Our Customer...

I just thought this was something interesting. I mean, it's good to have as a reminder. I tend to think that I have very good customer service (often times at the expense of the company) but every so often even I have to be reminded why I'm doing what I do and who I am dependent on. Especially when things are going good and you have a lot of scrap coming in, it's so easy to think "I don't need this customer's CRT" or "This person's scrap isn't worth the drive" or "This customer can wait because without me where else is he going to put his stove." But when things get slow (as they often do) it is these customers that will keep you afloat.

Even when a customer wants you to pay for something they'd otherwise throw away. It's so easy to think. "Who the h*** does this person think they are?" (we've all done it at some point). But they don't know the kinds of margins we're working with (sometimes WE don't even know the kinds of margins we're working with) and, just like us, they want whatever they can get out of it. Who doesn't? But instead of arguing with the guy and getting mad, just remind yourself that THEY are doing US the favor and pleasure of serving them. They can very easily just trash what they are giving you or, even worse, give it to your competition. But they are sacrificing their time to call you and meet you and sacrificing space to hold the item for you. The least you can do is compensate them with a pleasant and stress free experience and a polite explanation as to why you can't pay him for his pile of rusty pipes.

Scrapping seems like a very solitary thing to do. You often go hunting by yourself, you break down by yourself, you go to the yard by yourself. But if you want to expand, you'll have to make connections with clients (even a successful Curbco operation can benefit from having lasting connections with clients) Long story short, we all need reminders sometimes.