Need to vent...WTF!?

[dave58]

Not sure if there is a separate place for this....

But...WTF!!!

I am just a lil ol one man shop in a small town....about 8 years into it. Got into it because our area really needed a screen printer....so I filled the need because I enjoy the process.

Worked my a$$ off to build this to where I can support my family. Wife doesn't have a separate "real" job that is our back up.

I just had a 2nd business (in four years) start up offering tshirts too - in house....both are with 150 ft of my place......are you freakin kidding me?.....the village is one block long!....town is about 3000 people.....freakin stupid people in this town with no original thought....oh yeah...we got 4 pizza shops too

I'm just frustrated cause this is my flesh and blood and supports my family.....these other chumps wive's work or mommy owns the building.

i had to vent cause if i punch a wall i can't print anymore

[3Deep]

sorry Dave, but that's how it goes buddy, you just got to print better and out service those other guys, and those guys might bring in more customers for all of you ( notice not once did I say lower your prices) I been there and done that.

Darryl

[Prosperi-Tees]

Well there was 3 printers in our shop complex and another one just moved in last week. Right next door to another one. That guy is pissed. That makes about 8 shops within about a square mile. So yeah it sucks and I understand your frustration

[spotcolorsupply]

i had to vent cause if i punch a wall i can't print anymore

Kicking a wall can be almost as fun 

[Hegemone]

The chocolate shop I work for makes landlords add a no compete clause to their lease. Which is great if you don't own your space. It's something for others to consider though.

[larryk]

That's why I drive a beat up old truck to work and leave the Porsch at home! Just kiddin'..... But I do feel your pain Dave. You just have to provide the best customer service in town and they will soon fade away.

[Frog]

With the trend towards online sales, and the number of folks here who depend on it, the actual location opf your brick and mortar building means less and less.
You may need to slightly change direction.

[alan802]

You know what you need to do...step your game up and put those chumps out of business by giving a superior product, in a faster turnaround and at a fair price.  If you work harder and smarter than the competition you'll be just fine.  Good talk...

[Ripcord]

Dave, don't worry about them. From what I've experienced over the years, many shops are rude to customers, overpriced, print poor quality, or a combinatination of all three.  Keep your pricing reasonable, say "yes" instead of "no" and do a nice job, and you will have your share of the customers.
 
There are two shops within a mile of here. By doing what I wrote above, I've already gotten two of their customers and they haven't taken any of mine. There's plenty of work to go around...

[cleveprint]

our ups driver delivers to 3 other shops besides us. he doesnt even have that big of a route. two are newer and one has been there forever. its very competitive where we are. just have to keep your best customers happy and offer great service to new ones. thats what we have found.

[Gabe]

Also you can have your cute cousin at the front desk  to answer the phone, every now and then
in a small town it`ll spread like wild fire, along with a good printing
boy, soon you gonna need a helper or two

[mooseman]

Dave there are a lot of things that can be said and done at the end of it all it still is a pile of heart burn for you.
OK the brighter side, think about the multiple barber chair or beauty parlor shops where a customer has a choice of providers IN THE SAME BUILDING. Why do guys like the barber in the first chair ladies select Maybel instead of Flo tocolor their hair blue....they have something the others do not.
Style, chat, skill, quality, customer service, better coffee whatever my point is it is the ultimate competitave evnironment EVERYONE sees what everyone is doing and customers make choices based on the customers point of view...get a customer's point of view.
Secondly, go MAFIA on their aZZ. pal up with your UPS driver if you have not already, find out how often he delivers there and how large of a shipment is he making/
Drive by how busy do they look.
What time do they come into work and how long / late do they stay.
Be open when they are not be customer friendly.
get someone to buy some of their products get a first had review of their work
Find out what they offer that you don't adapt improvise overcome
dress up you shop better signage, lights, girls in bikinis whatever it may be that draws customer attention to your shop.
here is the real MAFIA move go visit them, invite them into your shop be friends...it is easier to acess your competition from close range than from a distance. How serious are they? what kind of equipment do they have? etc
Stay cool........ stay focused.......and in short time your vision will clear and you will know what to do to keep out front

Competition is both good and bad from a business standpoint just remember their whole business plan is take away business from you...that costs time and profits...monkeys tire real soon when they discover they are working hard for fewer bananas.

hang tough let me know if I can help.....you know where I live
mooseman

[whitewater]

Dave....when i moved my business to where it is now from home, i was the only printer...I was here for 3 years..most of my business was from this town..they liked using someone local and alot of blue collar businesses here...

Then i got to thinking..that i needed to spread out and not rely only on local business...I did a tv commercial, upped my searchability on the net, starting calling outside the box...it was a good thing i did!  A sign shop here that used to send me customers that got vehicles done and what not started printing..and another printer moved into town too..the sign guys have a manual, but they have all those customers from doing their graphics already, so some of those referrals went back with them..and the new place is bigger than me..2 autos..they are great with uniforms....they took some customers away too, because they sell nike and all the good brands that i can not get..oh well, i would rather print tees..LOL..

my point is, you have to adapt...you would never know where i was driving by, because of where my shop is..you need to really have an online presence..make sure you get ranked higher than them online and you should be fine....

[Ripcord]

If you want to be mean you can start referring PITA customers to them.

"Oh, you want to order one shirt each of 6 different designs for your new line of clothing? And if they sell as well as you expect them to you will be placing a really big order in the near future? But you need to be able to order them one at a time so I should keep the screens for you so you don't have to pay a setup charge? We-he-he-hell, I recommend ABC company, right across the street!"

[Gilligan]

If you want to be mean you can start referring PITA customers to them.

"Oh, you want to order one shirt each of 6 different designs for your new line of clothing? And if they sell as well as you expect them to you will be placing a really big order in the near future? But you need to be able to order them one at a time so I should keep the screens for you so you don't have to pay a setup charge? We-he-he-hell, I recommend ABC company, right across the street!"

THIS!  All day long.  Might make them give up.