Competition with Low Prices

[A+++ WR]

The company my husband works for is the largest refrigerated carrier in the US with over 3000 trucks & I really wanted this account BAAAAAAAD. I've been holding off talking to them as I wanted to be sure I had my methods perfected before approaching them. When I told them my wholesale price for Fleet Accounts (25.00/5.00) I was told I was too high... some guy shows up there everyday & charges 18.50 but they in turn charge the drivers twice that amt! No way am I going to go this low & no way will I rip off drivers! So, I thought I'd go after the over 750 personal employee vehicles because several friends who work there said this guy's work is not the best & they wanted me to do their repairs (one girl had had hers done before & the guy charged her 50.00 because she had insurance, but she had to file it herself!). I found out yesterday from the Executive Secretary that she had hers done, from another big company in town who replaces their shields, for 18! I have repaired the cars for my friends there & they were happy with my work but how does one compete with these people who give away their time? I was told that even if I drop my price to 15.00 to under-bid the account that a few repairs @25.00 is not as good as a bunch of repairs @15.00. Your thoughts???

P.S. I think my website is ready for you all to criticise... let me know what you think... good or bad! GO CARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gwen

[A+++ WR]

"http://www.apluseswindshieldrepair.com"

http://www.apluseswindshieldrepair.com

I forgot to add it to my last post... Please be nice!

Gwen

[tooldini]

Nice site but can be a little overwhelming with pop up of the damage examples and the little bouncing money Why doesn't the link for e-mail work yet? Did you try setting a hyperlink on some text like E-mail here. Hyperlink should look like this mailto:gberry@apluseswindshieldrepair.com Keep up the nice work. If you can put some shots of you or someone doing a repair to show how it works. I try not to worry about low pricers like that. There has been someone in my town recently I was told at walmart just a car and a small sign doing them for $25.00. I don't even like doing dealers for that LOL. I charge $40.00 per chip for a small fleet that I did 12 chips for. $25.00 is way low enough let alone the prices your talking about

Jeff

[Onsite]

Aplus WR,

tooldini is correct don't sell yourself out for a cheaper price to just get the job.If you charge $35 per repair stick with the $35 on the fleet accounts.
Explain that your prices are higher because you perform quality repairs give them a free repair to show how good your repairs are.

[mafsu]

I see two ways you can go about getting this business without lowering your prices.

1) Go over the head of whomever you talked to. This will probably tick off the person you spoke with. Normally I would say it doesn't matter if you're not going to get the business any other way. Since your husband works there this may not be a good idea. Otherwise you might find someone who will listen to reason(you get what you pay for) instead of just going for the lowest price regardless of quality.

2) Offer repairs to the drivers. If they are going to have to pay for them in the end anyway. You would be able to charge $30 and still save them money.

[A+++ WR]

The little bouncy thingy's were supposed to represent rocks hitting the window and I added the flyby chips for drama. Too much? Hey, I'm female & they can always be deleted! I haven't had time to sit on the phone with SBC to get my link operational. I think when I was building my site I entered the wrong info :biggrin: for my default e-mail, whatever that is. I use Mozilla for a browser & it isn't the same as IE so I need a techie to walk me through whatever it is I need to fix. As far as fleet prices? We are overwhelmed with WSR people here in SW MO! There are at least 20+ major trucking co's here in town & I've been to all of them along with a lot of the smaller ones & they all pay 25.00 or less & are loyal to 'their guy'. The largest, most reputable glass replacement shop here only charges 34.99/9.99, if you go to them. NO ONE here advertises but everyone I talk to has 'someone'. I like to do fleet accts because I can go out, do my route, & go home. I HATE my phone ringing in the middle of a job or driving to one because I have to stop what I'm doing & take notes! My flyers say Same Day Service: Call Before 10 a.m. / leave message or send e-mail for appointments. I am planning on putting in some shots of me working... I just need someone to hold the camera! :biggrin:

[chipfixer1]

Where do you think Walmart would be today if it held out for higher prices.There quality is not always the highest but there products work.They are an example of what competition is all about.
It seems that some of you have forgotten business 101,( what is your competition doing? )10 repairs @ 1 location 3 hrs. work vs 0 repairs.No rocket science here.Bottom line if you want towork and get some pie or keep looking.
I like pie.

[L.R.]

A+++ Wr,
All These Responses Sound Like They Have Somewhat Of A Point
, You Said Your Market Is Saturated... Are All Of These Wr
Companies Charging The Same Amount (less Than U) If So
This Is Going To Be A Task For You, I Think The Only Way To Win Over The Accounts Would Be To Show Your Quality Of Work, And
Or Just Tell Them "hey If You Get In A Jam, Or Need A Backup Give Me A Call" Then Just Keep Bothering Them After That.
Good Luck.

[L.R.]

I Just Re Read Your Post Did You Say 3000 Vehicles Within
The Fleet? That Might Be Why The Other Guys Are Asking So Little
Lets Just Say You Did Match The Competition, And Lets Just Say
The Competition Does Not Do Good Work, Maybe If You Charge The
Same, And They See The Work You Do In The Future You Can
Hike The Price. And Even If Not If Your Handling 3000 Vehicles
Thats 3000 Drivers That Probably Have 2 Or Atleast 1 Family Vehicle, Those Drivers Will Surely Go To You After They See Your Quality Of Work. Sometimes Its About Getting Your Foot In The Door Any Way You Can.

[tooldini]

L.R. is right about the amount. I had a match a guy for a $25.00 repair for the whole car however many chips there were. Not sure if I would do that again though. If you have a high volume and can bust out repairs fast it would be worth it. A few injectors would be very helpful if not your gonna spend some good time making 30.00 if you end up with a couple tight stars on a semi. No matter what if you really need the work and most do, it would be nice to have a big account like that even at a low price.

Jeff