Dear Listers,
I have been reading with interest, the string of messages regarding LBC parts
suppliers, Victoria British, The Roadster Factory, Moss, etc. I am on the
Triumph digest. Some times my messages to the list are obsolete by the time they
are distributed by Majordomo, but this incarnation of the parts suppliers string
seems to be coming to an end, so I am adding a summary kind of thing.
Here are some criteria for choosing a vendor for our LBC parts needs that I have
read from the message string. I have put some into my own words and added some:
Price of the item
Current Availability of the item
Quality of the item
Knowledgeable order taking
Correct order taking
Quick order taking
Correct order packing
Prompt order delivery
Technical support from the vendor
Well communicated and reasonable policies for exceptional situations (backorder,
incorrect part, returns in general, etc.)
Good people skills in dealing with customers and the public at large
Friendship
Vendor owner(s) are LBC enthusiasts
Vendor owner(s) supports vintage car collecting
Vendor does not support vintage car collecting or other non LBC parts
enterprises ( reinvests the savings from this into the parts business )
No doubt, I have omitted some other criteria, but this should be a fair example.
Anyway, we all prioritize these criteria differently based on our value system
and of course the make/Marque 8~) and model of our LBCs. The vendors, either
consciously or un-consciously, prioritize the application of their resources to
accomplish the activities which support customer vendor selection criteria and
the Marques that are prevalent.
If a vendor mis-applies it's resources, eventually it will cease to do business.
We all know that. Why this epistle?
List discussions about a vendor's ability to meet one or more of the above
criteria helps the members of the list to determine how each of the vendor's
application of resources correlates with our priorities.
The list is a great way to gather information. In effect, help us do our
shopping. As was said, "viva capitalism".
I just thought that this message could act as a framework to help you digest the
information of the recent discussion string.
Ken Dahman
Manchester (St. Louis County), Missouri, USA
'59 TR3A TS/46295-LO "Winston"
Ken.Dahman@anheuser-busch.com - at work till December (but who's counting)
k.dahman@worldnet.att.net - at home
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