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Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
A little while ago I bumped into my neighbour again and had the chance to briefly confirm a few points in the VCR repair saga... Apparently the VCR was/is a Panasonic and is about 3 years old. (Fekkin' good start, but let's not get bogged down at this stage...) My neighbour has no special attachment to it and simply wanted it fixed for as little as possible (naturally). He had had no idea VCRs were so cheap and he thinks the shop should have (or could have) mentioned it and given him the option of getting a cheaper replacement, even if it meant sourcing it elsewhere. He thinks the hifi shop owners are shysters (not new, apparently!) and only goes there out of habit and for obvious convenience. It's all about location and the lack of real competition and having decades (whole century really) of thickies bussing into town to trade their turnip money for shiny things. Of course it can't last forever, what with the 'Web' an' all, but it's pretty obvious to me these ole boys plan to go down with all credit card readers *blazing*!! (It's not just the hifi shop - having bought no less than 3 bikes from the local 'bike shop this year and despite Tone the Clone working there, I think they are pretty much the same - *no discount, because we don't have to* kinda thing....!) Maybe it's me... Maybe it's *that* time of the year again... |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
On 7 Nov, 16:37, "Keith G" wrote:
A little while ago I bumped into my neighbour again and had the chance to briefly confirm a few points in the VCR repair saga... Apparently the VCR was/is a Panasonic and is about 3 years old. (Fekkin' good start, but let's not get bogged down at this stage...) My neighbour has no special attachment to it and simply wanted it fixed for as little as possible (naturally). He had had no idea VCRs were so cheap and he thinks the shop should have (or could have) mentioned it and given him the option of getting a cheaper replacement, even if it meant sourcing it elsewhere. He thinks the hifi shop owners are shysters (not new, apparently!) and only goes there out of habit and for obvious convenience. It's all about location and the lack of real competition and having decades (whole century really) of thickies bussing into town to trade their turnip money for shiny things. Of course it can't last forever, what with the 'Web' an' all, but it's pretty obvious to me these ole boys plan to go down with all credit card readers *blazing*!! (It's not just the hifi shop - having bought no less than 3 bikes from the local 'bike shop this year and despite Tone the Clone working there, I think they are pretty much the same - *no discount, because we don't have to* kinda thing....!) Maybe it's me... Maybe it's *that* time of the year again... I work and earn a living (just) in the electronics retail business and have always wondered why our industry is always expected to give discounts on our products and services when people don't ask for a better (for them) price when they visit the supermarket and trundle out the door with £100's worth of shopping.Or ask there solicitor for a discount when moving house. We work on relatively low margins compared to say the furniture business;not surprising that a sofa can drop from £1200 down to £399 and still make a good margin! I wish people would wake up and smell the coffee as before long there will be no high street retailers of anything except charity shops and there will be no chance of trying (hearing) anything before you buy as there will be nowhere but the internet to buy the latest 5star reviewed bit of kit.Thankfully there are still purchasers that DO appreciate the advice and service afforded by a quality high street retailer and are prepared to shun the internet in favour of better back-up and peace of mind. Borosteve. |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"borosteve" wrote in message ups.com... On 7 Nov, 16:37, "Keith G" wrote: A little while ago I bumped into my neighbour again and had the chance to briefly confirm a few points in the VCR repair saga... Apparently the VCR was/is a Panasonic and is about 3 years old. (Fekkin' good start, but let's not get bogged down at this stage...) My neighbour has no special attachment to it and simply wanted it fixed for as little as possible (naturally). He had had no idea VCRs were so cheap and he thinks the shop should have (or could have) mentioned it and given him the option of getting a cheaper replacement, even if it meant sourcing it elsewhere. He thinks the hifi shop owners are shysters (not new, apparently!) and only goes there out of habit and for obvious convenience. It's all about location and the lack of real competition and having decades (whole century really) of thickies bussing into town to trade their turnip money for shiny things. Of course it can't last forever, what with the 'Web' an' all, but it's pretty obvious to me these ole boys plan to go down with all credit card readers *blazing*!! (It's not just the hifi shop - having bought no less than 3 bikes from the local 'bike shop this year and despite Tone the Clone working there, I think they are pretty much the same - *no discount, because we don't have to* kinda thing....!) Maybe it's me... Maybe it's *that* time of the year again... I work and earn a living (just) in the electronics retail business and have always wondered why our industry is always expected to give discounts on our products and services when people don't ask for a better (for them) price when they visit the supermarket and trundle out the door with £100's worth of shopping.Or ask there solicitor for a discount when moving house. We work on relatively low margins compared to say the furniture business;not surprising that a sofa can drop from £1200 down to £399 and still make a good margin! I wish people would wake up and smell the coffee as before long there will be no high street retailers of anything except charity shops and there will be no chance of trying (hearing) anything before you buy as there will be nowhere but the internet to buy the latest 5star reviewed bit of kit.Thankfully there are still purchasers that DO appreciate the advice and service afforded by a quality high street retailer and are prepared to shun the internet in favour of better back-up and peace of mind. Sorry Borosteve, I think I see things a little differently from my side of the counter.... No-one (much) is under any illusions about the profits any well-run retail shop can make if it isn't trying to peddle crap (or even if it is peddling crap in the right manner). As the same (VCR) next door neighbour said less than an hour ago 'shopkeepers used to be in it for a living and now they're in it to get rich'! Profit is the name of the game and no self-respecting shopkeeper in this neck of the woods has a house worth less than 1.5 million - it's standard issue! I'm sure your place is *entirely* different, but my experience of many shops is that they aren't really able to offer any real advice, service depends on how late the sales assistant got in the night before and 'backup' as you call it invariably means being told to contact the UK representatives of the manufacturers direct when summat goes tits-up in the warranty period. *Good* shops do exist (even here) that do seem to be able to offer a useful blend of price and service and it's always a pleasure to put a bit of work their way, but I think a lot of people will say that shopping is largely an *unlovely* experience these days! No-one tries to haggle with supermarkets and garages because the stuff's already too cheap (witness the lard so many people are hauling around these days) in the first instance and because they can't in the second! Now, having mentioned the neighbour - apparently the 'revised price' for the VCR repair was 39 quid (not 29) and that almost certainly subject to VAT, so the original 'estimate' of 50 quid was about right. Still a crock, in my book... Personal anecdote: I bought summat (can't remember what) from the *other* hifi shop (an ex employee of the first shop and who hates the family who own/run the first shop) and for some reason looked it up on the website when I got back. I was a bit surprised to find it was exactly 10 quid cheaper! I contacted the shop owner (know him very well) and said WTF? and was regaled (yet again) with the 'Internet prices are cheaper blah blah blah.. I said 'so I've paid 10 quid for the privilege of carrying the item home and saving you having to ship it? (It's just the one shop - the item would have been carried out of the same door no matter what!) I said 'fine but you know what I'll do (or not do) in the future, don't you?' and said cheerio. About an hour later he phoned up to tell me he'd refunded the ten quid (credit card) and had decided not to quibble when people quoted prices from his website in the future...!! The same shop had (probably still has) - checks... Yep: http://www.audiovision.co.uk/#7114X0 an Infocus 72 DLP Digital PJ advertised for £895. Swim bought hers for 400 odd quid from (struggles, gives up - can't remember) OK, asks son and he says (he remembers this stuff) it was £495 from: http://www.creative-audio.co.uk/ But is discontinued and has been cheaper since! Now Boro, me auld china, that's 400 hundred quid difference on one gadget - how much ****ing *support* do you think the local shops should get? |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
In article , Keith G
