I think everyone should get a kick out of this lady who gave a 1 stars review to the fedex ship center a few blocks away, and then wrote a 5 star review of box brother the very same day!:
http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=OhviLW6ky5mKb2LKb23QnA
FedEx Office Print & Ship Center
1 STAR
11/18/2010
Categories: Printing Services, Shipping Centers 11/18/2010
I wanted to ship a painting that didn't fit into a regular box. On their website, it said they can custom-package it for me. So I went to this location and asked for custom-packaging. I was told 3 times that they don't do this, until I had to remind them that's what I read on their website. After that, they proceeded to put my 20in x 27in item into a 50in x 70in box (double the size) which was going to set me back $260!. Luckily, ONLY one of their otherwise completely incompetent employees, advised me that if I find a smaller box size, it will be a significant reduction in price ($80). I refused to send the item in the huge box they put it, and I was told I had to pay $19 for it. I paid for it as I didn't want to deal with these people anymore. I went to the Box Brothers and found a perfect box. http://www.boxbros.com/packing
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4644 Geary Blvd
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 387-2140
Box Brothers
5 STARs
Category: Movers
Neighborhood: Inner Richmond 11/18/2010
if you are looking for an unusual box size, that's your place. Huge selection; great, friendly service.
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http://www.boxbros.com/bay-area-california
Kiyoshi Foster, Manager
Box Brothers
4644 Geary Blvd
San Francisco, CA 94118
phone: (415) 387-2140
facimile: (415) 387-2152
Box Brothers, founded in 1985 in So. California, is the industry leader in the sales of moving and shipping services, custom packaging, domestic or international. We offer fine art handling, storage, custom crating, auction fulfillment services, expert packaging and a full repertoire of shipping services, including air & ocean. Less than Truckload (LTL) service. We provide specialized logistical solutions and multi-national corporations. CALL 800-842-6937
Showing posts with label kinkos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kinkos. Show all posts
Monday, November 22, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Can You Teach An Old Dog Some New Tricks....
More than once, I have blogged about how some of our long term employees, almost seem
afraid to enter the world of blogging. These are good people who have made huge contributions to Box Brothers and have gone above and beyond to take care of their customers in ways that would make our competitors cringe.
The UPS Stores, the Fedex Kinko's outlets, don't have any people like the ones we have who do care about the job they do for their customers. One of these employees, has accounts that would
make your head spin, as for example, one of his client's is the interior decorator for our President of the United States and the First Lady, the Obama's. He has serviced this customer for over 15
years and they work with no other firm, other than ours, due to his efforts.
However, I cannot get this "old dog" to enter the internet blogosphere.........Maybe cause he is shy or maybe there are other reasons, but I would love to tell the world about his days, as he is
so good with customers and their goods, he simply has no equals.
Likewise, I have a dynamic person who runs our shipping operations and handles a great deal of
artwork, and speaks to gallery owners, movie stars, museums and a number of other movers and shakers in live in our world. Getting her to blog is a tough task, but I am not sure why, as she is not in fear of anything and she has never met a challege that she did not attack head on.
She has handled original Matisse Artwork valued in the millions of dollars; she has taken care of
foreign clients in ways they marvel at, as their own people cannot do what she does. She loves artwork, and clients, and I would love for her to simply share a few stories, as she can write a book.
At Box Brothers, we have had some really great and interesting clients and I just wish that everyone would contribute to our blog so that the whole world would be able to read about
it. I will not stop trying to get them to blog, but I wish it would just come easier.
I would not, however, trade these people for anyone else out there.
afraid to enter the world of blogging. These are good people who have made huge contributions to Box Brothers and have gone above and beyond to take care of their customers in ways that would make our competitors cringe.
The UPS Stores, the Fedex Kinko's outlets, don't have any people like the ones we have who do care about the job they do for their customers. One of these employees, has accounts that would
make your head spin, as for example, one of his client's is the interior decorator for our President of the United States and the First Lady, the Obama's. He has serviced this customer for over 15
years and they work with no other firm, other than ours, due to his efforts.
However, I cannot get this "old dog" to enter the internet blogosphere.........Maybe cause he is shy or maybe there are other reasons, but I would love to tell the world about his days, as he is
so good with customers and their goods, he simply has no equals.
Likewise, I have a dynamic person who runs our shipping operations and handles a great deal of
artwork, and speaks to gallery owners, movie stars, museums and a number of other movers and shakers in live in our world. Getting her to blog is a tough task, but I am not sure why, as she is not in fear of anything and she has never met a challege that she did not attack head on.
She has handled original Matisse Artwork valued in the millions of dollars; she has taken care of
foreign clients in ways they marvel at, as their own people cannot do what she does. She loves artwork, and clients, and I would love for her to simply share a few stories, as she can write a book.
At Box Brothers, we have had some really great and interesting clients and I just wish that everyone would contribute to our blog so that the whole world would be able to read about
it. I will not stop trying to get them to blog, but I wish it would just come easier.
I would not, however, trade these people for anyone else out there.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
How does Home Depot get away with Predatory Pricing
I just posted a blog about cardboard and how the industry raised prices 20% in a down market,
as I think I am not as smart as them, as this makes no sense to me.
At the same time, we have a relatively new competitor and I wanted to be consistent, as I really think I have enough competitors in the retail moving box business and I have enough competitors in the packaging aspect of my business (crating and soft packing), and I have plenty of competitors in the package shipping business, like the UPS Stores and Kinko's, who happen to be the only tow providers in that industry, besides the United State Postal Service, but lets not go to that non competitive industry, right now.
