It is early spring in Knoxville, and the Bradford Pear trees and Redbuds are in bloom. Next week is the annual Dogwood festival. It is a glorious time to be in the Smokies and if you have never visited here in the spring, you owe it to yourself to do so.
Part of our spring ritual is that we really begin pouring on the effort for next year's BraxtonBragg catalog. Each year we try to make it better, but not change it too much. The difficulty with creating a catalog is trying to figure out what to say about a product and what not to say. In other words, what's important? You don't have unlimited space and readers are pressed for time; we are not writing War and Peace or the Next Great American Novel!
Part of the problem is that the answer depends on who you ask. If we ask a manufacturer, we often receive pages of technical data, a list of features, drawings and a bunch of legal boilerplate. Most distributors take this material and try to distill it to a few bullet points. If you ask our internal experts, they talk about vendor shipping reliability and ask if they also stand behind their products.
This year we are attempting to answer typical questions that customers ask. Our plan is to add information to our website so that by the time the catalog comes out; the website will also be up to date. We have been collecting questions asked by our customers and have a partial list of what fabricators think is important to them. You are invited to participate by sending your questions to publisher@slipperyrockgazette.net
Here are the top questions so far, and the underlying issues:
1. What will this product do for me? (How will this save time or money compared to what I am doing now?)
2. What is your guarantee? (If I am not satisfied that the product is what you said it was, what are my options?)
3. What is the warranty? (How long does the manufacturer think this thing will last given reasonable use and proper care?)
4. What is the price? (Do you publish your real price and how do I know that your competitor won't have it on sale next week?)
5. How much will I pay for shipping? (What good is a low price if the shipping and handling charges are high?)
6. Is it in stock? (Do you have a warehouse, or are you just an internet "storefront" and everything must be drop shipped?)
7. If it is not in stock, how long will it take? (How long will it really take?)
8. Where was it made? (Can I get parts? Is it safe to use? Will it work?)
9. Where can I get service? (Can it even be serviced? Is the manufacturer financially stable, and will I be able to get parts? Does it use off-the-shelf parts or will they be stuck on a slow boat from somewhere?)
Thinking about these questions has caused us to make a few changes. First of all, we have revised our guarantee:
Braxton-Bragg's Industry Guarantee
Guaranteed Quality - All our products carry a 30-day, risk-free, money-back guarantee. If you are not satisfied with your purchase, simply return it for a prompt and courteous refund.
Guaranteed Shipping Costs - For UPS-shippable orders delivered to the lower 48 states, we charge a flat rate of $4.95 if the order is less than $500. If the order is more than $500 and is UPS-shippable, freight is free. In either case, UPS orders can be upgraded to next-day air UPS for a flat fee of only $25. For orders that are not UPS-shippable, contain hazardous chemicals, sinks, or where the destination is Alaska, Hawaii, or outside the USA, we will obtain a freight quote and call for your authorization before shipping.
Guaranteed Pricing - Braxton-Bragg offers a low price guarantee! We will match any competitor's price (or web competitor that has stock) on any product that we sell. In addition, if you purchase from us and find a lower advertised price on a new, identical product, at a Competitor (or Web Competitor that has stock) within 7 days of making your purchase, we will even refund the difference to you. Simply call us at 1-800-575-4401. Please have proof of the lower price available to fax or email when you call.
Secondly, we will highlight any item that we offer that is non-stock and give the manufactures' stated lead time. Thirdly, we will state where the products are made.
If there are other criteria that you believe would be helpful listed in a catalog or website, please drop me a line.
Thanks for reading,
Rich Hassert
Email responses to: publisher@slipperyrockgazette.net
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