A Tale of Two Ideas - Under One Roof vs. Custom(er) Service

We have all gotten used to "Big-Box" (BB) shopping; buying everything we need from one store. In theory this is a great idea. I park my car once and I now have access to apples, an Apple as well tires for my car. Two of the vaunted promises of BB shopping are convenience as well as low prices. I'm sure that like me you have discovered that low prices come in package sizes and products that are not always what I was looking for. Truth be told, how many of us need a 5lb can of tuna fish.

These stores assume that you know exactly what you are doing and therefore need little help. This works well if you know how to install a toilet or hook up a complex home stereo system. Recently, I have begun a revolution of sorts, shopping at local specialty retailers when given the chance. Sure I might pay a few extra dollars for what I need but the trade off in savings yields other benefits. I can get exemplary service and the chance to purchase what I need, not a variation of what I need. Customer service will always trump marginal savings. In the long, the smaller local retailer will offer you support beyond your original purchase which in turn will trump the initial savings you might have realized at the BB retailer.

The same analogy outlined above exists in the business world as well. Companies will sometimes look at BB vendors and assume because everything is offered under one roof that they will get the best service, products and costs from this vendor. Then comes the tradeoff, poor customer service, products that are not the right fit and in the long run, higher operational costs. It seems to me that even big companies can at time be better served by smaller specialty companies - like DRS. We pride ourselves on offering solutions that fit our customers’ requirements; we do not sell solutions that require change by our customers’. Not only do we sell what our customers need, more times than not we are selling these solutions for less money than our BB competitors.  To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson –a little revolution now and then is a good thing. Join the DRS revolution and evaluate all alternatives before taking the BB plunge, you won’t regret it!

Thanks for reading. 

Marc

Data Reduction Systems
Vice President, Business Development marcc@drscorp.com
Office - 908.687.5636
Expanding the potential. Fulfilling the promise.