I was talking moving boxes and cardboard and a new competitor, Home Depot. What I do not know is how the world defines the legal term, Predatory Pricing, anyway? Lets ask Wikipedia:
In business and economics, predatory pricing is the practice of selling a product or service at a very low price, intending to drive competitors out of the market, or create barriers to entry for potential new competitors. If competitors or potential competitors cannot sustain equal or lower prices without losing money, they go out of business or choose not to enter the business. The predatory merchant then has fewer competitors or is even a de facto monopoly, and hypothetically could then raise prices above what the market would otherwise bear.
So lets apply the facts, like its done in law school.....You have the world's largest hardware
store chain, and for some reason, they decide to start selling a few moving boxes. It is a free
country, right? So they stock two different main sizes, but check this out, the prices they chose
are less than the prices I pay from my suppliers? Why would Home Depot, price their products
at a wholesale level?
The largest seller of moving boxes in the United States and maybe the world, is U-Haul. This is not because Uhaul is branded for this purpose, it is just when you go to pick up your truck, you might find it convenient to pick up a few boxes, as they are right there. No issues.
Uhaul sells the small book or 1.5 box, a staple of the moving industry, for $1.70 a piece.
the worlds largest mini storage firm, Public Storage, also sells these same boxes, for $2.00 each. However, there are people out there, who sell these boxes for as low as $1.50 each and some even go lower than that.
Well, how come Home Depot is selling these boxes, for $.069? Who are they competing with?
No one in the world sells at their cost, unless they have another agenda. To make this worse,
one fool tends to follow the other, even if the first guy is lost. So, look who is copying Home Depot, Lowes Hardware? Go figure, monkey see, monkey do.
However, this is clearly an instance of predatory pricing as no one can figure out how they can
sell these boxes at retail for less than what we buy them for, today, from our suppliers. Free market, or what?
This is not Target or even Walmart, but Home Depot, you know, the place where you can't find
any help if you need it, the place that put the small appliance guys out of business, the ones who
put out all of the independent hardware stores, that company.
THERE CAN BE NO CLEARER CASE OF PREDATORY PRICING. Where is the government
when you need it to make sure the world or the marketplace is a fair one?
So one the one side, we get hit with 20% increases in a down market, and at the same time, I have to try to compete with the largest hardware store chain in the world, cause they want to
sell and not make a profit. Why? those inefficient bastards would not know how to advise a moving customer if their life depended on it.
I know life is not fair, and if I want fair, I have to go to Pomona or something. But this is not fair to anyone, especially the consumer. Once they have no competition, watch what they do, as all they want is to grow up be the big bully. Ask me, we have had enough of this crap. I was born at night, but not last night.....
as I think I am not as smart as them, as this makes no sense to me.
At the same time, we have a relatively new competitor and I wanted to be consistent, as I really think I have enough competitors in the retail moving box business and I have enough competitors in the packaging aspect of my business (crating and soft packing), and I have plenty of competitors in the package shipping business, like the UPS Stores and Kinko's, who happen to be the only tow providers in that industry, besides the United State Postal Service, but lets not go to that non competitive industry, right now.
I was talking moving boxes and cardboard and a new competitor, Home Depot. What I do not know is how the world defines the legal term, Predatory Pricing, anyway? Lets ask Wikipedia:
In business and economics, predatory pricing is the practice of selling a product or service at a very low price, intending to drive competitors out of the market, or create barriers to entry for potential new competitors. If competitors or potential competitors cannot sustain equal or lower prices without losing money, they go out of business or choose not to enter the business. The predatory merchant then has fewer competitors or is even a de facto monopoly, and hypothetically could then raise prices above what the market would otherwise bear.
So lets apply the facts, like its done in law school.....You have the world's largest hardware
store chain, and for some reason, they decide to start selling a few moving boxes. It is a free
country, right? So they stock two different main sizes, but check this out, the prices they chose
are less than the prices I pay from my suppliers? Why would Home Depot, price their products
at a wholesale level?
The largest seller of moving boxes in the United States and maybe the world, is U-Haul. This is not because Uhaul is branded for this purpose, it is just when you go to pick up your truck, you might find it convenient to pick up a few boxes, as they are right there. No issues.
Uhaul sells the small book or 1.5 box, a staple of the moving industry, for $1.70 a piece.
the worlds largest mini storage firm, Public Storage, also sells these same boxes, for $2.00 each. However, there are people out there, who sell these boxes for as low as $1.50 each and some even go lower than that.
Well, how come Home Depot is selling these boxes, for $.069? Who are they competing with?
No one in the world sells at their cost, unless they have another agenda. To make this worse,
one fool tends to follow the other, even if the first guy is lost. So, look who is copying Home Depot, Lowes Hardware? Go figure, monkey see, monkey do.
However, this is clearly an instance of predatory pricing as no one can figure out how they can
sell these boxes at retail for less than what we buy them for, today, from our suppliers. Free market, or what?
This is not Target or even Walmart, but Home Depot, you know, the place where you can't find
any help if you need it, the place that put the small appliance guys out of business, the ones who
put out all of the independent hardware stores, that company.
THERE CAN BE NO CLEARER CASE OF PREDATORY PRICING. Where is the government
when you need it to make sure the world or the marketplace is a fair one?
So one the one side, we get hit with 20% increases in a down market, and at the same time, I have to try to compete with the largest hardware store chain in the world, cause they want to
sell and not make a profit. Why? those inefficient bastards would not know how to advise a moving customer if their life depended on it.
I know life is not fair, and if I want fair, I have to go to Pomona or something. But this is not fair to anyone, especially the consumer. Once they have no competition, watch what they do, as all they want is to grow up be the big bully. Ask me, we have had enough of this crap. I was born at night, but not last night.....
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