Just needed to vent about idiots...

[capewind]

So had to errands to do today, one of which was going to our pond supplier to see what the new season's liners cost are since hubby has a pond install next month ... okay, we've been fretting going in, as both the people who normally run the department left a few months ago, and had heard their replacement was an idiot, but figured what the hey, only looking for liner prices ...

SO wait patiently while he tries to figure out what is wrong with a poor lady's pump ... probably a lot more than when she walked in given the pieces he had it in ... so wait, and wait, and wait ... he finally notices we've been standing there, and asks what we NEED ... ok, not a good sales man ... usually a sales person will say something like "can I help you" ...

I politely tell him I need the 2013 square foot liner price, less contractors ... He starts listing off all the liner sizes in stock ... tell him (politely) that size doesnt matter, they are priced by the square foot, and I only need THAT price, less the contractors discount ... So he tells me the contractors discount is 20% but cant tell me the liner price ... keep in mind I was not wearing anything identifying myself as a contractor ...

So then he drags us over to a register, and tries to punch in any liner, but cant figure out the register ... THE old man comes over, and simply says "they" meaning us, are in the computer, to just pull our account up ... told him I tried to tell him that LOL ... So anyways, got the new price ... it actually went DOWN ... $0.89 sq ft, less 20% ... why that had to be a 20 minute project is beyond me.

While I have him, asked if he had more ammo-chips outback, there's none on the shelf ... I run them in the 55 gallon tank since it is way over stocked ... He doesnt know what it is! But tells us we'll need to wait, because he had another person waiting for a water test ... no problem, I dont mind waiting ... that doesnt take long ...

Turns out hubby knew this person, so was chit chatting with him while we waited ... next thing you know, the sales person is trying to sell him all kinds of crap, didnt tell him shit about his test results ... I was annoyed to the point that I ASKED.

So the guy has green water ... yep, selling him something for that ... FIXED THAT... told him to go buy a basket at dollar tree and pillow stuffing and to run a 1000 gph pump through it ...

Ammonia and nitrites were zero, PH was at 6,5 and told him to fix that, to do a 50% water change!!!! First of all, who the hell does a water change for low PH? (local tap water tests as 7.0) and a 50% change??? and what about the fact that our pond temps are only in the LOW 50s with a cold front coming in??? Did this salesman even OFFER a declorinator product???? NOPE!!!

I outright asked him if he did a KH test (thanks to a very patient member who spent the time I needed in chemisty, I finally understand that) ... The salesman says NO, and tries to tell him WATER HARDNESS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH PH!!!! Told him to go to ebay, and can get an API KH/GH test kit delivered to his door for under $10, that not one supplier locally has it ... The sales man chimed in with he was THINKING of getting some TEST STRIPS IN ... Meanwhile, with big thanks to the group member who explained it to me, I was able to explain why this customer needed to test his KH, and the salesman was looking at me like I was speaking in some foreign language ...

I damn near lost it ... Hubby walked over to the shelf, got him the dechlorinator product they had, and I told him to grab a box of baking soda on the way home... oh, and while I was in super bitch mode, gave the man a business card, so that if he had any questions, he could CALL, and we'd walk him through it all again over the phone FREE.

As if I wasnt irritated enough. the salesman tells this man to be sure to come back on the 20th, as HE is giving a pond seminar ... Boy did hubby get a nasty look from me LOL... this is one of the places that has been after him for years to do seminars and he wont, because he wont SELL UNNEEDED PRODUCTS ... I have half a mind to attend it myself just to challenge the garbage that I am sure will be coming out of his mouth.

 

[koiguy1969]

that might be fun... bring the kids and a picnic lunch

 

[sissy]

They just want to sell and make a living off people who should know better and look the info up online .The internet is a great source but you have to some times search things out .Just like the ones who go out and take the fish out and power wash the liner and add more and put the fish back .When my liner got ripped by the dog I actually hosed the back off and layed the liner on the bottom of the pond weighted down by rocks so there was still good stuff still in there and used all my pond water I kept in the stock tanks with the fish and aeration .I used to have a pond store on 58 and he sold everything at 4 times the price you could buy it online .I never bought from him because he was just to high for me .He went out of business a year later .Owner of the property he rented from told me if I picked all the rocks up there I could have them free .He just wanted them out of there to remodel and rent the place again .My win .He was a neighbors uncle and he was great to let me have everything left behind .

 

[capewind]

Im not sure how fun it would turn out ... I was getting so pissed at the bad advice this guy was giving, and I really dont know all that much ... hubby on the other hand kept his cool and just grabbed what the guy needed... since the owner of the store already told the guy we were in the computer with no hint of introductions given (done business with them for more than 20 yrs), Im not sure the saleman knew what to do with my attitude LOL. He'd probably pee himself if I attacked his garbage advice during his seminar LOL.

 

[capewind]

you know what Sissy, I can accept that some people like all the chemicals and what not, but atleast sell the ones that address the problem. I outright told the customer if he did a 50% water change now, he was likely to kill all his fish ... the poor guy went in for help with green water and to have it tested, not be given deadly advice.

 

[fishin4cars]

What's sad is you were able to help only one customer out, Just think how many actually take that salesman's advice and think they are doing a "good" thing for their pond. I would recommend you and your husband doing a seminar or better yet, getting a Water Garden Koi group or club going. This kind of sales and advice go on all over the country. Getting to the pond owners and showing them a better way is the hard part. Once you know who they are they usually band closely to those they know for advice. Pond tours are one of the best ways to get to know the locals that have the best ponds, getting new people to see them and getting them involved is to me the best way to get them away from taking such Absurd advice in the first place.