scribeth thus A little while ago I bumped into my neighbour again and had the chance to briefly confirm a few points in the VCR repair saga... Apparently the VCR was/is a Panasonic and is about 3 years old. (Fekkin' good start, but let's not get bogged down at this stage...) My neighbour has no special attachment to it and simply wanted it fixed for as little as possible (naturally). He had had no idea VCRs were so cheap and he thinks the shop should have (or could have) mentioned it and given him the option of getting a cheaper replacement, even if it meant sourcing it elsewhere. He thinks the hifi shop owners are shysters (not new, apparently!) and only goes there out of habit and for obvious convenience. It's all about location and the lack of real competition and having decades (whole century really) of thickies bussing into town to trade their turnip money for shiny things. Of course it can't last forever, what with the 'Web' an' all, but it's pretty obvious to me these ole boys plan to go down with all credit card readers *blazing*!! (It's not just the hifi shop - having bought no less than 3 bikes from the local 'bike shop this year and despite Tone the Clone working there, I think they are pretty much the same - *no discount, because we don't have to* kinda thing....!) Maybe it's me... Maybe it's *that* time of the year again... Won't be a problem before long this "high street rip off" as they'll be no one left doing servicing work anyway!. Maybe you oughta to give us a business plan on how to run a repair bizz in the 21st century Keith?. Just what would you need to charge to cover ALL the costs involved?...... -- Tony Sayer |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"tony sayer" wrote in message ... In article , Keith G scribeth thus A little while ago I bumped into my neighbour again and had the chance to briefly confirm a few points in the VCR repair saga... Apparently the VCR was/is a Panasonic and is about 3 years old. (Fekkin' good start, but let's not get bogged down at this stage...) My neighbour has no special attachment to it and simply wanted it fixed for as little as possible (naturally). He had had no idea VCRs were so cheap and he thinks the shop should have (or could have) mentioned it and given him the option of getting a cheaper replacement, even if it meant sourcing it elsewhere. He thinks the hifi shop owners are shysters (not new, apparently!) and only goes there out of habit and for obvious convenience. It's all about location and the lack of real competition and having decades (whole century really) of thickies bussing into town to trade their turnip money for shiny things. Of course it can't last forever, what with the 'Web' an' all, but it's pretty obvious to me these ole boys plan to go down with all credit card readers *blazing*!! (It's not just the hifi shop - having bought no less than 3 bikes from the local 'bike shop this year and despite Tone the Clone working there, I think they are pretty much the same - *no discount, because we don't have to* kinda thing....!) Maybe it's me... Maybe it's *that* time of the year again... Won't be a problem before long this "high street rip off" as they'll be no one left doing servicing work anyway!. Maybe you oughta to give us a business plan on how to run a repair bizz in the 21st century Keith?. Just what would you need to charge to cover ALL the costs involved?...... 'Give' is the operative word here - spoken like a Cambridgeshire shopkeeper, Tony.... OK, *FOC* (as ever) I'll *give* you some key phrases to get you started: 'It'll need a new motor'.... 'The clutch will have to be replaced'... 'The chimney needs repointing'... 'It's obsolete and you can't get the parts any more'... Asitappens, 'repair' and servicing charges appear to an almost universal 50-55 quid per hour plus parts (necessary or not) - whether or not you'll make a living at it depends how much you are prepared to scam your punters, from what I can see of it... |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"Keith G" wrote in message ... "borosteve" wrote in message ups.com... On 7 Nov, 16:37, "Keith G" wrote: A little while ago I bumped into my neighbour again and had the chance to briefly confirm a few points in the VCR repair saga... Apparently the VCR was/is a Panasonic and is about 3 years old. (Fekkin' good start, but let's not get bogged down at this stage...) My neighbour has no special attachment to it and simply wanted it fixed for as little as possible (naturally). He had had no idea VCRs were so cheap and he thinks the shop should have (or could have) mentioned it and given him the option of getting a cheaper replacement, even if it meant sourcing it elsewhere. He thinks the hifi shop owners are shysters (not new, apparently!) and only goes there out of habit and for obvious convenience. It's all about location and the lack of real competition and having decades (whole century really) of thickies bussing into town to trade their turnip money for shiny things. Of course it can't last forever, what with the 'Web' an' all, but it's pretty obvious to me these ole boys plan to go down with all credit card readers *blazing*!! (It's not just the hifi shop - having bought no less than 3 bikes from the local 'bike shop this year and despite Tone the Clone working there, I think they are pretty much the same - *no discount, because we don't have to* kinda thing....!) Maybe it's me... Maybe it's *that* time of the year again... I work and earn a living (just) in the electronics retail business and have always wondered why our industry is always expected to give discounts on our products and services when people don't ask for a better (for them) price when they visit the supermarket and trundle out the door with £100's worth of shopping.Or ask there solicitor for a discount when moving house. We work on relatively low margins compared to say the furniture business;not surprising that a sofa can drop from £1200 down to £399 and still make a good margin! I wish people would wake up and smell the coffee as before long there will be no high street retailers of anything except charity shops and there will be no chance of trying (hearing) anything before you buy as there will be nowhere but the internet to buy the latest 5star reviewed bit of kit.Thankfully there are still purchasers that DO appreciate the advice and service afforded by a quality high street retailer and are prepared to shun the internet in favour of better back-up and peace of mind. Sorry Borosteve, I think I see things a little differently from my side of the counter.... No-one (much) is under any illusions about the profits any well-run retail shop can make if it isn't trying to peddle crap (or even if it is peddling crap in the right manner). As the same (VCR) next door neighbour said less than an hour ago 'shopkeepers used to be in it for a living and now they're in it to get rich'! Profit is the name of the game and no self-respecting shopkeeper in this neck of the woods has a house worth less than 1.5 million - it's standard issue! I'm sure your place is *entirely* different, but my experience of many shops is that they aren't really able to offer any real advice, service depends on how late the sales assistant got in the night before and 'backup' as you call it invariably means being told to contact the UK representatives of the manufacturers direct when summat goes tits-up in the warranty period. *Good* shops do exist (even here) that do seem to be able to offer a useful blend of price and service and it's always a pleasure to put a bit of work their way, but I think a lot of people will say that shopping is largely an *unlovely* experience these days! No-one tries to haggle with supermarkets and garages because the stuff's already too cheap (witness the lard so many people are hauling around these days) in the first instance and because they can't in the second! Now, having mentioned the neighbour - apparently the 'revised price' for the VCR repair was 39 quid (not 29) and that almost certainly subject to VAT, so the original 'estimate' of 50 quid was about right. Still a crock, in my book... Personal anecdote: I bought summat (can't remember what) from the *other* hifi shop (an ex employee of the first shop and who hates the family who own/run the first shop) and for some reason looked it up on the website when I got back. I was a bit surprised to find it was exactly 10 quid cheaper! I contacted the shop owner (know him very well) and said WTF? and was regaled (yet again) with the 'Internet prices are cheaper blah blah blah.. I said 'so I've paid 10 quid for the privilege of carrying the item home and saving you having to ship it? (It's just the one shop - the item would have been carried out of the same door no matter what!) I said 'fine but you know what I'll do (or not do) in the future, don't you?' and said cheerio. About an hour later he phoned up to tell me he'd refunded the ten quid (credit card) and had decided not to quibble when people quoted prices from his website in the future...!! The same shop had (probably still has) - checks... Yep: http://www.audiovision.co.uk/#7114X0 an Infocus 72 DLP Digital PJ advertised for £895. Swim bought hers for 400 odd quid from (struggles, gives up - can't remember) OK, asks son and he says (he remembers this stuff) it was £495 from: Bugger. You'll have to follow Projectors / Infocus / IN72... |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
In article ,
Keith G wrote: No-one tries to haggle with supermarkets and garages because the stuff's already too cheap (witness the lard so many people are hauling around these days) in the first instance and because they can't in the second! Some goods in supermarkets are 'cheap' - some are anything but. They rely on impulse 'while we're here' purchases for much of their profits. And of course screwing their suppliers down to a minimum which smaller retailers just can't do. -- *Why is the word abbreviation so long? * Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
In article ,
