Originally Posted by hardrock905

You don't need to cop an attitude. You asked for honest opinions. If you feel you are losing business because you're prices are to high, I suggest you find a way to be more price competitive.
Why should a consumer pay a higher price from you when they can get the same exact part cheaper?
You talk A LOT about lack of consumer loyalty, what about customer loyalty from the vendor. Many vendor related threads on here lately suggest that customer service/loyalty are extremely rare.

Originally Posted by kwiker

For me, the customer service and the relationship to the person you buy the parts from is a big part. I have no problem paying more for a part if i am ordering it from someone who i feel like i am friends with.

Here a few months ago i was looking for a part...this part could have been ordered from Japan and got here within a few weeks but the person happened to be going to Tokyo. They mentioned to me that they would personally pick this part up when they are there from the shop that makes it and then ship it to me when they return. It was a shift ****, so it wasn't like they were going far out of their way or it was going to take any extra effort to bring it back, it is just that when they said that it made me feel really cool with them and it made the transaction a lot more personal, kinda like a friend/family member bringing something back for you. Because of this small thing that this person did i will always give them the opportunity to get my business, and if the price i get from him is not too far off the others, i will still buy it from him. There is a point where i will have to overlook friendship for the benefit of my bank account, say that X wants to sell me a seat, that is about $500, for $75 cheaper than Y, i will go with X. If the price is only 40 or 50 bucks i will go with Y. I will of course give Y the lower price and see if he can be more competitive, but i will pay the extra just b/c i feel like i am friends with Y.

You helped me recently buy sending me a part that i normally would have had to spend $120 to get, and you sent it to me for free...i have never done anything for you and i didn't send you a dime, not even for shipping, that is huge and i owe you big time. Even though it might not have cost you a lot, it's the fact that you helped me when you had no reason to. <---You are definately going to get some business from me b/c of that.

When i am looking for a part i usually pm a lot of the more active sponsors to get prices. Some of them are very helpful to me, much more so than others, one sponsor even told me that i should pm X-person b/c they are usually cheaper or they are probably going to have a better price. <---the person who told me that will no doubt get some business from me.

I guess i kinda have a preferred list, where i remember who helps me out and who gets more personal with me, and those are the people who will get business from me. There are a few people that i feel like i owe my allegiance to, and when i do get money for parts i will spread my business out between them.

So to answer your question, price isn't a big deal to me(but it is considered)...it's the people that are working for the company that i remember and when they do favors for me or i feel like they went out of their way to do something...i will do favors for them and go out of my way to help them, even if it means paying more for something. I have even bought things i didn't really want/need as a thanks to people that have helped me out.

Originally Posted by THE TECH

Not an attitude at all. I just summed up what you posted, nothing more.

Not sure where you came up with the rest of your post.

Originally Posted by hardrock905

What I meant to say pricing was very important but not the only factor basically.
If I can get a great price from an unreliable vendor, no thanks.
If I can get a great price from a reliable vendor, that is who I will purchase from usually.
IMO, private shops like yours who are taking a beating from internet vendors need to come up with ways to make the consumer willing to come to you.
For example, I get nearly all my service done at a shop nearby. Since I give them so much business, they have done several things for me free of charge. That goodwill alone is why I continue to use them.

Originally Posted by THE TECH

This is one of the reasons why I started this thread. These days, people show around for the cheapest price period it seems. Shops have a harder and harder time competing since there is overhead which has to be absorbed into profit. Many internet places will sell at or below cost just to sell the product. This definitely hurts. How to get the customer to come to you?? The only thing that comes to mind is customer service. Do whatever it takes to make the customer happy. Word travels fast normally. Other than that, I'm really not sure what the average shop can do to compete with the internet.

Originally Posted by hardrock905

Definitely customer service like you said. Keep the customer up to date and informed on the progress of his vehicle.
Maybe toss a few freebies out to loyal customers once in a while? Even a free oil change means a lot in the way of good will, where as the actual cost to you would be minor.
Comfortable, clean waiting areas with free coffee and up to date car related reading material are definitely a plus.
Courtesy transportation is great but probably not cost effective for smaller shops.
Always check up on your direct competition to see what they are up to and keep pace with or better the services they have to offer.
Offer a wide variety of services.

Originally Posted by THE TECH

The only thing that you have to remember with some of those things is that it's not necessarily cost prohibitive to be able to "keep up with the Jones'".

Originally Posted by hardrock905

And the other part of my post you mentioned earlier was not directed at you.
It just seems that their are vendors out there who expect loyalty from a customer but do nothing whatsoever to gain the customers trust or earn their loyalty.

Originally Posted by bofa

Depends... is it free like many of our online vendors?

Originally Posted by bigupurself7

what are some of your favorite places to buy your z parts?

Originally Posted by davidv

e. No “Prices too low to mention” or “Call for best price” bologna. If your price is reasonable, then state the price.