Customer Base

Just a reminder...we are in a customer service business. Taking care of your customer WILL pay off. Even though we live very much in the world of "got to have it now and I can't wait until tomorrow for someone to fill my need," people reciprocate the way you treat them. Just when I was thinking I may need to do another splash of advertising, three or four customers that I have seen in a while, even though I follow up with them regularly, called and said, "I know you like to pick up on Mondays, so can I get on your schedule for this Monday?" I need a bigger truck, bigger warehouse, more time and more help. It is amazing what a little effort in letting folks know you are thankful for their business and that you look forward to the next time you can SERVE them can do...

Agreed! Even with handing someone a business card and doing a little small talk can mean a customer for life. I just ordered more cards. You never know, when your curb shopping and not finding much and then BAM you get a call from a customer that has scrap for you to pick up. Its great i tell ya.

I tend to look at it as being attentive to people's needs.

My prime gig is carpentry. When one of my established customers calls i make every effort to be at their home within a few hours. If that doesn't work for them because they're going out for the day then i schedule a time that is convenient for them. Days,nights,weekends .... it doesn't matter. Sometimes it's just a service call to fix something that's frustrating them but other times it results in a project that will yield three to six months of steady work.

The e-waste is just a sideline because there isn't enough volume in this area to be able to do it full time. I still try to be attentive to that as well. I check my regular pick up spots at least once a day. I've gotten into a little bit of buying so if i get a call from one of the local scrappers i make every effort to be down at their place within 20 - 30 minutes with cash in hand.

It's slowly working out. Most of the guys are into copper, aluminum, and steel so they haven't been overly receptive to the notion of recycling electronics. There's one angry guy that smashes every computer that he can get his hands on with a hammer before he throws it into the pile.

You just have to be patient. Three or four positive business transactions with a new customer establishes a habit. After awhile they just automatically call you when they've got something.

I had a customer that would call me every 5 weeks or so and we would meet up for a $15 transaction. I didn't hear from him for like 4 months. Turns out he was selling to the guy I used to sell to, who is the reason I started looking ewaste buyers online. Although the other guy is more convenient to get to, his customer service is non existent. I ended up buy $90 worth of ewaste from him and he will probably continue to go out of his way to sell to me.

I had a similar situation happen to me off of Craigslist. I had a person who was giving away 2 TV's. Because my emails had a thank you and a professional tone, the person is actually sending more scrap my way. everything he finds he just sends me an email and I get it the next day.