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Printer supermarket

It’s not that often that I have such exceptional service that I feel compelled to let others know about it, but today I was just blown away by the knowledge and helpfulness of Tarquin at Printer Supermarket.

Before I comment on the Printer Supermarket, I will digress slightly…

I briefly sold PCs many, many years ago. I learnt a number of lessons:

  1. Sales reps aren’t impartial. We used to sell almost identical printers. They had the same engine, same specs, similar prices but came from competing manufacturers. Oh, and one of the suppliers offered reps bonuses. From memory, the top reward was a jet-ski. So when a customer walked in asking for the best laser printer, which model do you think they offered?
  2. Sales reps aren’t knowledgeable. Why do they need to be when they are making the decision based on kick-backs? They just need to know enough phrases to make it sound like they know the facts. “Which printer is better?”, “Brand X”, “Why?”, “Because it has a superior printing engine and is more reliable”.
  3. Sales reps don’t have experience. Let’s be reasonable at this stage. They don’t spend their life using what they are selling, and they don’t change models every 2 days to compare (unless they work in a mobile phone store and then they are phone junkies). Someone once told me that the “I use this one myself” line is normally a blatant lie. The trick is to ask a question that can only be answered by the user.
  4. Sales reps don’t really care. Well, they do because it meets their budget, but they don’t care about the customer and giving them what they actually need.

Of course I generalise and there are exceptions.

So this morning I called the Printer Supermarket for advice on a colour laser printer. Tarquin started by asking what I needed the printer for and then directed me to some great value printers. He told me the key differences between the models and what the impact was for me. He steered me away from certain models based on facts.

But where I really became impressed was when he started rattling off the ongoing running costs for the half dozen models we were discussing. This included the toner cost and their capacity. I don’t know how much he had stored in memory, or how fast he was pulling it back from a database, but he had the answers as part of the discussion.

Then I asked for comments on why he didn’t recommend the models I had in mind and he had good reasons for his recommendations. In the end I finished the call with a choice of two models based on initial budget and expected workload, a new supplier for my toners (30% cheaper than where I am currently buying them), and something great to write a blog about.

But I better not finish my blog there. The reason I only sold PCs for a short time was partially because I hated the industry and I hated the sales ethic.

Now I run my own business with Tim. If someone calls asking for the price of a particular temperature logger we will obviously give an answer, but we will try to find out what they are going to be using it for. I will gladly spend time talking to someone to find out exactly what they are doing so that they have the best unit. This may even involve sending them to another company.

So when it comes to my list above, here’s my self-assessment:

  1. Impartial: We have a range of loggers and we don’t have a bias for one model over another. Our profit margins are similar for all models, and there are no kickbacks from suppliers. If we can’t help you we will try to redirect you to someone who can.
  2. Knowledgeable: We have been selling temperature loggers since 2000. We spend time learning about what our customers do, picking up the anecdotes, visiting sites, and try to keep informed on what is happening. At the end of the day it’s not rocket science, but there is still good advice and bad advice. We aim for good advice!
  3. Experience: I wrote the software for 3 of our products. That’s in depth experience. We use all products before selling them for the first time. We run in-house experiments because we can (see blogs on colour for examples). We won’t have experience in your particular field (be it a nurse, chef, scientist, etc) but we have used our products.
  4. Care: Hopefully you worked out by now, we care.

So, in summary, if you want a printer, talk to the Printer Supermarket. If you want a temperature logger, talk to us. 🙂

What is covered with our shipping insurance?

Our normal terms and conditions (like most businesses) is that you take possession the moment an order ships. If the order is lost or damaged in transit then, in theory, it’s your problem. In reality we will have a conversation and try to work out a good way to resolve the issue where we are both happy (or not too upset).

Shipping insurance is there to remove the drama. If an order is lost or damaged in transit, we will simply send out a replacement, and we will then deal with the courier directly to resolve the original problem.

Our shipping insurance also means that if an order is delayed beyond what is normal and reasonable then we will send you another shipment (stock levels permitting). Then you should receive one of them sooner, and when the second one arrives you simply Return To Sender.

How much is shipping insurance?

Shipping insurance is 5% of the cost of the goods.

Is it worth it? Practically we have had far less than 5% of shipments have problems. It is, however, what Australia Post and other couriers charge. Ultimately insurance is about peace of mind and less hassle when something does go wrong.

Shipping insurance as an option

Shipping insurance is offered as an option on all our web sites. You can select it at the checkout.

For large orders our staff may also ask if you would like shipping insurance.

If you would like shipping insurance on an order you are placing with us, just ask.

Mandatory shipping insurance

Unfortunately we have had a couple of large orders not make it and then the customer refused to pay. A friend suggested that the easy way to avoid the dispute is to insure any shipments where we have a significant risk.

If you would like an immediate line of credit (30 days to pay) and have the goods ship immediately (no credit check delays) and are purchasing over $500 then we will add shipping insurance to your order.

The shipping insurance can be waived if the order is between $500 and $2,000 and you provide us with a formal confirmation that you accept responsibility of the goods once they ship.

Alternatively you can prepay by direct deposit or credit card.

What is not covered?

If there is a clear proof of delivery to the shipping address provided then we class that as delivered. Unfortunately there are cases where it is lost somewhere between the loading dock or receptionist and ending up in your hands. But we also know that a photo of the bag against a generic grey background is not proof of delivery, it is just proof of existence! It needs to be a reasonable proof of delivery.

It also doesn’t cover the expectation of overnight delivery. For example, if we were to ship to Melbourne (we are in Sydney) then we would expect it to be delivered within about 3 days. Most of the time it is overnight, but there are enough floods and other issues that regularly cause minor delays. Sending a second order the next day tends to not fix the problem. If it is super urgent, talk to us about how we can minimise the risk.

For damage claims we ask that you contact us immediately and we will probably ask for photos or some proof. The shipping insurance doesn’t cover claims weeks later. We do have warranty covering our items, but it excludes physical damage (e.g. being dropped). If the goods are damaged in transit then please let us know ASAP so we can cover it under the shipping insurance.