Keith G wrote: "tony sayer" wrote in message ... In article , Keith G scribeth thus [snip] Maybe you oughta to give us a business plan on how to run a repair bizz in the 21st century Keith?. Just what would you need to charge to cover ALL the costs involved?...... More or less what I asked Keithie earlier with no reply. 'Give' is the operative word here - spoken like a Cambridgeshire shopkeeper, Tony.... OK, *FOC* (as ever) I'll *give* you some key phrases to get you started: 'It'll need a new motor'.... 'The clutch will have to be replaced'... 'The chimney needs repointing'... 'It's obsolete and you can't get the parts any more'... Asitappens, 'repair' and servicing charges appear to an almost universal 50-55 quid per hour plus parts (necessary or not) - whether or not you'll make a living at it depends how much you are prepared to scam your punters, from what I can see of it... If you went back into business how much would you expect to earn an hour? Look around you at house prices etc before giving a figure 20 years out of date. -- *When blondes have more fun, do they know it? Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
On 8 Nov, 13:10, "Keith G" wrote:
"borosteve" wrote in message ups.com... On 7 Nov, 16:37, "Keith G" wrote: A little while ago I bumped into my neighbour again and had the chance to briefly confirm a few points in the VCR repair saga... Apparently the VCR was/is a Panasonic and is about 3 years old. (Fekkin' good start, but let's not get bogged down at this stage...) My neighbour has no special attachment to it and simply wanted it fixed for as little as possible (naturally). He had had no idea VCRs were so cheap and he thinks the shop should have (or could have) mentioned it and given him the option of getting a cheaper replacement, even if it meant sourcing it elsewhere. He thinks the hifi shop owners are shysters (not new, apparently!) and only goes there out of habit and for obvious convenience. It's all about location and the lack of real competition and having decades (whole century really) of thickies bussing into town to trade their turnip money for shiny things. Of course it can't last forever, what with the 'Web' an' all, but it's pretty obvious to me these ole boys plan to go down with all credit card readers *blazing*!! (It's not just the hifi shop - having bought no less than 3 bikes from the local 'bike shop this year and despite Tone the Clone working there, I think they are pretty much the same - *no discount, because we don't have to* kinda thing....!) Maybe it's me... Maybe it's *that* time of the year again... I work and earn a living (just) in the electronics retail business and have always wondered why our industry is always expected to give discounts on our products and services when people don't ask for a better (for them) price when they visit the supermarket and trundle out the door with £100's worth of shopping.Or ask there solicitor for a discount when moving house. We work on relatively low margins compared to say the furniture business;not surprising that a sofa can drop from £1200 down to £399 and still make a good margin! I wish people would wake up and smell the coffee as before long there will be no high street retailers of anything except charity shops and there will be no chance of trying (hearing) anything before you buy as there will be nowhere but the internet to buy the latest 5star reviewed bit of kit.Thankfully there are still purchasers that DO appreciate the advice and service afforded by a quality high street retailer and are prepared to shun the internet in favour of better back-up and peace of mind. Sorry Borosteve, I think I see things a little differently from my side of the counter.... No-one (much) is under any illusions about the profits any well-run retail shop can make if it isn't trying to peddle crap (or even if it is peddling crap in the right manner). As the same (VCR) next door neighbour said less than an hour ago 'shopkeepers used to be in it for a living and now they're in it to get rich'! Profit is the name of the game and no self-respecting shopkeeper in this neck of the woods has a house worth less than 1.5 million - it's standard issue! I'm sure your place is *entirely* different, but my experience of many shops is that they aren't really able to offer any real advice, service depends on how late the sales assistant got in the night before and 'backup' as you call it invariably means being told to contact the UK representatives of the manufacturers direct when summat goes tits-up in the warranty period. *Good* shops do exist (even here) that do seem to be able to offer a useful blend of price and service and it's always a pleasure to put a bit of work their way, but I think a lot of people will say that shopping is largely an *unlovely* experience these days! No-one tries to haggle with supermarkets and garages because the stuff's already too cheap (witness the lard so many people are hauling around these days) in the first instance and because they can't in the second! Now, having mentioned the neighbour - apparently the 'revised price' for the VCR repair was 39 quid (not 29) and that almost certainly subject to VAT, so the original 'estimate' of 50 quid was about right. Still a crock, in my book... Personal anecdote: I bought summat (can't remember what) from the *other* hifi shop (an ex employee of the first shop and who hates the family who own/run the first shop) and for some reason looked it up on the website when I got back. I was a bit surprised to find it was exactly 10 quid cheaper! I contacted the shop owner (know him very well) and said WTF? and was regaled (yet again) with the 'Internet prices are cheaper blah blah blah.. I said 'so I've paid 10 quid for the privilege of carrying the item home and saving you having to ship it? (It's just the one shop - the item would have been carried out of the same door no matter what!) I said 'fine but you know what I'll do (or not do) in the future, don't you?' and said cheerio. About an hour later he phoned up to tell me he'd refunded the ten quid (credit card) and had decided not to quibble when people quoted prices from his website in the future...!! The same shop had (probably still has) - checks... Yep: http://www.audiovision.co.uk/#7114X0 an Infocus 72 DLP Digital PJ advertised for £895. Swim bought hers for 400 odd quid from (struggles, gives up - can't remember) OK, asks son and he says (he remembers this stuff) it was £495 from: http://www.creative-audio.co.uk/ But is discontinued and has been cheaper since! Now Boro, me auld china, that's 400 hundred quid difference on one gadget - how much ****ing *support* do you think the local shops should get?- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Dear keith, I'm sorry to hear that you haven't had any good experiences of quality retailing, but at the end of the day all retailers on the high street have overheads that the internet chavs don't have to suffer. Also, is it a crime to make a profit so that we can live in a 3 bed semi and drive a car to work? Now I'm not saying that to do this we have to rip people off because most honest retailers don't. But we have to be realistic and if we give all our margin away on a product or service well whats the point? You pays your money and you makes the choice you're happy to live with.Save a few quid and buy from a fly by night knowing that if there's a problem you're stuffed or buying through a good retailer that WILL give good advice and help you if things go wrong. By the way, have you noticed how many electrical retailers have gone out of business in the last few years? Must be ALL that money they were making eh? The only hifi dealers that will survive this obsession with prices and the internet are those that just do a bloody good job of offering the right products at sensible prices with excellent back up; not trying to compete with the internet on discounting. On your point about supermarkets selling cheap stuff... your wife must do your shopping does she!? Six tomatoes for nearly a quid! Come on. Regards, Borosteve. |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
an Infocus 72 DLP Digital PJ advertised for £895. Swim bought hers for
400 odd quid from (struggles, gives up - can't remember) OK, asks son and he says (he remembers this stuff) it was £495 from: Bugger. You'll have to follow Projectors / Infocus / IN72... Keith.. Any chance you and the rest here could snip some posts ..saves ages scrolling down and down etc.. Ta...... -- Tony Sayer |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
'Give' is the operative word here - spoken like a Cambridgeshire shopkeeper, Tony.... Well state, give us your opinion, whatever.. And I'm not a Cambs shopkeeper.. OK, *FOC* (as ever) I'll *give* you some key phrases to get you started: 'It'll need a new motor'.... 'The clutch will have to be replaced'... 'The chimney needs repointing'... 'It's obsolete and you can't get the parts any more'... Asitappens, 'repair' and servicing charges appear to an almost universal 50-55 quid per hour plus parts (necessary or not) - whether or not you'll make a living at it depends how much you are prepared to scam your punters, from what I can see of it... So you agree a 50 quid an hour rate plus parts then?.. And odes that include VAT or not?..... -- Tony Sayer |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
In article ,
