There is no doubt that we live in a cash conscious world and that at the end of the day it is king but a few calls I’ve received recently have left me wondering if loyalty counts for anything anymore?
We, like many others, get constant calls asking if we will change supplier because a new company can deliver the same products or service for a fraction of the cost. I’d like to say that in all of these cases are heads aren’t turned but that wouldn’t be entirely true.
Everyone wants to save money where they can but there is some truth in buying cheap and buying twice! Last week I got a call which really made me think. It was from a new company (who will remain nameless) asking me to move from our current supplier to them because we could save up to 25% on each order.
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth I have to admit I was tempted but then remembered that the supplier we currently use has turned things around quickly for us – in some instances giving us a same day delivery at no extra charge – always been more than helpful and is by all accounts reasonably priced.
I decided to go with my instincts and explained to the caller that we wouldn’t be changing supplier as we had a loyalty to the business we currently worked with. Ok, so I didn’t save a few quid but do you know what, I’d like to think that even during difficult times our clients would do the same.
It’s not always about money. It’s about long term relationships, consistently good service and a quality product. If you’ve got that then I’m a firm believer that the rest will follow. Lesson learnt on my part but I wonder how many others would do the same.