A story relayed to me by a former
student from my Services Marketing course:
While working at my summer co-op The Swagelok
Company, a manufacturer of industrial fittings/valves/semiconductor/etc., I
heard a rather interesting story of a service encounter. One of the
purchasers of stainless steel for Swagelok was looking for a supplier here
in the USA before searching abroad. He was completely satisfied with the
quality, cost, and distribution methods of a steel company in Pittsburgh,
however he just wanted a tour for his colleagues, supervisors, etc. He
called to request a tour and the gentleman said that it would cost $300 and
hour for a tour of their facilities. The purchasing agent for Swagelok had
been in contact with their sales force and has been bargaining for about a
month, so this just wasn't some guy off the street. The agent asked very
politely that they wave that fee because Swagelok was about to become a
$6,000,000 account for them. The guy wouldn't even contact his manager, he
just stood his ground. The Swagelok purchasing agent said as politely as he
could, "Thank you for your time, I believe we will take our six million
dollar account elsewhere." We are now buying from a distributor in Japan.