda insterested in becoming an armorer) and kick your ass out of business just by providing slightly better service and being easier to find.


Oh well- I'm finishing my pizza and going back to the range. I have a new toy to try out.

 

[TexasRedneck]

Well Tweek...with all due respect, my 'smith doesn't have a website. Seldom answers the phone. But when I take a GUN to him, he can talk to the GUN, he can fix the GUN, and he can do more with that GUN than anyone I know.

He's a GUNsmith....not an IT guy or phone operator....

 

[jake75]

For small stuff like a flash hider or AR add ons, I wouldn't take it to a gunsmith. Anyone half mechanically inclined could do that stuff themselves. Taking it to a gunsmith for something like that is just a waste of money when you can do it yourself.

 

[proforguns]

I own my own business and have a large enough clientèle so that I dont need a website. Sometimes I'm too busy to answer the phone, all because I have a passion for what I do.Often good things are worth waiting for. To think somebody would get online and slam me because I didn't answer the phone or have a website.Well ,I guess some clients aren't worth having anyway!

 

[tweek]

I, as a consultant, turn away clients b/c they're too big a pain in the ass. I absolutely get that. However, as a business owner I like having a constant flow of new customers coming in the door so I can turn away the PITA's.

Having a web-site up isnt complicated. Most registrars provide free tools that will make a web-page for you. All you gotta do is type. Name of the business, phone number, when you are open and how to get there. Just basics. You're a gunsmith not facebook. You don't need a bunch of flash, forums, blogs, or anything else. Although knowing how to use things like facebook, blogs and twitter isnt a bad idea b/c the next generation is going to expect that stuff. Meatspace transactions will increasing be started in (puke) cyberspace.

As for the basic AR stuff - yesterday morning I really didnt know what I could do on my own. B/c of what I'm talking about: now I do, or I at least have the idea to go see. I would have happily paid the $10 for somebody else to do what I ended up doing and I would probably have brought the gun back for the other stuff I plan to have done w/o really realizing I could do it all myself.

I've rebuilt engines from the ground up. I'm reloading some of my own ammo. The work that needs to be done to the gun isn't any more complicated, but yesterday morning I labeled it as being different. Now....we'll see how far it goes.

My point to business owners is that you best sit up and pay some attention. Gun Smithing is some pretty cool stuff but your customers are getting older. People under 30 (I'd almost say under 40 b/c I am) don't work the same. They don't know how to sew so when their sock gets a hole in it they toss it and buy 12 more at WallMart. They don't change their own oil, they take the car to an oil change place. They don't fix their TV, they throw it away and buy another. Cellphones get upgraded every 18-24 months. We live in a throw away society. Gun Smithing is a niche within a niche market. Very few people in this country anymore own firearms, of those most know next to nothing about them, what remains is a tiny minority that might need the services of a gun smith. I don't think I've narrowed the market enough but even that much narrowing is pretty damn scary. At least to me.

Anyway - I'll stop pissing in the cornflakes. Next stunt will be turning my M&P15 fully ambi. I shot the pistol with either hand with about the same accuracy (good not great) so I'd like to do the same with the M&P. After that I want a 308 AR and I'll look in to making it a subMOA shooter. We'll see how far I get.

 

[TexasRedneck]

Hmmm....he missed a whole $10 sale??? Tell me - would you do a $10 job? I gotta tell you - I wouldn't! Setting things up would cost more than that, IMO.

 

[tweek]

That's a different question.

In this specific case I suspect after the smith finished laughing and wiped the tears from his eyes he would have told me to go do what I did. I then would have laughed too and did what I did. No harm and a very different post talking about how the nice smith instead of charging me for something simple taught me how to do it and telling people to go there. Very different outcome.

In my line of business this is probably the equivalent to setting up a "Contact Us" landing page at Go Daddy. I wouldnt bother charging for it either. The tools they provide when you buy a domain name take care of that stuff. Just type in the stuff you put on your business card, yellow pages ad, or whatever. Save it, which puts it online and then forget about it.

