I am not sure why, but it seems we are quite unlucky this days with our suppliers. Last time, I had one big problem with our defibrillator supplier, METRAX, who did not deliver our order which we paid for well in advance (see this post).
Now, our internet service provider, SMART, is not providing us so "smart" a service after all. Where their advertisements says that SMART BRO is an "Amazing Wireless Broadband" - to us it has become the "Disgusting Useless No Band"! They say it is "Anytime, Always On, Unlimited Internet Access"... to us it is "Sometime On, Sometime Off, Intermittent Internet Access".
We are now just 1-2 months into this SMART BRO service and of course we want out. But then we have to pay the pre-termination fee, which is by the way equivalent to paying for their entire service for 1 year! Grrrr....
As a consolation though, I learned that we are not alone. There are so many other subscribers like me who are having the same problems with SMART BRO. Another blogger (EDERIC) had an excellent post about his experience which reflects ours too. He even had a new logo for SMART BRO which inspired the title of this post (I think he got the logo from another unsatisfied SMART BRO subscriber). Although his logo says it is "amusing", I am not amused, so I rather call it "disgusting". There, other bloggers commented on their same experience which inspired me to write an open letter to SMART on my other blog (PinoySolutions).
So where is this string of bad luck (on our suppliers) coming from? Tsk, tsk.. are we doomed?
Friday, August 18, 2006
Friday, August 04, 2006
Why Service You Trust?
Recently, MEDEV has adapted the slogan "Service You Trust.". This more or less reflects the strategy that we have been doing right from the start when I founded the company. MEDEV's strategy is based on integrity. It is the customer's TRUST that we are after.
In my more than 18 years of work in the medical equipment industry here in the country, I have met all kinds of sales people. Sadly, I can say that majority of them does not know the meaning of integrity. The priority of many sales people is to close the sale, even at the expense of their customer (Win-Lose). They are simply working for the short term. They wanted to get their commissions soon, and there is no need to think of the future.
I see that this attitude is simply handed over to them by the companies they worked for. In the Philippines, medical equipment dealers/companies are usually owned by a person with long sales experience in the industry. These owners are usually the chief sales person of their own company, and they lack sales integrity themselves. Naturally, the win-lose strategy of their leaders is what the sales people will learn.
Surprisingly, even companies with very low integrity in selling their wares achieve success, in the short and even the long term. These is so because those same companies were the exclusive representatives of well known international brands - manufacturers who really do not mind the tactics used by their dealers as long as sales are coming in. Also, there is still quite a huge medical equipment market in the Philippines, and majority of the buying companies (customers) are still in their business infancy stage and does not have formal and effective buying processes. Buyers are unable to weed out the bad suppliers (majority) from the good ones (very few). Most buying criteria are still centered on "known brands" at a "good price" (commoditization).
I therefore question myself regularly whether we are actually doing the right thing. Is integrity a good strategy in a growing yet still immature market? Is integrity important to the customer? Or shall we join the fray and look for ways to get more profit at the customer's expense. Shall we deliver demo or used equipment when we promise brand new equipment? Shall we demo a product, get it approved and deliver a lesser one? Shall we also use the customer's equipment parts to check other customer's equipment without the former knowing? Or shall we continue building the culture of integrity for MEDEV?
I found an article on the web about integrity "Is integrity a sales strategy?". In support for integrity, the article says that integrity saves the customers time.
I think only time will tell if we are too much ahead of our time to count on Integrity as a long term strategy. So far, we have achieved almost 7 years of consistent growth, although less of the growth we wanted to have, with Integrity. And I believe that it is the only way for the business to grow in the future. Let us see some years more where our strategy will bring us.
You can very well expect then that we will continue providing the "Service You Trust".
In my more than 18 years of work in the medical equipment industry here in the country, I have met all kinds of sales people. Sadly, I can say that majority of them does not know the meaning of integrity. The priority of many sales people is to close the sale, even at the expense of their customer (Win-Lose). They are simply working for the short term. They wanted to get their commissions soon, and there is no need to think of the future.
I see that this attitude is simply handed over to them by the companies they worked for. In the Philippines, medical equipment dealers/companies are usually owned by a person with long sales experience in the industry. These owners are usually the chief sales person of their own company, and they lack sales integrity themselves. Naturally, the win-lose strategy of their leaders is what the sales people will learn.
Surprisingly, even companies with very low integrity in selling their wares achieve success, in the short and even the long term. These is so because those same companies were the exclusive representatives of well known international brands - manufacturers who really do not mind the tactics used by their dealers as long as sales are coming in. Also, there is still quite a huge medical equipment market in the Philippines, and majority of the buying companies (customers) are still in their business infancy stage and does not have formal and effective buying processes. Buyers are unable to weed out the bad suppliers (majority) from the good ones (very few). Most buying criteria are still centered on "known brands" at a "good price" (commoditization).
I therefore question myself regularly whether we are actually doing the right thing. Is integrity a good strategy in a growing yet still immature market? Is integrity important to the customer? Or shall we join the fray and look for ways to get more profit at the customer's expense. Shall we deliver demo or used equipment when we promise brand new equipment? Shall we demo a product, get it approved and deliver a lesser one? Shall we also use the customer's equipment parts to check other customer's equipment without the former knowing? Or shall we continue building the culture of integrity for MEDEV?
I found an article on the web about integrity "Is integrity a sales strategy?". In support for integrity, the article says that integrity saves the customers time.
Life's too short, and business is too busy to deal with people you can't trust.
I think only time will tell if we are too much ahead of our time to count on Integrity as a long term strategy. So far, we have achieved almost 7 years of consistent growth, although less of the growth we wanted to have, with Integrity. And I believe that it is the only way for the business to grow in the future. Let us see some years more where our strategy will bring us.
You can very well expect then that we will continue providing the "Service You Trust".
