The chance of a lifetime: You are asked to start a bike shop. How should it be done?

[Conquiztador]

So why does T D & H buy from you instead of directly from the overseas web supplier and cut you out as a middleman? I'm assuming you'll be adding a markup to pay for your time right?

Saves him hassle. He does not have the time or the knowledge. He does not want to give his credit card details to an overseas company. He might not have a credit card. He might only deal in cash (and he can deposit this in a NZ bank account but not overseas). Old fashioned trust. Reputation of doing a fast search and coming up with the bit, friendly service, the old "buy through us and for every $100 you spend with us we give you a F-A-B bonus dollar that you can use at cristmas", word of mouth,

[scott411]

- Warranty: Whatever warranty the bits are provided with from overseas would be in place.
- Wrong Part: If the order was wrong, then F-A-B would clearly be responsible. If the client had demanded a left but then realised that it was a right one he would be responsible for the costs to swap it. If the overseas supplier would have sent a left when we ordered a right then they would be responsible.
- Which part? Customer request would determine: "I want the cheapest you can find" or "I want a genuine NOS still wrapped in olfashion oil soaked paper!"

man that sounds so simple, i wonder why this has not been done before, but who pays the freight back to the overseas supplier?, and what happens when the guy claims you have made the mistake, even tho you haven't, goes on kiwibiker and starts a thread on how shit your service is and the wrath that follows? or the time when you genuinly just fuck up, or the guy in where ever you get it from does and you have the wrong part,

but just to get this right,

so you are going to set up a website to attract people, advertise, pay someone to look for parts, supply diagrams off other websites, (and take the time to remove there watermarks sot he person does not go direct and cut you out) email everyone, get it in, pay for the other costs of warehousing etc, all for 30% markup,

if that is the game plan, good luck,

[bogan]

And all this for a 20% markup on a $30 flasher relay as anything else would be ripping off joe public? If you think this would work gather up a syndicate and make it happen.

Thats what I would like to see, what the thread was originally about.

And another thing I feel I should say, before this thread I would feel somewhat guilty about pricing up a part locally then buying overseas if it was cheaper, now, not at all. Some people here may want to think about that.

[steve_t]

Saves him hassle. He does not have the time or the knowledge. He does not want to give his credit card details to an overseas company. He might not have a credit card. He might only deal in cash (and he can deposit this in a NZ bank account but not overseas). Old fashioned trust. Reputation of doing a fast search and coming up with the bit, friendly service, the old "buy through us and for every $100 you spend with us we give you a F-A-B bonus dollar that you can use at cristmas", word of mouth,

So how much are you going to charge to be a personal shopper for me? Will it be a markup per item, or a flat fee per transaction?

[Conquiztador]

man that sounds so simple, i wonder why this has not been done before, but who pays the freight back to the overseas supplier?, and what happens when the guy claims you have made the mistake, even tho you haven't, goes on kiwibiker and starts a thread on how shit your service is and the wrath that follows? or the time when you genuinly just fuck up, or the guy in where ever you get it from does and you have the wrong part,

but just to get this right,

so you are going to set up a website to attract people, advertise, pay someone to look for parts, supply diagrams off other websites, (and take the time to remove there watermarks sot he person does not go direct and cut you out) email everyone, get it in, pay for the other costs of warehousing etc, all for 30% markup,

if that is the game plan, good luck,

I have a fulltime job, so no, I am not planning to do this. But a intelligent chap that has some bike knowledge, that has time on his hands as a result of a injury, whatever, could contemplate this.

And yes, there will always be fuckups from one side or another. But the main thing is to sort them ASAP and be man enough to take the blame instead of trying to start a fight. Customer service is not that tricky. Even in this tread there has been many who have clearly stated that they realise that all are humen. Just don't try to feed them BS.

[scott411]

this strted off not a bad thread, you could learn a bit, but like most of these threads it turned into a piss take and points scoring session, but with out that it would not really be a kb classic,

[SS90]

- Warranty: Whatever warranty the bits are provided with from overseas would be in place.
- Wrong Part: If the order was wrong, then F-A-B would clearly be responsible. If the client had demanded a left but then realised that it was a right one he would be responsible for the costs to swap it. If the overseas supplier would have sent a left when we ordered a right then they would be responsible.
- Which part? Customer request would determine: "I want the cheapest you can find" or "I want a genuine NOS still wrapped in olfashion oil soaked paper!"

Erm, sorry to burst ya bubble here mate, but the concept of a warranty in this scenario is a laugh.

Faulty part, really........ was the part fitted by an authorised dealer or your mate etc...... if you think it will work, then go ahead and do it yourself.

[T.W.R]

man that sounds so simple, i wonder why this has not been done before, but who pays the freight back to the overseas supplier?, and what happens when the guy claims you have made the mistake, even tho you haven't, goes on kiwibiker and starts a thread on how shit your service is and the wrath that follows? or the time when you genuinly just fuck up, or the guy in where ever you get it from does and you have the wrong part,

but just to get this right,

so you are going to set up a website to attract people, advertise, pay someone to look for parts, supply diagrams off other websites, (and take the time to remove there watermarks sot he person does not go direct and cut you out) email everyone, get it in, pay for the other costs of warehousing etc, all for 30% markup,

if that is the game plan, good luck,

Pretty hard to see the forest when they're looking at a single tree

Though in essence the thought and idea are well placed as a lot of bikeshops are far less than accomodating when dealing with customers and it's easy to pull a veil over the realities a dealership actually has to deal with when servicing a customers request.....some try their best for the customer and some don't it's as simple as that

[Conquiztador]

So how much are you going to charge to be a personal shopper for me? Will it be a markup per item, or a flat fee per transaction?