tony sayer wrote: Keith.. Any chance you and the rest here could snip some posts ..saves ages scrolling down and down etc.. I've already given him a few tips on the correct protocol but I don't think he's interest. ;-) -- *How come you never hear about gruntled employees? * Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"tony sayer" wrote in message ... an Infocus 72 DLP Digital PJ advertised for £895. Swim bought hers for 400 odd quid from (struggles, gives up - can't remember) OK, asks son and he says (he remembers this stuff) it was £495 from: Bugger. You'll have to follow Projectors / Infocus / IN72... Keith.. Any chance you and the rest here could snip some posts ..saves ages scrolling down and down etc.. Yep, bitch ain't it - especially when the response is squeezed in with no spaces either and a scrunched up smiley. Sound familiar?:) Ta...... -- Tony Sayer |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message ... In article , Keith G wrote: "tony sayer" wrote in message ... In article , Keith G scribeth thus [snip] Maybe you oughta to give us a business plan on how to run a repair bizz in the 21st century Keith?. Just what would you need to charge to cover ALL the costs involved?...... More or less what I asked Keithie earlier with no reply. 'Give' is the operative word here - spoken like a Cambridgeshire shopkeeper, Tony.... OK, *FOC* (as ever) I'll *give* you some key phrases to get you started: 'It'll need a new motor'.... 'The clutch will have to be replaced'... 'The chimney needs repointing'... 'It's obsolete and you can't get the parts any more'... Asitappens, 'repair' and servicing charges appear to an almost universal 50-55 quid per hour plus parts (necessary or not) - whether or not you'll make a living at it depends how much you are prepared to scam your punters, from what I can see of it... If you went back into business how much would you expect to earn an hour? Look around you at house prices etc before giving a figure 20 years out of date. Your snipping and attribution's all to **** again, Plowie - I think you're trying to answer too many people with one response. Sort yourself out FFS..... -- *When blondes have more fun, do they know it? Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"tony sayer" wrote in message ... **** me - Tony's managed a snip! (And took the the original post's header off so we don't know who he's talking to!! ;-) 'Give' is the operative word here - spoken like a Cambridgeshire shopkeeper, Tony.... Well state, give us your opinion, whatever.. About what? (I hope you aren't relying on me *remembering* the crap that gets posted here!!) And I'm not a Cambs shopkeeper.. Good for you - neither am I...!! OK, *FOC* (as ever) I'll *give* you some key phrases to get you started: 'It'll need a new motor'.... 'The clutch will have to be replaced'... 'The chimney needs repointing'... 'It's obsolete and you can't get the parts any more'... Asitappens, 'repair' and servicing charges appear to an almost universal 50-55 quid per hour plus parts (necessary or not) - whether or not you'll make a living at it depends how much you are prepared to scam your punters, from what I can see of it... So you agree a 50 quid an hour rate plus parts then?.. Sounds good to me - when do I start? And odes that include VAT or not?..... Let's say not and it'll be summat to look forward to... |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"borosteve" wrote in message oups.com... On 8 Nov, 13:10, "Keith G" wrote: "borosteve" wrote in message ups.com... On 7 Nov, 16:37, "Keith G" wrote: A little while ago I bumped into my neighbour again and had the chance to briefly confirm a few points in the VCR repair saga... Apparently the VCR was/is a Panasonic and is about 3 years old. (Fekkin' good start, but let's not get bogged down at this stage...) My neighbour has no special attachment to it and simply wanted it fixed for as little as possible (naturally). He had had no idea VCRs were so cheap and he thinks the shop should have (or could have) mentioned it and given him the option of getting a cheaper replacement, even if it meant sourcing it elsewhere. He thinks the hifi shop owners are shysters (not new, apparently!) and only goes there out of habit and for obvious convenience. It's all about location and the lack of real competition and having decades (whole century really) of thickies bussing into town to trade their turnip money for shiny things. Of course it can't last forever, what with the 'Web' an' all, but it's pretty obvious to me these ole boys plan to go down with all credit card readers *blazing*!! (It's not just the hifi shop - having bought no less than 3 bikes from the local 'bike shop this year and despite Tone the Clone working there, I think they are pretty much the same - *no discount, because we don't have to* kinda thing....!) Maybe it's me... Maybe it's *that* time of the year again... I work and earn a living (just) in the electronics retail business and have always wondered why our industry is always expected to give discounts on our products and services when people don't ask for a better (for them) price when they visit the supermarket and trundle out the door with £100's worth of shopping.Or ask there solicitor for a discount when moving house. We work on relatively low margins compared to say the furniture business;not surprising that a sofa can drop from £1200 down to £399 and still make a good margin! I wish people would wake up and smell the coffee as before long there will be no high street retailers of anything except charity shops and there will be no chance of trying (hearing) anything before you buy as there will be nowhere but the internet to buy the latest 5star reviewed bit of kit.Thankfully there are still purchasers that DO appreciate the advice and service afforded by a quality high street retailer and are prepared to shun the internet in favour of better back-up and peace of mind. Sorry Borosteve, I think I see things a little differently from my side of the counter.... No-one (much) is under any illusions about the profits any well-run retail shop can make if it isn't trying to peddle crap (or even if it is peddling crap in the right manner). As the same (VCR) next door neighbour said less than an hour ago 'shopkeepers used to be in it for a living and now they're in it to get rich'! Profit is the name of the game and no self-respecting shopkeeper in this neck of the woods has a house worth less than 1.5 million - it's standard issue! I'm sure your place is *entirely* different, but my experience of many shops is that they aren't really able to offer any real advice, service depends on how late the sales assistant got in the night before and 'backup' as you call it invariably means being told to contact the UK representatives of the manufacturers direct when summat goes tits-up in the warranty period. *Good* shops do exist (even here) that do seem to be able to offer a useful blend of price and service and it's always a pleasure to put a bit of work their way, but I think a lot of people will say that shopping is largely an *unlovely* experience these days! No-one tries to haggle with supermarkets and garages because the stuff's already too cheap (witness the lard so many people are hauling around these days) in the first instance and because they can't in the second! Now, having mentioned the neighbour - apparently the 'revised price' for the VCR repair was 39 quid (not 29) and that almost certainly subject to VAT, so the original 'estimate' of 50 quid was about right. Still a crock, in my book... Personal anecdote: I bought summat (can't remember what) from the *other* hifi shop (an ex employee of the first shop and who hates the family who own/run the first shop) and for some reason looked it up on the website when I got back. I was a bit surprised to find it was exactly 10 quid cheaper! I contacted the shop owner (know him very well) and said WTF? and was regaled (yet again) with the 'Internet prices are cheaper blah blah blah.. I said 'so I've paid 10 quid for the privilege of carrying the item home and saving you having to ship it? (It's just the one shop - the item would have been carried out of the same door no matter what!) I said 'fine but you know what I'll do (or not do) in the future, don't you?' and said cheerio. About an hour later he phoned up to tell me he'd refunded the ten quid (credit card) and had decided not to quibble when people quoted prices from his website in the future...!! The same shop had (probably still has) - checks... Yep: http://www.audiovision.co.uk/#7114X0 an Infocus 72 DLP Digital PJ advertised for £895. Swim bought hers for 400 odd quid from (struggles, gives up - can't remember) OK, asks son and he says (he remembers this stuff) it was £495 from: http://www.creative-audio.co.uk/ But is discontinued and has been cheaper since! Now Boro, me auld china, that's 400 hundred quid difference on one gadget - how much ****ing *support* do you think the local shops should get?- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Dear keith, I'm sorry to hear that you haven't had any good experiences of quality retailing, but at the end of the day all retailers on the high street have overheads that the internet chavs don't have to suffer. Also, is it a crime to make a profit so that we can live in a 3 bed semi and drive a car to work? Now I'm not saying that to do this we have to rip people off because most honest retailers don't. But we have to be realistic and if we give all our margin away on a product or service well whats the point? You pays your money and you makes the choice you're happy to live with.Save a few quid and buy from a fly by night knowing that if there's a problem you're stuffed or buying through a good retailer that WILL give good advice and help you if things go wrong. By the way, have you noticed how many electrical retailers have gone out of business in the last few years? Must be ALL that money they were making eh? The only hifi dealers that will survive this obsession with prices and the internet are those that just do a bloody good job of offering the right products at sensible prices with excellent back up; not trying to compete with the internet on discounting. On your point about supermarkets selling cheap stuff... your wife must do your shopping does she!? Six tomatoes for nearly a quid! Come on. Sorry Boro, contrary to what you and a whole lot of other high street retailers might think, we can't halt the march of time just to give you a chance to line your pockets. There's a lot going for Internet shopping and it's here to stay - you'd better get used to the idea and get a website going! (Snipping: I'll snip when there's 10 indents in a row like the other lazy bleeders in here - OK?) |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
In article ,