 

[j.w]

CW you saved the lives of that guys poor fish. I'm glad you showed up when you did but too bad for the ones who come when no one is there next time to help :sad: Maybe you should invite that replacement guy to join our forum so he can learn the ropes?

 

[capewind]

I was still thinking a lot about everything that happend in the store when I went to bed last night. I want to go back into the store and have a long chat with the owner, but cant offer him a viable solution. I do have a lot of loyalties to this store. I cant remember what year we actually started filing taxes on the business. It was either 1991 or 1992, but hubby was doing it part time for a couple of years before this. It was during that time, that we set up the contractors account, and the owners son, who runs the nursery not only gave us great deals on the nursery stock, but gave out our business cards. He was probably our best form of advertising until word of mouth and traditional advertising took over. Their staff in the other departments are all great. It frustrates me to no end when someone asks for professional help, and is given such a load of garbage. Even worse is when I know MY knowledge has huge gaps, and I know how to fix the problem and can recognize how bad the advice was. Hubby says he cant do the seminar there. It would become more about sales, and not what is always best for a pond/the owner. There's another nursery that has actually asked him to set up a small display pond, and wants him to get them off the ground in the pond area ... and then just come in once a month or so to do a seminar, and that, he may consider yet (if I keep pushing it). With that store, he used the excuse that he has enough of his own thing going on, but I think he should give it more thought. I think the owner would be more open to the product lines he likes, and "his methods" of doing things. He wants to be doing more ponds, and that store would also give him more access to the market. With that store, it's one of those situations where a little guy wanted his nursery, and one of the big companies in the area (who we also do a LOT of business with) is his financial backer. Ironically, that financial backer has been after hubby for years, that if he ever wanted to close up shop, has a waiting job (hubby has a hoisters/hydraulic license too). I think it would be a good fit all the way around. I'm just going to let it sit on the back burner for now. I'm meeting with another advertising rep this week (to increase our internet presense), redoing the website, etc, and am going to speak with him (the ad rep) about actually pushing the ponds. We don't even advertise that we do ponds, other then a little blurp on our website. Now that the kids are older, I am enjoying playing with our pond(s) and fish, and am especially liking the babies, so am also thinking more seriously of SUPPLYING koi, more so than just to hubby's clients or via craigslist. I've already set up commercial accounts with both Blue Ridge Koi, and Blackwater Creek ... Our property is zoned both residential and commercial, and I already have been through the ZBA (zoning board) back in 2007 to operate on site as a business, designated commercial parking and contractors yard. Thinking a koi holding area may make good use of that 32' x 18' greenhouse ... A lot to think about ...

 

[gardengimp]

CW, be careful with that Internet advertising rep, a whole bunch of them are rip off artists. Before you spend the farm, get some geeks to look over the proposal. Make sure it's not full of snake oil.

 

[capewind]

I hear ya ... Just dealt with a scam from a company called city search or something like that. I keep extra bank accounts for online use (debit card) or automatic billing ... put them through auto billing, which the bank was able to reverse the charges. It was one of those that they did all the site listings with yahoo, google, etc, with an assigned phone number to track the calls, and then bill for each call they forwarded.

The gentlemen I am meeting, first called from a local number (doesnt mean a whole lot) but kept throwing out names of others who advertise with him ... I nailed him on it ... he was tossing out business names, and I was like, oh really? You've been JOHN's rep for how many years? And about Tim, when did he start with you ... to the so if I call these people, they will give you a good reference??? Tim is just another local guy, but John is a big company, and we do a lot work for him (subcontract) and have been working with him since the early 90s. Already talked to John, and he estimates he gets 40-50% of his work through this guy (he is just a tree company) ... about 60% of homes here are second homes to non-locals. Maybe 25% of our new year round clients each year are these folks (meaning we do work as needed for them, not just the one shot deal), so going to take a more active approach to get more of them.

I love our nonlocal clients. Very easy to please, no hassles and the checks always arrive as promised. They are all good people. They just want to come here and enjoy their second homes without worry. For some services, they know they are "on the list" and are patient, but they also know if there is an emergency with their property, everyone gets put on hold, to deal with things that are a priority. Not to mention if they need a contractor for something we dont do, we are happy to give referrals to the legit guys in the area.

I think business wise, it will be the right approach to start tuning things down towards eventual retirement (not that I think hubby will ever retire LOL). Tree work is great, as it is our bread and butter, but it isnt something hubby enjoys doing. He loves doing the block wall systems, but his back isnt going to want to play with 40-80 lb blocks for too many more years, and frankly, most folks cant afford them, so only does a few each year ... Time to start focusing on the areas he enjoys the most.

He actually started the business because of contractors with bad attitudes who didnt want to spend the time to do things right, and did nothing but screw the clients. Regardless of other qualifications, we are talking about a kid who spent a lot of time with his Nana, growing flowers, that she sold at the end of her driveway ... He had some issues working for landscapers who were screwing people, and told his last boss that if they didnt want to do things the right way, they could complete with him ... I was thinking about that last night in reference to the moron at the pond supplier ... When we first started our family, he took a job as a chemical engineer (good money), as we needed the stable income, but the whole time he was working inside, was miserible, and we started the chain of events that led to him being self employeed ... I think the hand writing is on the wall to start pushing more of the pond end of things. Which brings us back to the need for a stronger internet presense.