DAS in Disguise: How Quickly Can You Deliver?

© 2001 Door & Access Systems
Publish Date: Summer 2001
Author: Tom Wadsworth
Page 42

DAS in Disguise

How Quickly Can You Deliver?

How do you respond when a customer calls and says, “If I placed an order today for a white steel 16x7 garage door, how soon can you get it installed?”

In our fast-paced FedEx society, customers are becoming more demanding about fast delivery. They want what they want, and they want it NOW.

In the garage door business, that impatience has forced many dealers to expand their warehouse and their inventory of stock doors. We believe it also calls for dealers to be better prepared to handle the customer whose seems concerned about time. Dealers should excel at asking questions so that the customer makes an educated decision, not a rash one.

Our Test: We called five dealers from coast to coast. Pretending to be a customer, we fired the above question at each dealer. All calls were placed on a Thursday around 8:30 a.m., dealer’s time.

Scoring: We gave a point for each question the dealer asked and for any positive elements in their sales performance. We subtracted a point for slow delivery and negative performance. (See scoring below.)

“If I placed an order today for a white steel 16x7 garage door,
how soon can you get it installed?”

QUESTIONS ASKED

Ontario
Insulation?
In town?
Remove door?
Damaged?
Sectional?
Top of line?

Montana
Insulation?
Windows?
Remove door?
Check size?
Floor level?

California
Insulation?
In town?
Need opener?

Vermont
Insulation?
Windows?

So. Carolina
(none)

POSITIVES

Ontario
1 week for mid-line door
Gave good pitch for top-of-line door

Montana
Encouraged to visit showroom
Stressed the options

California
1 week

Vermont
1-2 days
Offered to get a door from dealer in nearby town

So. Carolina
(none)

POSITIVE SCORE

Ontario
8

Montana
7

California
4

Vermont
4

So. Carolina
0

NEGATIVES

Ontario
3 weeks for top-of-line door

Montana
We had to call back
20 days to install

California
We had to call back

Vermont
Badmouthed a competitor

So. Carolina
2-1/2 weeks to install

NEGATIVE SCORE

Ontario
-1

Montana
-2

California
-1

Vermont
-1

So. Carolina
-1

TOTAL SCORE

Ontario
7

Montana
5

California
3

Vermont
3

So. Carolina
-1