Here’s a new column where I present interesting comments that were made to me off the record. I think it’s a great way to share what’s going on in people’s minds when they can speak freely and not have to worry about me naming names.
“Canon has always been next to impossible to work with, Sharp is flexible, and we also carry Muratec. All of a sudden [these vendors] attitudes towards our dealership is something I haven’t seen in ages. They’re actually calling me and upper management is visiting, there seems to be more of an effort than I can ever remember. Instead of just having the DSM call on me, the regional manager who I don’t hear from until the end of the quarter when they need a big order or the end of the fiscal, is calling asking ‘how was the show, did this go over?’ It’s just a friendlier environment than I’ve ever seen.
In the 15 years I was a Canon dealer [they] he never visited. Now I was a dual-line dealer, I was the anti whatever of their world and I’m the guy that always wound up sitting in the toilets when they had their digital forums or dealer meetings. All of a sudden I have several people coming, I don’t know if I’m going to be interrogated or what. Everyone is reaching out. It’s almost like ‘we really need your business now, and that hasn’t happened, at least in Canon’s world, forever.
That’s a great thing. It’s not makes and models, orders, it’s just a different tone coming from at least the three manufacturers I have. At the end of the day I’m competing with the Canon branch who are highly aggressive. I’m trying to make 10 points to the bottom line, and they’re trying to start from cost and give away 10-15 points. That doesn’t work in my world. Sharp I don’t have that problem with. We’re on the same page.”
