Barron Thomas: No Unhappy Customers Here ( vs. Unhappy "Prospects")

Dear Everyone:

I read certain postings here with a certain degree of amazement.

First, I think everyone that flies is also in business, and is
accustomed to cranky, irrascible, problematic people.

It goes with the territory in any business.

But there is a HUGE distinction between unhappy CUSTOMERS (those who
actually bought) vs. unhappy INQUIRERS or CALLERS.

Most all of our customers are quite happy. They come back, buy more
airplanes, and send their friends.

We have, by rough count, about 3,000 clients in over 33 countries.

However, Some "callers" or "prospects" become unhappy for bascially
about 6 of the same reasons. They are:

1. I will not "cave-in" to their price grinding. I don't like to
haggle.The less I play this game, the more enraged some become. My
price is my price. Go check it on the internet, Trade-A-Plane or
wherever. If I priced a new Pilatus at $10,000, some people would come
back and offer $8,500. I understand their desire to haggle, but I can't
play.

2. I will not "cave-in" to their ultimatums of "how they're going to
deal". "Bring it to my mechanic and let him tear it apart in a far away
hangar", etc., etc. No, please bring your mechanic HERE and let him
tear it apart in MY hangar. If that is how they must structure a deal,
fine, but I can't meet their demands. Rather than take it as my right
to run my business in the most efficient manner that I see fit, they
become quite upset.

3. I can't spend hours upon hours on the phone giving "advice" about
which airplanes are better or what you should buy ( I find people
rarely heed the advice given to them anyway)I send them to Aviation
Consumer to read up and study, then come back with an idea of what they
want.

4. Some just want to "spar" with a salesman and "match wits". Again, I
have to take care of paying customers and I can't play this game
either.I don't like to argue and match wits about aviation knowledge.
It doesn't pay the rent.

5. Not enough Ego-stroking. This sounds silly, but it's very true and
the MOST problematic. I am very good at courtesy and respect, and doing
a good job and getting you on your way in an efficient and streamlined
way, and I am pretty good at stroking one's ego ( we all have an
Ego)but some people are out of control in this area. They are greatly
offended when I don't pay proper homage to them (afterall, I am
generally kind of busy and I may miss the signal that you need extra
fawning over - then these are generally the ones that post the most
vitriolic messages - and they have NEVER even met me or been in the
office)As most veteran pilots will tell you, the EGO in some beginning
pilots ( and some veterans) is huge. And then it spills over to the
internet!

6. "Hold the airplane until I get around to coming over there" If I had
5 of the same unit, I would gladly hold one back for you, but when
there's 1, and if it's a good deal, I am getting lots of calls on it, I
can't "hold it" for you until you get around to coming. I often tell
people, "while you're procrastinating, someone else is pushing back
from their chair and coming here with their checkbook." So, some people
wait, go on vacation, do whatever, then come back and it's gone and
they're upset. With ME.


Note: The silliness of comments on the internet: Going back to my being
1 hour late with the Doctor and the Seneca: One writer was actually
posting a criticism that "I should have let the Doctor know I was
running late"

The truth of the matter was that I was speaking to my secretary every
10 minutes and she was giving the Doctor an update on where I was in
traffic. He knew exactly where I was, and how close to being back, and
yet still walked out in a huff.

And the writer on this blog, who wasn't even present, and didn't know
any of the facts, was posting a criticism!!!!


Also a Note: In 37 years, I have noticed that every airport cafe has
its' own resident "expert" of aviation. If you have any doubts, just
listen and he will tell you how much he knows about everyone and
everything.

When his audience at the airport begins to tire of his rants, I think
he now moves to the internet and offers his opinion on everything.
These experts have "heard of someone" or "knew someone" that was
unhappy with me. In most cases, it's the "expert's" ontificating about
something that he knows nothing of. It's hangar-talk that has moved to
the internet. In other cases, it can be directly traced to one of the 6
examples above.

We must be doing something right because people keep coming, and coming
back.

My response to everyone is the same (which actually I derived from the
old Packard automobile ads from the 1930's:

"ask the man who actually bought one from us"

Then, you will get a more accurate picture of us.

We try hard, are polite and courteous, and sell a lot of planes. People
keep coming back. I guess that means we're doing something right
afterall.

I realize you can't please everyone, no matter what you do. But we try
hard and it seems to work.

Good flying to all, Barron Thomas

.

Relevant Pages

  • ebooks share lits 80
    ... Handbook of Global Social Policy Public Administration and Public ... What Every Business Leader Should Know ... States in the Global Economy: ... Electronic commerce, XML, Internet ...
    (sci.med.nutrition)
  • Re: why have a server?...advice needed
    ... I don't need to know EXACT SPECIFIC DETAILS, but I'm being forced to generalize because I know nothing of what the business will do, other than it will have 20-30 users and many with laptops. ... If your web site were BUSY, THEN you want it hosted on a reliable system in a data center somewhere where they have emergency generators and multiple connections to the internet in case one fails. ... SBS will allow you to redirect everyone's My Documents and Desktop folders to a folder on the server. ... why not use an online backup tool for each computer. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.general)
  • Annoying Redirect
    ... build a website, business directory, business finder, ... business ideas, business listing, business listings, ... domains, core name, corporate domain, corporate website, ... id names, international domain, internet address, internet ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.inetexplorer.ie6.browser)
  • Re: PARADOX product life cycle
    ... >conduct business, could not conduct business ... However those doctors would have the peace of mind knowing their records were safe and intact and once they could conduct business again all their records were ready and waiting. ... >If the WAN or Internet is not available, ... If a particular Var seems to violate this list of requirements often, then you drop them as a Var. ...
    (comp.databases.paradox)
  • Re: pig driteman
    ... not fair to comment when she sprays it all over the internet herself. ... brain infection", isn't it? ... idea to be posting all this CRAP while suffering from a PERMANENT BRAIN ...
    (sci.med.diseases.lyme)