Keith G wrote: Your snipping and attribution's all to **** again, Plowie - I think you're trying to answer too many people with one response. Sort yourself out FFS..... Have a look at your reply to 'borosteve' - then get that moat out of your eye. -- *A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory * Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message ... In article , Keith G wrote: Your snipping and attribution's all to **** again, Plowie - I think you're trying to answer too many people with one response. Sort yourself out FFS..... Have a look at your reply to 'borosteve' - then get that moat out of your eye. Moat? :-) (Try *mote* next time....) -- *A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory * Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
In article , Keith G
scribeth thus "tony sayer" wrote in message ... **** me - Tony's managed a snip! (And took the the original post's header off so we don't know who he's talking to!! ;-) Well I do!.. 'Give' is the operative word here - spoken like a Cambridgeshire shopkeeper, Tony.... Well state, give us your opinion, whatever.. About what? (I hope you aren't relying on me *remembering* the crap that gets posted here!!) And I'm not a Cambs shopkeeper.. Good for you - neither am I...!! I don't reckon you'd want to be either;!.. OK, *FOC* (as ever) I'll *give* you some key phrases to get you started: 'It'll need a new motor'.... 'The clutch will have to be replaced'... 'The chimney needs repointing'... 'It's obsolete and you can't get the parts any more'... Asitappens, 'repair' and servicing charges appear to an almost universal 50-55 quid per hour plus parts (necessary or not) - whether or not you'll make a living at it depends how much you are prepared to scam your punters, from what I can see of it... So you agree a 50 quid an hour rate plus parts then?.. Sounds good to me - when do I start? Ah!, can't find any paying punters mate;!.. They want you to work for bugger all.. And odes that include VAT or not?..... Let's say not and it'll be summat to look forward to... ;!... Seriously I'm bloody glad I don't run a domestic retail or servicing place, can't think of much worse;!.... -- Tony Sayer |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
In article ,
Keith G wrote: "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message ... In article , Keith G wrote: Your snipping and attribution's all to **** again, Plowie - I think you're trying to answer too many people with one response. Sort yourself out FFS..... Have a look at your reply to 'borosteve' - then get that moat out of your eye. Moat? :-) (Try *mote* next time....) Fell straight in. Don't address the point of the post - just pick up on the spelling. Thanks for confirming my views of you. -- *Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it* Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"tony sayer" wrote So you agree a 50 quid an hour rate plus parts then?.. Sounds good to me - when do I start? Ah!, can't find any paying punters mate;!.. They want you to work for bugger all.. That'll be the Poles, I expect.... Seriously I'm bloody glad I don't run a domestic retail or servicing place, can't think of much worse;!.... Every business on the planet depends on the same thing for its success - getting the supply and demand equation right. Should be simple enough but, unfortunately, there's a lot can go wrong and many more businesses fail than succeed. Offhand, I'd say the demand for repair work is on the decline (for any number of reasons) and anybody that had been looking to make a living from it should be thinking of supplementing his income with other work.... |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message ... In article , Keith G wrote: "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message ... In article , Keith G wrote: Your snipping and attribution's all to **** again, Plowie - I think you're trying to answer too many people with one response. Sort yourself out FFS..... Have a look at your reply to 'borosteve' - then get that moat out of your eye. Moat? :-) (Try *mote* next time....) Fell straight in. Don't address the point of the post - just pick up on the spelling. Thanks for confirming my views of you. Any time.... -- *Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it* Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
On 8 Nov, 21:47, "Keith G" wrote:
"borosteve" wrote in message oups.com... On 8 Nov, 13:10, "Keith G" wrote: "borosteve" wrote in message oups.com... On 7 Nov, 16:37, "Keith G" wrote: A little while ago I bumped into my neighbour again and had the chance to briefly confirm a few points in the VCR repair saga... Apparently the VCR was/is a Panasonic and is about 3 years old. (Fekkin' good start, but let's not get bogged down at this stage...) My neighbour has no special attachment to it and simply wanted it fixed for as little as possible (naturally). He had had no idea VCRs were so cheap and he thinks the shop should have (or could have) mentioned it and given him the option of getting a cheaper replacement, even if it meant sourcing it elsewhere. He thinks the hifi shop owners are shysters (not new, apparently!) and only goes there out of habit and for obvious convenience. It's all about location and the lack of real competition and having decades (whole century really) of thickies bussing into town to trade their turnip money for shiny things. Of course it can't last forever, what with the 'Web' an' all, but it's pretty obvious to me these ole boys plan to go down with all credit card readers *blazing*!! (It's not just the hifi shop - having bought no less than 3 bikes from the local 'bike shop this year and despite Tone the Clone working there, I think they are pretty much the same - *no discount, because we don't have to* kinda thing....!) Maybe it's me... Maybe it's *that* time of the year again... I work and earn a living (just) in the electronics retail business and have always wondered why our industry is always expected to give discounts on our products and services when people don't ask for a better (for them) price when they visit the supermarket and trundle out the door with £100's worth of shopping.Or ask there solicitor for a discount when moving house. We work on relatively low margins compared to say the furniture business;not surprising that a sofa can drop from £1200 down to £399 and still make a good margin! I wish people would wake up and smell the coffee as before long there will be no high street retailers of anything except charity shops and there will be no chance of trying (hearing) anything before you buy as there will be nowhere but the internet to buy the latest 5star reviewed bit of kit.Thankfully there are still purchasers that DO appreciate the advice and service afforded by a quality high street retailer and are prepared to shun the internet in favour of better back-up and peace of mind. Sorry Borosteve, I think I see things a little differently from my side of the counter.... No-one (much) is under any illusions about the profits any well-run retail shop can make if it isn't trying to peddle crap (or even if it is peddling crap in the right manner). As the same (VCR) next door neighbour said less than an hour ago 'shopkeepers used to be in it for a living and now they're in it to get rich'! Profit is the name of the game and no self-respecting shopkeeper in this neck of the woods has a house worth less than 1.5 million - it's standard issue! I'm sure your place is *entirely* different, but my experience of many shops is that they aren't really able to offer any real advice, service depends on how late the sales assistant got in the night before and 'backup' as you call it invariably means being told to contact the UK representatives of the manufacturers direct when summat goes tits-up in the warranty period. *Good* shops do exist (even here) that do seem to be able to offer a useful blend of price and service and it's always a pleasure to put a bit of work their way, but I think a lot of people will say that shopping is largely an *unlovely* experience these days! No-one tries to haggle with supermarkets and garages because the stuff's already too cheap (witness the lard so many people are hauling around these days) in the first instance and because they can't in the second! Now, having mentioned the neighbour - apparently the 'revised price' for the VCR repair was 39 quid (not 29) and that almost certainly subject to VAT, so the original 'estimate' of 50 quid was about right. Still a crock, in my book... Personal anecdote: I bought summat (can't remember what) from the *other* hifi shop (an ex employee of the first shop and who hates the family who own/run the first shop) and for some reason looked it up on the website when I got back. I was a bit surprised to find it was exactly 10 quid cheaper! I contacted the shop owner (know him very well) and said WTF? and was regaled (yet again) with the 'Internet prices are cheaper blah blah blah.. I said 'so I've paid 10 quid for the privilege of carrying the item home and saving you having to ship it? (It's just the one shop - the item would have been carried out of the same door no matter what!) I said 'fine but you know what I'll do (or not do) in the future, don't you?' and said cheerio. About an hour later he phoned up to tell me he'd refunded the ten quid (credit card) and had decided not to quibble when people quoted prices from his website in the future...!! The same shop had (probably still has) - checks... Yep: http://www.audiovision.co.uk/#7114X0 an Infocus 72 DLP Digital PJ advertised for £895. Swim bought hers for 400 odd quid from (struggles, gives up - can't remember) OK, asks son and he says (he remembers this stuff) it was £495 from: http://www.creative-audio.co.uk/ But is discontinued and has been cheaper since! Now Boro, me auld china, that's 400 hundred quid difference on one gadget - how much ****ing *support* do you think the local shops should get?- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Dear keith, I'm sorry to hear that you haven't had any good experiences of quality retailing, but at the end of the day all retailers on the high street have overheads that the internet chavs don't have to suffer. Also, is it a crime to make a profit so that we can live in a 3 bed semi and drive a car to work? Now I'm not saying that to do this we have to rip people off because most honest retailers don't. But we have to be realistic and if we give all our margin away on a product or service well whats the point? You pays your money and you makes the choice you're happy to live with.Save a few quid and buy from a fly by night knowing that if there's a problem you're stuffed or buying through a good retailer that WILL give good advice and help you if things go wrong. By the way, have you noticed how many electrical retailers have gone out of business in the last few years? Must be ALL that money they were making eh? The only hifi dealers that will survive this obsession with prices and the internet are those that just do a bloody good job of offering the right products at sensible prices with excellent back up; not trying to compete with the internet on discounting. On your point about supermarkets selling cheap stuff... your wife must do your shopping does she!? Six tomatoes for nearly a quid! Come on. Sorry Boro, contrary to what you and a whole lot of other high street retailers might think, we can't halt the march of time just to give you a chance to line your pockets. There's a lot going for Internet shopping and it's here to stay - you'd better get used to the idea and get a website going! (Snipping: I'll snip when there's 10 indents in a row like the other lazy bleeders in here - OK?)- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Keith, I'm not saying there is'nt a place for internet selling, of course there is and it is here to stay, but if I want to be just a cashier I'll get a job in a supermarket. |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"borosteve" wrote in message oups.com... On 8 Nov, 21:47, "Keith G" wrote: "borosteve" wrote in message oups.com... On 8 Nov, 13:10, "Keith G" wrote: "borosteve" wrote in message oups.com... On 7 Nov, 16:37, "Keith G" wrote: A little while ago I bumped into my neighbour again and had the chance to briefly confirm a few points in the VCR repair saga... Apparently the VCR was/is a Panasonic and is about 3 years old. (Fekkin' good start, but let's not get bogged down at this stage...) My neighbour has no special attachment to it and simply wanted it fixed for as little as possible (naturally). He had had no idea VCRs were so cheap and he thinks the shop should have (or could have) mentioned it and given him the option of getting a cheaper replacement, even if it meant sourcing it elsewhere. He thinks the hifi shop owners are shysters (not new, apparently!) and only goes there out of habit and for obvious convenience. It's all about location and the lack of real competition and having decades (whole century really) of thickies bussing into town to trade their turnip money for shiny things. Of course it can't last forever, what with the 'Web' an' all, but it's pretty obvious to me these ole boys plan to go down with all credit card readers *blazing*!! (It's not just the hifi shop - having bought no less than 3 bikes from the local 'bike shop this year and despite Tone the Clone working there, I think they are pretty much the same - *no discount, because we don't have to* kinda thing....!) Maybe it's me... Maybe it's *that* time of the year again... I work and earn a living (just) in the electronics retail business and have always wondered why our industry is always expected to give discounts on our products and services when people don't ask for a better (for them) price when they visit the supermarket and trundle out the door with £100's worth of shopping.Or ask there solicitor for a discount when moving house. We work on relatively low margins compared to say the furniture business;not surprising that a sofa can drop from £1200 down to £399 and still make a good margin! I wish people would wake up and smell the coffee as before long there will be no high street retailers of anything except charity shops and there will be no chance of trying (hearing) anything before you buy as there will be nowhere but the internet to buy the latest 5star reviewed bit of kit.Thankfully there are still purchasers that DO appreciate the advice and service afforded by a quality high street retailer and are prepared to shun the internet in favour of better back-up and peace of mind. Sorry Borosteve, I think I see things a little differently from my side of the counter.... No-one (much) is under any illusions about the profits any well-run retail shop can make if it isn't trying to peddle crap (or even if it is peddling crap in the right manner). As the same (VCR) next door neighbour said less than an hour ago 'shopkeepers used to be in it for a living and now they're in it to get rich'! Profit is the name of the game and no self-respecting shopkeeper in this neck of the woods has a house worth less than 1.5 million - it's standard issue! I'm sure your place is *entirely* different, but my experience of many shops is that they aren't really able to offer any real advice, service depends on how late the sales assistant got in the night before and 'backup' as you call it invariably means being told to contact the UK representatives of the manufacturers direct when summat goes tits-up in the warranty period. *Good* shops do exist (even here) that do seem to be able to offer a useful blend of price and service and it's always a pleasure to put a bit of work their way, but I think a lot of people will say that shopping is largely an *unlovely* experience these days! No-one tries to haggle with supermarkets and garages because the stuff's already too cheap (witness the lard so many people are hauling around these days) in the first instance and because they can't in the second! Now, having mentioned the neighbour - apparently the 'revised price' for the VCR repair was 39 quid (not 29) and that almost certainly subject to VAT, so the original 'estimate' of 50 quid was about right. Still a crock, in my book... Personal anecdote: I bought summat (can't remember what) from the *other* hifi shop (an ex employee of the first shop and who hates the family who own/run the first shop) and for some reason looked it up on the website when I got back. I was a bit surprised to find it was exactly 10 quid cheaper! I contacted the shop owner (know him very well) and said WTF? and was regaled (yet again) with the 'Internet prices are cheaper blah blah blah.. I said 'so I've paid 10 quid for the privilege of carrying the item home and saving you having to ship it? (It's just the one shop - the item would have been carried out of the same door no matter what!) I said 'fine but you know what I'll do (or not do) in the future, don't you?' and said cheerio. About an hour later he phoned up to tell me he'd refunded the ten quid (credit card) and had decided not to quibble when people quoted prices from his website in the future...!! The same shop had (probably still has) - checks... Yep: http://www.audiovision.co.uk/#7114X0 an Infocus 72 DLP Digital PJ advertised for £895. Swim bought hers for 400 odd quid from (struggles, gives up - can't remember) OK, asks son and he says (he remembers this stuff) it was £495 from: http://www.creative-audio.co.uk/ But is discontinued and has been cheaper since! Now Boro, me auld china, that's 400 hundred quid difference on one gadget - how much ****ing *support* do you think the local shops should get?- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Dear keith, I'm sorry to hear that you haven't had any good experiences of quality retailing, but at the end of the day all retailers on the high street have overheads that the internet chavs don't have to suffer. Also, is it a crime to make a profit so that we can live in a 3 bed semi and drive a car to work? Now I'm not saying that to do this we have to rip people off because most honest retailers don't. But we have to be realistic and if we give all our margin away on a product or service well whats the point? You pays your money and you makes the choice you're happy to live with.Save a few quid and buy from a fly by night knowing that if there's a problem you're stuffed or buying through a good retailer that WILL give good advice and help you if things go wrong. By the way, have you noticed how many electrical retailers have gone out of business in the last few years? Must be ALL that money they were making eh? The only hifi dealers that will survive this obsession with prices and the internet are those that just do a bloody good job of offering the right products at sensible prices with excellent back up; not trying to compete with the internet on discounting. On your point about supermarkets selling cheap stuff... your wife must do your shopping does she!? Six tomatoes for nearly a quid! Come on. Sorry Boro, contrary to what you and a whole lot of other high street retailers might think, we can't halt the march of time just to give you a chance to line your pockets. There's a lot going for Internet shopping and it's here to stay - you'd better get used to the idea and get a website going! (Snipping: I'll snip when there's 10 indents in a row like the other lazy bleeders in here - OK?)- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Keith, I'm not saying there is'nt a place for internet selling, of course there is and it is here to stay, but if I want to be just a cashier I'll get a job in a supermarket. Fine, but to ignore the way things are these days could be disastrous - don't fight the Internet, *use it* - get a website going, get into online directories, come up in Google searches! Random thoughts: One big error many small retailers seem to make is to say 'Here I am and this is what I want and how I want to do it' whereas Joe Public is a lot more clued-in than he used to be and he knows how to rock and roll, so the retailer who asks his customers 'What do *you* want?' is going to stand a lot better chance in my book. Another big mistake to make is to think that the Internet is always much cheaper on everything (it isn't) and that they always have the Desired Objects in stock (they don't). If I was a retailer who was obviously being used as a showroom for an unknown Internet supplier, instead of getting the arse (like I've seen one or two them do) I'd just say 'Nice to see you in - come back if they can't sort you out and we'll see what we can do!' The worst thing *by far* for me is the clowns selling *leisure goods* (ie hobby/luxury stuff) who hit you with the 'City Desk Busy Busy Busy Time Is Money' BS when one is thinking of dropping a few ackers on Shiny Things - those ****s have no idea how much damage they do to themslves in the long run! If it makes you feel any happier - we were always pleased to be given the chance to be the *cheapest* and as 'merchants' we also got to fund the operation! My 'career sales total' was about £80,000,000 and none of that was ever on a plate, believe you me! In fact, the only time you'd get an order *easily* would be from someone whose credit was in the poo elsewhere and you really wouldn't want it!! Obviously we were in a 'repeat business' so the service/price blend was paramount, especially as our customers had any number of other places they could go to for the zack same thing (building materials)! My advice to small retailers and tradespeople - forget the money, just do as good a job as you can and provide what your customers want to the best of your ability and it'll be OK in the end, but subsidise your operation as necessary until its reached the point of economic viability! In fact, I can think of two people (small builders) whose wives' *supplementary businesses* became runaway successes and one of them packed his operation in to go and work for his wife - Robby's Cake Shop (and bakery) in the Arnedale, Luton I believe...!?? |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
In article , Keith G
scribeth thus "tony sayer" wrote So you agree a 50 quid an hour rate plus parts then?.. Sounds good to me - when do I start? Ah!, can't find any paying punters mate;!.. They want you to work for bugger all.. That'll be the Poles, I expect.... Why should it be them?, I've several people ask me can I look at their Hi-fi, Telly, radio whatever and fix it on the cheap!.. Seriously I'm bloody glad I don't run a domestic retail or servicing place, can't think of much worse;!.... Every business on the planet depends on the same thing for its success - getting the supply and demand equation right. Should be simple enough but, unfortunately, there's a lot can go wrong and many more businesses fail than succeed. Offhand, I'd say the demand for repair work is on the decline (for any number of reasons) and anybody that had been looking to make a living from it should be thinking of supplementing his income with other work.... Yes quite what's happening from some sectors especially consumer grade equipment's, still we'll just dig out some more gravel to chuck that into;!. Supplementing the income.. Working all hours to keep up with all that friggin government paperwork!.. -- Tony Sayer |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"Keith G" wrote in message ... Every business on the planet depends on the same thing for its success - getting the supply and demand equation right. Should be simple enough but, unfortunately, there's a lot can go wrong and many more businesses fail than succeed. Offhand, I'd say the demand for repair work is on the decline (for any number of reasons) and anybody that had been looking to make a living from it should be thinking of supplementing his income with other work.... Agreed. Here in ScandiLand we recycle almost everything. One often sees five year old TVs, VCRs and CD players in the skips. One good area seems to be guitar amp servicing and repair. I share a workshop with two guys who do this, and are up to their necks in work. Jobs range from new valves and re-bias and cap changes to full rebuilds. Iain |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"Iain Churches" wrote in message ti.fi... "Keith G" wrote in message ... Every business on the planet depends on the same thing for its success - getting the supply and demand equation right. Should be simple enough but, unfortunately, there's a lot can go wrong and many more businesses fail than succeed. Offhand, I'd say the demand for repair work is on the decline (for any number of reasons) and anybody that had been looking to make a living from it should be thinking of supplementing his income with other work.... Agreed. Here in ScandiLand we recycle almost everything. One often sees five year old TVs, VCRs and CD players in the skips. In the skips as in 'thrown out' or 'for recycle' - here (UK) a skip is on its way to the landfill and those goods are 'not allowed' in skips...??? One good area seems to be guitar amp servicing and repair. I share a workshop with two guys who do this, and are up to their necks in work. Jobs range from new valves and re-bias and cap changes to full rebuilds. Some stuff lends itself to repair, some doesn't - for instance, I bet no-one here has his socks darned any more and precious few will be wearing shoes that are repairable. But the 'repair vs. replace' debate is an interesting one - not everything should be repaired and certainly not by untrained or even 'unlicenced' personnel.... |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"Keith G" wrote in message ... "Iain Churches" wrote in message ti.fi... "Keith G" wrote in message ... Every business on the planet depends on the same thing for its success - getting the supply and demand equation right. Should be simple enough but, unfortunately, there's a lot can go wrong and many more businesses fail than succeed. Offhand, I'd say the demand for repair work is on the decline (for any number of reasons) and anybody that had been looking to make a living from it should be thinking of supplementing his income with other work.... Agreed. Here in ScandiLand we recycle almost everything. One often sees five year old TVs, VCRs and CD players in the skips. In the skips as in 'thrown out' or 'for recycle' - here (UK) a skip is on its way to the landfill and those goods are 'not allowed' in skips...??? We have very little landfill material. Recycling places can be found in all areas. There are huge skips marked "metal, plastic, wood, TVs, computers etc etc. In fact the landfill material had decresed so much by the recycling of all paper, glass, timber, cardboard, milk cartons etc, and the composting of perishable food scraps etc, that most households only require rubbish collection once every other week. One good area seems to be guitar amp servicing and repair. I share a workshop with two guys who do this, and are up to their necks in work. Jobs range from new valves and re-bias and cap changes to full rebuilds. Some stuff lends itself to repair, some doesn't - for instance, I bet no-one here has his socks darned any more and precious few will be wearing shoes that are repairable. But the 'repair vs. replace' debate is an interesting one - not everything should be repaired and certainly not by untrained or even 'unlicenced' personnel.... In the case of guitar amps, vintage is still held in high esteem. So old Marshalls, Engl, and expcially Hi Watts are looked after with lots of TLC. They are built in such a way that they can be repaired and serviced. Many are fifty years old and gigging six nights a week. (The amps, I mean, not the guitar players:-) Iain |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
On Sun, 11 Nov 2007 17:55:42 +0200, "Iain Churches"
wrote: Many are fifty years old and gigging six nights a week. (The amps, I mean, not the guitar players:-) No, I think you will find it is both... d -- Pearce Consulting http://www.pearce.uk.com |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"Iain Churches" wrote We have very little landfill material. Recycling places can be found in all areas. There are huge skips marked "metal, plastic, wood, TVs, computers etc etc. In fact the landfill material had decresed so much by the recycling of all paper, glass, timber, cardboard, milk cartons etc, and the composting of perishable food scraps etc, that most households only require rubbish collection once every other week. I have just put our 'rubbish wheelie' out and, as usual, it's no more than half full - that's a fornight's worth. Anyway, Iain - never mind the rubbish/reclaim - I've been hearing on the telly lately that we in the UK throw out *30%* of all food bought in this country! (!!!) I can't even begin to believe this - we throw virtually *nothing* out here. Kitchen waste (peelings, stalks &c.) goes on the compost and the odd bit of fat from a chop (or other similar inedible) goes out on the back lawn and is never there in the morning! (If that 30% figure is anything like right, there will be a *Biblical* retribution one day soon, I'm sure - of *Old Testament* proportions!!) In the case of guitar amps, vintage is still held in high esteem. So old Marshalls, Engl, and expcially Hi Watts are looked after with lots of TLC. They are built in such a way that they can be repaired and serviced. Quite and so much flyaway/throwaway stuff these days isn't!! Many are fifty years old and gigging six nights a week. (The amps, I mean, not the guitar players:-) No comment.... |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"Don Pearce" wrote in message ... On Sun, 11 Nov 2007 17:55:42 +0200, "Iain Churches" wrote: Many are fifty years old and gigging six nights a week. (The amps, I mean, not the guitar players:-) No, I think you will find it is both... One of the many fun things about sharing a workshop with two young repair techs, is that I get to meet their clients. Three times in the past couple of weeks I have had coffee with lads whose fathers were studio musicians when I was making pop records. I am pretty sure that guitars and the amps are passed on, father to son. Iain |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"Keith G" wrote in message ... "Iain Churches" wrote We have very little landfill material. Recycling places can be found in all areas. There are huge skips marked "metal, plastic, wood, TVs, computers etc etc. In fact the