 

[Charlie]

As much as some business owners don't like it (mainly small business owners), I think the majority of potential customers expect to be able to communicate either verbally or by email with the businesses. I could be all wrong but I think that is what more and more people expect and will demand in the future. Regardless of what an older generation person (me ) may think, having instant communications is more and more a requirement of consumers. If, IMO, a business owner becomes complacent and relies on the same customer base without trying to attract new customers by being "tech friendly" and providing that communication, it will make it very hard to stay in business. Just my two cents worth.

 

[TexasRedneck]

I agree to an extent - but I operate a small business w/o a website. I do have email, but 99% of my comms are by phone. Tried a website, found it to be a massive PITA for my business. Not all businesses benefit from 'em, in my experience. Between spammers and out-of-area folks, the website proved to be far more of a distraction than I would have thought. I was one of those that strongly felt that you needed a website, but quickly found out it's not the case for everyone - and I think that gunsmithing is likely one of 'em. Email, yes - and frankly email (if used properly) can be a huge timesaver. Then again, I can't tell you how many "you gotta see THIS picture!!" or "get rich with US" type emails get dumped daily!

 

[Charlie]

I agree to an extent - but I operate a small business w/o a website. I do have email, but 99% of my comms are by phone. Tried a website, found it to be a massive PITA for my business. Not all businesses benefit from 'em, in my experience. Between spammers and out-of-area folks, the website proved to be far more of a distraction than I would have thought. I was one of those that strongly felt that you needed a website, but quickly found out it's not the case for everyone - and I think that gunsmithing is likely one of 'em. Email, yes - and frankly email (if used properly) can be a huge timesaver. Then again, I can't tell you how many "you gotta see THIS picture!!" or "get rich with US" type emails get dumped daily!

Good point! But you gotta' answer the phone (as you obviously do) or have some sort of advertising to attract (new) customers. Years ago (50s & 60s and maybe some in the 70s) in small communities, businesses could attract new customers by word of mouth and reputation alone, but I don't think that would attract enough business these days. Whether we old pharts like it or not, instant communication is required by a vast majority of the big spending consumers today.

Edit: What would be the feasibility of small business owners having a business website that did not list an email but did list a telephone number?

 

[TexasRedneck]

Funny - 90% of my business is word-of-mouth, and frankly sometimes it gets busier than I want it to be!<G> The nice part about referrals is that folks already know about you, know you do good work, and know that you will treat 'em fairly. I spent many years cold-calling, and while I still do it, the referrals are a lot easier to convert/deal with. When I get someone wanting "the best deal", I tell them to call a competitor, because experience has shown that these folks take up more of my time than they're worth.

 

[Charlie]

I applaud your success! But you are kinda' in a small community (albeit surrounded by cities).

 

[TexasRedneck]

Well, I travel from SA to D/FW, LA, OK, Houston - so I get around!<G>

 

[tweek]

Redneck does make a good unstated point: each small business is unique. Part of the reason redneck works for himself is because he...well wanted to work for himself. His business is tuned to himself and is allowing him to live the life he wants. I fully 100% believe that is the way things should be. Not every business process or marketting channel is applicable, but I'd highly commend taking a good long think before killing one off.

In some cases some tuning is necassary. The contact us landing page is a good example. What was not working for Redneck is that it was attracting spam and contacts from people who he could not serve even if he wanted to. There isn't much that can be done about spam. Hosting your email on Exchange works fairly well, and there are some products that help a lot, but some will still get through. It's a fact of life. We are constantly getting hit with marketing crap we don't want (ironic given what I'm talking about). Delete it and move on to what matters: those customers you simply cannot help b/c of geophaphy. Gun Smithing can't be outsouced to India so your smith is going to have to be just down the road. In this case your contact us page just needs a few extra lines that say "please find a local gun smith if you are outside of my areas. I'd love to help you but I don't can't work over the phone." or something like that. Nice, polite but clear - I'm busy helping the dude in my store right now. Drive here.

As for the 'good deal' dudes: tell them to go google it. In general most smith's charge about the same. It's no different than mechanics, carpenters or whatever. The market determines what is 'reasonable'. If you're charging $90/hr for work but the rest of the market is charing $50 one of two things will generally occur: you have no customers and go out of business or you adjust your price to match the rest of the market. A third less common thing is to build a reputation that justifies the premium and you tune your business to operate with a few loyal customers that know and understand the value of what you are doing.

