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If you are out of stock, can you refer your loyal customer to a nearby competing shop?

King Belieal

King Belieal

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Sometimes in business, we run out of stock of a particular product we sell.

Supposing a loyal customer of yours calls to make purchases urgently and you are out of stock. And you know that the nearby shop who deals on the same products with you has stock of that products.

Would you refer your loyal customer to patronize that competing shop?
 
Instead of referring them, I would collect the money and go and buy it for them. Or like what I see most sellers do. They would collect the product from their competitor, then once the customer pays, they pay their competitor themselves. In this way you are not introducing your customers to others.
 
eLdavis said:
Instead of referring them, I would collect the money and go and buy it for them. Or like what I see most sellers do. They would collect the product from their competitor, then once the customer pays, they pay their competitor themselves. In this way you are not introducing your customers to others.
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That would depend on if you have a good relationship with your next shop competitor. So many entrepreneurs have burnt this bridge.
 
King Belieal said:
That would depend on if you have a good relationship with your next shop competitor. So many entrepreneurs have burnt this bridge.
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That's very true. I have seen cases where these sellers in the same location are not even on talking terms.
 
On the flip side, if you are offering a value that even your competitor can't replicate, even if you refer your customer to that competitor, you are sure that your customer would still come back to patronize you because of that value. The guy that barbs my hair is so good that no one can offer me the value he offers no matter how they try.
 
I often encounter out-of-stock incidents like this when I run a grocery store, of course I will never recommend the same item available at a nearby store, because it is a business secret, I often tell my employees to buy the item even though we don't make a profit but in order to keep customers from running away.
 
Suba said:
I often encounter out-of-stock incidents like this when I run a grocery store, of course I will never recommend the same item available at a nearby store, because it is a business secret, I often tell my employees to buy the item even though we don't make a profit but in order to keep customers from running away.
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That is a very subtly wise approach. With that, you get to serve the customer without exposing the customer to another patronage. The other issue is in it being different in quality from the one you normally sell.
 
magnus2022 said:
In the first place, i will not allow such scenarios to happen.i will make sure that the products that my royal customers are searchimg for is always available. Secondly, i will always contact him ahead of time to know the products he will be buying.
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Have you been in business before? There is no business person that has suddenly not run out of stock. You can stock today and an unexpected surge in demand happens and everything you stocked is sold out.
 
King Belieal said:
Have you been in business before? There is no business person that has suddenly not run out of stock. You can stock today and an unexpected surge in demand happens and everything you stocked is sold out.
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Am a business owner and it have never happened to me. If you are good in analyzing and keeping records, you will always be ahead of your customers. I know about 79% of my customers and what they are likely to buy par time. I keep some goods reserved for my core customers.
 
King Belieal said:
Sometimes in business, we run out of stock of a particular product we sell.

Supposing a loyal customer of yours calls to make purchases urgently and you are out of stock. And you know that the nearby shop who deals on the same products with you has stock of that products.

Would you refer your loyal customer to patronize that competing shop?
Click to expand...
I observed this with some Chinese merchants in our country..They never refuse customer and they find ways to get the item from other stores. They are competitors but they also help each other. Loyal customers mostly stay as long as they are fairly treated.
 
magnus2022 said:
Am a business owner and it have never happened to me. If you are good in analyzing and keeping records, you will always be ahead of your customers. I know about 79% of my customers and what they are likely to buy par time. I keep some goods reserved for my core customers.
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That means your business is not a viable business. If you have not experienced an incredible demand that leaves you dumbfounded, then you have to do more marketing.
 
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