No idea. It is more the concept I am interested in. Could it work? Personally I think it could. Se, I would happily contact F-A-B to save me the hassle. I would know they need to charge a fee. But I would sleep easily knowing that I am paying them for doing a top job and looking after me. Not charging me $400 for a timing pickup sensor that is $80 on the net...

The closest I have come to this when shopping on line in NZ is Econohonda. If they do not have what I need they find it. And I hear back from them inside 24 hours! But I dont have many Hondas...

[Katman]

So Katman, will you be getting that 4-wheeler part for your customer through Suzuki NZ for $1400 or from the US for $600..??

Or is there some monopoly protection rules bullshit from the old boys network that prohibit you from doing so..???

Most definately getting it from the US (thanks again for the lead).

Believe me, there's no love lost between me and Suzuki NZ.

[Conquiztador]

Erm, sorry to burst ya bubble here mate, but the concept of a warranty in this scenario is a laugh.

Faulty part, really........ was the part fitted by an authorised dealer or your mate etc...... if you think it will work, then go ahead and do it yourself.

You are forgetting that this only replaces your own work over the web. You are paying some $$'s for someone else to find your bit (Find-A-Bit). Once you have that bit it's yours. You come back with it to F-A-B they will only do what you would have had to do if they were not there if there is a problem with it. At the same time F-A-B would soon learn who is good to deal with re bits. And who you only deal once with. That is also what you would be paying for.

[Katman]

but who pays the freight back to the overseas supplier?,

And what happens when the US supplier (who knows you're hardly going to travel half-way round the world to confront him) says "Nope, that's not a valid warranty claim".

[Robert Taylor]

And what happens when the US supplier (who knows you're hardly going to travel half-way round the world to confront him) says "Nope, that's not a valid warranty claim".

Now Im well and truly finding this whole thread a comedy. The naivety and lack of understanding of simple economics is breathtaking. Also the reality that often it takes days to get replies from overseas manufacturers and wholesalers further down the food chain. Its quite different than dealing with retail internet resellers.
Thats not ''getting lost in the forest'', thats exactly what Im dealing with everyday.

Heres a reality of my situation, I started work at a little before 8 am this morning and have continuously worked through the day on a mountain of suspension jobs. This work is not always straightforward and a lot of creativity is often required. My sidekick needs time for a doctors visit in the morning so that is going to put us further behind. 10 minutes for lunch today ( pretty normal ) Travelled home at 6pm and continued with a mountain of paperwork, sorting out parts required, shock orders and answering a mountain of e-mail enquiries. Dinner 20 minutes and precious little social life with my wife and daughter.
Interspersed with this a few postings on ''Kiwi Bleater'' ( sorry it fits in this instance given the evidence of many posts on this thread ) and answering pm enquiries. another 4 hours work I reckon on but it will get passed over until tommorrow night. I wont get thanked for ''ignoring e-mails'' by some who seemingly their life depends on it. But Im doing my bloody best to try and keep on top of things.
So why dont I have a staff member to handle all of this enquiry etc? Quite simple really 1 ) I cant find anyone with enough knowledge or experience and 2) Even if I could it would wipe out my profit for the year
This is a typical scenario for NZ business, lucky Im not afraid of hard work and dont think that the world owes me a living.

[Brian d marge]

Robert
I sort of know what you are up to

I come into contact on a regular basis with people who run similar companies ( nitron Ebc etc )

one thing I can say is time management

me , I bought a netbook and an Iphone (( changing to a nexus one soon ) i know this sounds odd but I can do anything from update my website on the iphone , to think about a design using the netbook ( drawing is still done on a drawing board , I find it relaxing ! beats tv )

long and short of this is

I can spend a lot of time doing two things at once , for me kids playing in park me replying to customers ( yes sometimes stuck in office)

As to getting someone with experience again there maybe a someone with a lot of experience that doesn't want to work full time and would take a basic wage IF they could benefit from your set up

more than one way to skin a cat

When it comes to long hours .....I live in the country where long hours rule ( but I know how they cope !!!~ and a lot of the time dont )

Ive seen a lot of micro managers burn out ,,,, me I am happy as , new house done , smaller workshop plans finalized ( small is the word here !)

all good

Stephen

[Robert Taylor]

Robert
I sort of know what you are up to

I come into contact on a regular basis with people who run similar companies ( nitron Ebc etc )

one thing I can say is time management

me , I bought a netbook and an Iphone (( changing to a nexus one soon ) i know this sounds odd but I can do anything from update my website on the iphone , to think about a design using the netbook ( drawing is still done on a drawing board , I find it relaxing ! beats tv )

long and short of this is

I can spend a lot of time doing two things at once , for me kids playing in park me replying to customers ( yes sometimes stuck in office)

As to getting someone with experience again there maybe a someone with a lot of experience that doesn't want to work full time and would take a basic wage IF they could benefit from your set up

more than one way to skin a cat

When it comes to long hours .....I live in the country where long hours rule ( but I know how they cope !!!~ and a lot of the time dont )

Ive seen a lot of micro managers burn out ,,,, me I am happy as , new house done , smaller workshop plans finalized ( small is the word here !)

all good

Stephen

The good old trusty blackberry handles a lot of that, but itsa blessing and a curse all rolled into one