Do your competitors do this to you?

…almost annoyingly try to gain access to you prices, sevices, methods, documents etc ?

I’m so sick of the obvious attempts at "inspection intel" that I vow to my competitors…if you were to be up front about your identity and intentions…I’ll speak with you for hours, and likely buy the drinks :cool:

Otherwise I might tell you a bunch of “wrong” stuff. :shock:

I’m not following. Who’s trying to be 007 and how?

Don’t exactly know who it is, but they ask questions that a customer likely wouldn’t think to ask.

When I ask how they heard about me they’ll say they were looking at my web site or found me in the yellow pages.

I’m not in the yellow pages and I’m too far down on Google for anyone to find me yet.

It happens all the time. Get used to it. It ain’t gonna stop.

Could be worse! I’ve got one locally, who regularly removes my business cards and brochures, spreads stories about my being forced out of business by a court action and grills the local agents to find out what I charge.

And he is one of the oldest inspectors in the business up here !!

I receive a few calls a year from other inspectors pretending to be a client and every time I start giving to much info. I do not realize until after or towards the end of the call that they are just calling to get info.

The only thing that bothers me is that I am to dense in realizing it is not a client. But I need to be as professional as I can client or competitor.

Actually I should start calling my competitors and do the same. Just been to busy inspecting and studying.

Yes, it can even come to this!

You to? It happens to all of us. You’ll get used to it. I used to talk with John Alonge. Give me a call sometime.

Nice website, your prices (like mine) are posted so what are they asking?

Thanks for the comment on the website. Typically they ask about all related aspects of the inspection industry. Lots of questions.

I start giving out too much information.

The worst is when you give a fellow inspector an inspection and in turn claim that client as their own!:shock:

I was given several inspections from fellow NACHI members and when asked for a business card for future inspections I simply tell them I work for the inspector they originally called.

Ya this messes up my numbers. I keep tract of every call and every sale. The fake “price shoppers” make my monthly numbers go down.

When I take brochure and card holders to offices I always write my phone number on the bottom. There have been a couple occasion when I’ve arrived to refill them and have found competitors information in my holders. I simply take theirs out and place them on the counter. I don’t let it bother me but I have to wonder about the character of those who would do something so ridiculous.

What about John? Did he have some crazy stories?

David I am buying a place up by you.
How much will you charge me for a 1400 sq foot Ranch.?

Bob, Dont buy in OH, their barely a Great Lake State. Move by me in MI, and I’ll do the inspection for the HALF what you charge in IL, By the way how much is that?

Same as you which is how much?:mrgreen:

[quote=“dsorge, post:1, topic:37016”]

…almost annoyingly try to gain access to you prices, sevices, methods, documents etc ?

I’m so sick of the obvious attempts at "inspection intel" that I vow to my competitors…if you were to be up front about your identity and intentions…I’ll speak with you for hours, and likely buy the drinks :cool:

Otherwise I might tell you a bunch of “wrong” stuff. :shock:/QUOT

It’s called COMPETITION, deal with it!!! Many companies “inquire” as to what the competition is doing. You are a service industry, and the only way to see “what you are up to” is call you directly. And if you are not doing the same thing, live with it!!

Many a retail operation sends out “spies” to see what the competition is charging for the same item so they can adjust and COMPETE!! As a comparison, if BP accross the street from Mobil drops its price, what is Mobil to do? Simple answer, provide better service, or lower their price. It’s called ECONOMICS 101, beat the price, or offer more in service.

Take each call as if it is a customer, grin and bear the others!! You get more flys with honey, than you do with vinegar!! It would not be productive to lose a customer, just because you “think” he is the competition.

As an honest question, how many times have you “wasted” others time calling around for the best price, or just “price shopping”??