William Shakespeare once wrote, “No legacy is so rich as honesty.”
And, Ole’ Bill was right.
It’s why we’ve built our business on open, honest communication—on putting the relationship first. Now, we don’t always have the answer prospective customers are hoping to hear (there’s no such thing as a quality trailer just sitting on a lot or shipping in three weeks today), but we recognize that you can’t launch or run a business without a clear idea of equipment costs, quality, and timing.
Unfortunately, not all businesses operate by this golden rule.
Whether by closing deals on best-case scenarios, keeping quiet about supply and feature limitations, or flat-out misleading the customer, we’ve heard our fair share of stories of manufacturers who’ve played a little fast and loose with the truth.
Not everyone will be upfront
One recent example springs to mind.
A prospective customer reached out to us and a competitor, inquiring about roll-off trailers and boxes. In the end, he chose our competitor—they promised a shorter lead time.
But, the thing is, manufacturers are still feeling the pain of massive supply chain disruption, and probably will be for a while. We know. We’ve combed the world looking for ways to secure parts and components more quickly—without sacrificing quality—and it’s tough with a capital T. It’s simply a painful time.
So, what happened to this particular customer?
The completion date of his trailer was pushed out…until it matched the delivery promise we made in our initial call. The manufacturer simply couldn’t get the parts they needed quickly enough to deliver on their proposed timeline.
Were they selling an unrealistically rosy picture to close the deal? Were they honestly surprised by a shipment delay? We obviously don’t have that insight. So, who’s to say?
But, here’s where we can weigh in.
This customer put a deposit down—and when he drove 1000+ miles to pick up his equipment, he was surprised to discover that they only had part of his order ready for him.
They’d sold some of his equipment to someone else.
Wait. What?
Now, we’d have advised against this customer hauling the number of containers he’d planned to bring home—that could make for a dangerous trip. Perhaps this manufacturer knew that, too—but they didn’t make that clear to the customer upfront. They took his money and failed to communicate that they wouldn’t deliver on his expectations, opting to ship part of his order to him at an even later date.
Bait-and-switch really angers us
We get it. Delays happen—especially in today’s environment. But, there’s no reason not to be open and honest on the front end of a sale.
It’s why we promise you this: We’ll be upfront. We’ll give you a realistic picture of what you need to operate a profitable business, what it will cost, and how long it will take to deliver.
It’s just good business—for both of us.