landfill material had decresed so much by the recycling of all paper, glass, timber, cardboard, milk cartons etc, and the composting of perishable food scraps etc, that most households only require rubbish collection once every other week. I have just put our 'rubbish wheelie' out and, as usual, it's no more than half full - that's a fornight's worth. Anyway, Iain - never mind the rubbish/reclaim - I've been hearing on the telly lately that we in the UK throw out *30%* of all food bought in this country! (!!!) That's a sobering thought:-( I can't even begin to believe this - we throw virtually *nothing* out here. Kitchen waste (peelings, stalks &c.) goes on the compost and the odd bit of fat from a chop (or other similar inedible) goes out on the back lawn and is never there in the morning! Fox? Hedgehog? or hungry neighbours? (If that 30% figure is anything like right, there will be a *Biblical* retribution one day soon, I'm sure - of *Old Testament* proportions!!) Scandinavians are always surprised when they visit London to see Bentleys and Rolls Royces by the dozen, driving past shop doorways that have homeless people living in them in cardboard boxes. When I lived in London, a local shop used to put bread that had passed its sell-by date in boxes in the street at the back of the shop, so that people in need could help themselves. The health authorities served them with an injunction. In the case of guitar amps, vintage is still held in high esteem. So old Marshalls, Engl, and expcially Hi Watts are looked after with lots of TLC. They are built in such a way that they can be repaired and serviced. Quite and so much flyaway/throwaway stuff these days isn't!! It's called built in obsolescence (I know many a guitar player who fits the category:-) Iain |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
In article i,
Iain Churches wrote: Scandinavians are always surprised when they visit London to see Bentleys and Rolls Royces by the dozen, driving past shop doorways that have homeless people living in them in cardboard boxes. Yes - those down an out Scandinavians have to have somewhere to go. When I lived in London, a local shop used to put bread that had passed its sell-by date in boxes in the street at the back of the shop, so that people in need could help themselves. The health authorities served them with an injunction. And rightly so. Unless proper and time consuming precautions are taken this encourages vermin. The shop was probably trying it on to get rid of its rubbish for free. -- *A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking * Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"Iain Churches" wrote in message ti.fi... "Keith G" wrote Anyway, Iain - never mind the rubbish/reclaim - I've been hearing on the telly lately that we in the UK throw out *30%* of all food bought in this country! (!!!) That's a sobering thought:-( If it's true, it's a lot more serious than merely 'sobering' - that sort of behavious simply doesn't go unpunished.... I can't even begin to believe this - we throw virtually *nothing* out here. Kitchen waste (peelings, stalks &c.) goes on the compost and the odd bit of fat from a chop (or other similar inedible) goes out on the back lawn and is never there in the morning! Fox? Hedgehog? or hungry neighbours? All of the above, but we do get Hoggits on a nightly basis - the record number being 5 at the same time! :-) (We put 'Spikes' out for them! http://www.spikesite.co.uk/) (If that 30% figure is anything like right, there will be a *Biblical* retribution one day soon, I'm sure - of *Old Testament* proportions!!) Scandinavians are always surprised when they visit London to see Bentleys and Rolls Royces by the dozen, driving past shop doorways that have homeless people living in them in cardboard boxes. Proof positive that Experiment 5096/54B (Humans on the planet Earth) hasn't been entirely successful.... When I lived in London, a local shop used to put bread that had passed its sell-by date in boxes in the street at the back of the shop, so that people in need could help themselves. The health authorities served them with an injunction. I can see that might be a problem - it would depend very much on how exactly it was done.... |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"Keith G" wrote in message ... "Iain Churches" wrote in message ti.fi... "Keith G" wrote Anyway, Iain - never mind the rubbish/reclaim - I've been hearing on the telly lately that we in the UK throw out *30%* of all food bought in this country! (!!!) That's a sobering thought:-( If it's true, it's a lot more serious than merely 'sobering' - that sort of behavious simply doesn't go unpunished.... I can't even begin to believe this - we throw virtually *nothing* out here. Kitchen waste (peelings, stalks &c.) goes on the compost and the odd bit of fat from a chop (or other similar inedible) goes out on the back lawn and is never there in the morning! Fox? Hedgehog? or hungry neighbours? All of the above, but we do get Hoggits on a nightly basis - the record number being 5 at the same time! :-) (We put 'Spikes' out for them! http://www.spikesite.co.uk/) (If that 30% figure is anything like right, there will be a *Biblical* retribution one day soon, I'm sure - of *Old Testament* proportions!!) Scandinavians are always surprised when they visit London to see Bentleys and Rolls Royces by the dozen, driving past shop doorways that have homeless people living in them in cardboard boxes. Proof positive that Experiment 5096/54B (Humans on the planet Earth) hasn't been entirely successful.... When I lived in London, a local shop used to put bread that had passed its sell-by date in boxes in the street at the back of the shop, so that people in need could help themselves. The health authorities served them with an injunction. I can see that might be a problem - it would depend very much on how exactly it was done.... Indeed. The shop closed at 2000 hrs. The bread which would have been a little too stale to sell the next morning, was put outside, in a separate box by the back door, at about 2100 hrs. The dustmen would have collected it the next morning. But I can see that in the event of illness, the shop keeper or even the baker might be held responsible. It just seems a terrible waste:-( Iain |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"Iain Churches" wrote Indeed. The shop closed at 2000 hrs. The bread which would have been a little too stale to sell the next morning, was put outside, in a separate box by the back door, at about 2100 hrs. The dustmen would have collected it the next morning. But I can see that in the event of illness, the shop keeper or even the baker might be held responsible. It just seems a terrible waste:-( It is. Any waste is regrettable but to waste food when many others don't have enough is somehow a terrible thing in my book. Have you ever noticed that, in US movies, *nobody* ever finishes a plate of food/drink/cigarette? What sort of message does that send to the Third World when the movies get to them (which they do) - no wonder the Yanks are becoming the No. 1 target (next to us) for the world's hatred!! |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"Keith G" wrote in message
Have you ever noticed that, in US movies, *nobody* ever finishes a plate of food/drink/cigarette? What sort of message does that send to the Third World when the movies get to them (which they do). I take this as a sign that film and actor time costs more than food, so they don't waste it with boring shots of people finishing their meals. ;-) |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"Arny Krueger" wrote in message . .. "Keith G" wrote in message Have you ever noticed that, in US movies, *nobody* ever finishes a plate of food/drink/cigarette? What sort of message does that send to the Third World when the movies get to them (which they do). I take this as a sign that film and actor time costs more than food, so they don't waste it with boring shots of people finishing their meals. ;-) I read Keith's statement to mean that there is food left on the plate when the diners have finished. I used to correspond with the British pianist Victor Feldman, who lived in New York. He told me there were many restaurants where, if you could eat the entire steak, it was on the house. Even a band of hungry jazz musicians never managed a free meal. Iain |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
"Iain Churches" wrote in message ti.fi... "Arny Krueger" wrote in message . .. "Keith G" wrote in message Have you ever noticed that, in US movies, *nobody* ever finishes a plate of food/drink/cigarette? What sort of message does that send to the Third World when the movies get to them (which they do). I take this as a sign that film and actor time costs more than food, so they don't waste it with boring shots of people finishing their meals. ;-) I read Keith's statement to mean that there is food left on the plate when the diners have finished. Yes - always! I used to correspond with the British pianist Victor Feldman, who lived in New York. He told me there were many restaurants where, if you could eat the entire steak, it was on the house. Even a band of hungry jazz musicians never managed a free meal. Well, there's a few in Detroit that'll be clearing their plates a little more enthusiastically these days - according to this evening's BBC news.... |
Robber Baron Redux: Location, Location, Location....
In article ,
Keith G wrote: Have you ever noticed that, in US movies, *nobody* ever finishes a plate of food/drink/cigarette? What sort of message does that send to the Third World when the movies get to them (which they do) - no wonder the Yanks are becoming the No. 1 target (next to us) for the world's hatred!! In some societies it's regarded as an insult to finish all the food on your plate - it's implying you haven't had enough. -- *I get enough exercise just pushing my luck. Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
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