Stu's news
#21
(02-04-2019, 03:26 PM)Admiral Wrote: With retail, a lot of vendors don't really train their people, and don't pay them either, and service suffers.  It might have been that your request would require the staff to do something extra, and the first person just decided not to go the extra mile.  Treatment of employees (including paying a living wage) directly impacts the level of customer service.

Exactly!  In retail, almost anything can happen ...  but Stu is more of a personal consultant, such as an accountant or other well educated and experienced advisor... he provides a product as a result of his service..... but really it is his service that is different than is available elsewhere... there are "vendors" here that carry a selection of Japanese tools and other goods, but what they have is it.... that is the downside to "retail". Stu works you thru what it is you need to ....  what tool you need to do that, and then works on the price/quality/delivery to suit what you need. He is selling his knowledge, and contacts he has developed over the years....
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#22
Stu is griping about some of the same sort of crap that contributed to me closing my retail shop (ran a computer store in Milwaukee area).

People are becoming increasingly inpatient, rude, and more prone to lying and cheating to get their way.

Just not worth it.
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#23
(02-04-2019, 06:06 PM)Phil Thien Wrote: Stu is griping about some of the same sort of crap that contributed to me closing my retail shop (ran a computer store in Milwaukee area).

People are becoming increasingly inpatient, rude, and more prone to lying and cheating to get their way.

Just not worth it.

I think a part of it is that a whole generation has grown up shopping online and rarely get out in public, especially for shopping. My grandkids don't shop for Christmas or birthday presents and probably never will.  Good kids... just don't see the need for that.... they're not getting married and having kids of their own... just kinda drifting thru life and that's fine with them...

Back on-topic.... I think it would be a good idea to shop with Stu as a sign of support like we plan to do for Rob when he comes back into business.  In Stu's case, it sounds like we need to get our orders in pretty soon before he sells out.... the trouble is, I don't really NEED anything.... I have to go back and think of what I maybe will want in the future...
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#24
(02-05-2019, 09:50 AM)Skip J. Wrote: I think a part of it is that a whole generation has grown up shopping online and rarely get out in public, especially for shopping. My grandkids don't shop for Christmas or birthday presents and probably never will.  Good kids... just don't see the need for that.... they're not getting married and having kids of their own... just kinda drifting thru life and that's fine with them...

Back on-topic.... I think it would be a good idea to shop with Stu as a sign of support like we plan to do for Rob when he comes back into business.  In Stu's case, it sounds like we need to get our orders in pretty soon before he sells out.... the trouble is, I don't really NEED anything.... I have to go back and think of what I maybe will want in the future...

Well, I'm not a hand tool guy.

I just think it is a shame to see such an outstanding source for knowledge and equipment burned to the ground due to unreasonable customers.

I wish I had a solution.
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#25
I totally understand and support Stu's decision. I have a TON of great customers with many of them repeat buyers.

But every once in a while you get a self-important, unrealistically demanding, and outright rude customer. And oddly enough, their orders are usually small dollar ones! Go figure. Those people I handle like a handful of dynamite. Move slowly and carefully and finish their order as quickly as I can. Hopefully you can process their order without a lot of drama. And most of the time that covers it.

Unfortunately, there are people out there who are NEVER satisfied and just don't get it. Those are the kind that make me want to close up shop.
See ya around,
Dominic
------------------------------
Don't you love it when you ask someone what time it is and to prove how smart they are, they tell you how to build a watch?
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#26
(02-04-2019, 08:07 AM)Skip J. Wrote: I bet this guy was not one of us....... a particularly valuable resource for us was lost, and a good friend as well.....

I think the customer in question was one of us.  I recall a thread where a lot of strong opinions were expressed related to that particular individual's inability to get status on his order.  Unfortunate, because many here did explain why he wasn't available.  Stu (Woodnet Username "Schtoo") was a valuable resource to the WN community, and very knowledgeable about his inventory.  You could trust you were getting unadulterated, unfiltered, objective opinions from him.  I ordered some stuff from him, and he even refunded something like $0.38 for cheaper shipping than he'd originally quoted.  That's how honest the guy was.

One of his laments was that some of his products are now more accessible.  That's particularly true about some of the chisels and sharpening stones he offered.  When a much larger company approaches a maker and promises a much larger volume of business, it's hard to compete when you are a one-man business.  The good news is those products are more universally available.  The bad news is the guy who introduced them to the Western world is no longer the guy benefiting from their sales.
Still Learning,

Allan Hill
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#27
(02-06-2019, 02:22 PM)AHill Wrote: I think the customer in question was one of us.  I recall a thread where a lot of strong opinions were expressed related to that particular individual's inability to get status on his order.  Unfortunate, because many here did explain why he wasn't available.  Stu (Woodnet Username "Schtoo") was a valuable resource to the WN community, and very knowledgeable about his inventory.  You could trust you were getting unadulterated, unfiltered, objective opinions from him.  I ordered some stuff from him, and he even refunded something like $0.38 for cheaper shipping than he'd originally quoted.  That's how honest the guy was.

One of his laments was that some of his products are now more accessible.  That's particularly true about some of the chisels and sharpening stones he offered.  When a much larger company approaches a maker and promises a much larger volume of business, it's hard to compete when you are a one-man business.  The good news is those products are more universally available.  The bad news is the guy who introduced them to the Western world is no longer the guy benefiting from their sales.
Mercy! Well, thanks for the update Allan; I tend to come and go at times depending on how busy my business is.

As a self-employed person since 1989, I did have a really bad customer once, and several that were less than 1st class... At my age, I've trimmed back to only the good ones.... but not in retail, I can't imagine being in retail and having to do business with whoever comes in the door...

I am afraid the part about pioneers opening up markets, and then the big boys come in when a market is proven... unfortunately is normal.. I have had to change what I do 3 or 4 times over the decades to stay in business... Frankly, you could say the same thing about our tool makers here when they start selling to LV and Woodcraft... their lead time goes way up.. it's easier to just buy "it" from LV right now than wait... if that model they carry is the one you want...
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#28
I don't know much about his business model but I do have experience firing customers. Once they show their colors refund the money and ask them to shop elsewhere.
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#29
(02-08-2019, 01:37 PM)TomFromStLouis Wrote: I don't know much about his business model but I do have experience firing customers. Once they show their colors refund the money and ask them to shop elsewhere.

Unless a vendor can't afford to lose the sales/customer, that should be the guiding principle of the vendor's business, because if you bent to accommodate an UNREASONABLE customer, you are actually treating the rest of your customers unfairly. Overtime, other customers will behave just like that customer. I had fired two of my previous employers (30 years apart) on the same principle.

Simon
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#30
That's too bad.  I always thought it was a novel approach how he was able to leverage his location with customers overseas (us here, for example).  He opened up a conduit to a completely different market.  Perhaps he will come up with a different solution...

Firing your customers is a nice thought, unfortunately even 1000 satisfied customers can't match the damage that can be done by one disgruntled one these days, given the snap judgments that social media promotes - especially for a small online business.
The wrong kind of non-conformist.

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