My general point here is that owning a business is a full contact sport. Everything out there is set against you, why make things more difficult? Use every tool available to you to win.

 

[M. Sage]

As for the basic AR stuff - yesterday morning I really didnt know what I could do on my own. B/c of what I'm talking about: now I do, or I at least have the idea to go see. I would have happily paid the $10 for somebody else to do what I ended up doing and I would probably have brought the gun back for the other stuff I plan to have done w/o really realizing I could do it all myself.

Sweet. That attitude actually helps pad the occasional paycheck for me. Nothing like "well, I figured out how to do X myself, so I figured I'd give Y a try" to deliver a truly basketcase car into my lap. You betcha that I get some rather inflated labor times on those babies! It's not my fault that some guys turn a 2 hour job into a basketcase that takes me 4+ to get straightened out.

Not saying that's what you'll do, just saying that could be in your future. You seem like a smart enough guy so just proceed with caution.

 

[tweek]

LOL
Yeah - us redneck engineers are not only dangerous, but a constant source of unexpected extra paid work.
Before I start really wrenching on my gun I'll buy a few books and annoy the crap out of you guys with tons of lame ass questions. Actually, all of this has got me interested in learning more about gun smithing. Maybe when I'm tired of playing consultant I'll start a new career as a gun smith. Explosive Ordinance tech would be good too.

 

[TexasRedneck]

Annoy away - ain't nuthin' more fun than tellin' someone ta do sumthin' ya always wanted to try, but wuz afraid of hurtin' yer gun with....<evil laugh>

 

[jdh]

Let me get this straight. You deserve to have time off for the holidays BUT the Gunsmith, who is usually a small one man shop and has to stop working on the job at hand to answer the phone, does not and should be at your beck and call at any time no matter what.

So I've got the gun you brought to me in a baggie on the work bench. I'm using all four of my hands to line up parts against spring pressure to get the pin started. I should let go, launching parts across the room, to grab the phone on the first ring. Right.

 

[tweek]

glad you're following me. You're spot on.

Or this - you're running a business. Know who your customer is, when that customer is likely to be out and about and likely to want your services. Most likely that means you are going to work on weekends because that is when your customers are out doing shit. Monday through Friday I'm taking care of my customers. I've been working sense about 6:30 this morning and will probably wrap up around 10. I was up until midnight last night and will be back up at 5am tomorrow so I can go run and excercise. Friday at lunch time is when I quit work until Monday morning. If you want my money fit in to my schedule - the people who I do business with already do. For instance: Eagles Canyon is open all weekend b/c that is when the pitrats can get to the track. They close shop on Monday & Tuesday so Maggie and the crew can have their weekend. They have a ton of very loyal customers b/c the owner knows his customers.

In regard to the phone - if you don't have a basic web-page that provides me some idea as to when I can contact you and you only provide me the option of leaving a message on an answering machine - I move on. Most people do. Messages left on answering machines get deleted and never returned so why waste my breath? Welcome to the social network - go get a facebook page. Put some basic info up there so you can get some new customers, earn a little extra scrilla so you can higher a PFY (Pimply Face Youth) to take care of some of the BS crap that distracts you from the reason you started your business in the first place.

Last update (I hope). In regard to the whole holiday weekend thing....duh! IT'S BLACK GD FRIDAY! The day god ordained that Americans should over charge their VISA, AMEX and Diners Club cards buying shit they really don't need but they have been told by the TV that they have to have another fricking tickle my squid elmo. So yeah - get in your friggin shop, flip on the lights, and sell some shit to the stupid yuppy that has no friggin clue what it is he just bought.

 

[jdh]

You do realize, don't you, that the business I buy my parts and supplies from are not open on the weekends.
Now I have to be in my shop waiting for you instead of being able to take advantage of the black friday sales myself.
Believe it or not I have plenty of work without having to put up with you and your whiny, demanding, profane, childish attitude. On top of that I probably would not do the work quick enough or to your unreasonable expectations. Besides, my other customers surely would be understanding enough to allow your walk in job to push back the work on their project that has been waiting in line since they dropped it off.

Here is an idea for you, give up your weekends and service your customers then. You come come to me when I'm in the shop and I can still go to TWS, MSRH, TMS, or EC on the weekends and race my car.