Supply house extortion

Mad Dog_2

and that is how they look at it. Get a thicker skin and a sharper tonque and don't take it to heart. We've all been there. Mad Dog

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Ross_7

supply house extortion

Does anybody ever run into this? I have been receiving a lot of flack & jabs from my local supply house, because I haven't been installing their brand of equipment. I.E. Weil-McLain Ultra boilers. For years these folks were the only gig in town, and every contractor in town went to these guys for furnaces, and boilers. Now there are more supply houses available, with different product lines. I installed a Triangle Tube Prestige boiler in my house, we have a few installed on campus, and have recommended these boilers to some of my other contractor friends. They have been installing them, and enjoy the product line. So, the local supply house has been throwing jabs here & there about "availabilty of parts", and "Why don't you put in a real boiler?, Weil-Mclain's been around for over a 100 years!" I don't like aluminum boilers, and the thing that they fail to realize is that TT, and the Ultra basically have the same controls, and parts. I don't like the terminal strip location on the Ultra. I have installed a few Ultras, and prefer the TT. What ever happened to personal preference, and a difference of opinion? I'm not here to bash Weil-Mclain, only the local supply house.This crap is getting pretty old. The one thing that I do wish TT had which the Ultra, and the Lochinvar Knight do have the option, is a floor mounted model. Wall hung boilers are awesome, but not for every application, (like retrofits). I had to fab up my own stand from uni-strut, for my house, but the boiler sure purrs like a kitten!
Thanks for any input!

Ross

Unknown

Same prob here Ross,

my sentiments exactly.

BTW-Did you know TT offers a floor mount stand as an option?

Dave

kpc_30

simple...

boycott them. I had one suppy house thatwas giving me poor support and I left there for a few months. Eventually they got the idea. See if others are having the same issues... take them w/ you. kpc

JohnNY

I hate that, too.

Although none of what we're describing really amounts to "extortion", I've been targeted for the conversion pitch by a local supplier to go from Burnham to Peerless many times.
I've even been offered vacations trips around the country to make the switch.

It's definitely a bribe, though.

Cheesy.


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Dan Anderson

Did you............

talk to them about it? I'm a distributor in MN (I sell TT so we're OK there) so I've seen this from the other side of the counter. Often times, I bet the guys just think they're being funny or are being "pushed" by a manufacture's rep or a boss. Don't take it personally. It's YOUR choice and it's YOUR name on the job. The "walking away" for a few months is effective, but not if the distributor doesn't know why. Don't joke with the guys at the counter about things that are inportant. Find a manager, look him/her in the eye and tell them you'll buy what YOU think is the best for the job. If that doesn't work, then walk.

Robert O'Brien

It's

their job to sell their product as long as they know when no means no.BTW,I've also been swayed to try a different product only to find that I liked it better than what I was using!

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Ross_7

yep Dave,...

Yeah I knew that, it was cheaper to weld up my own out of uni-strut that I had laying around. Layout was kind of fun! Looks just like the picture almost!
Ross

Unknown

Oh yea,,,

certain individuals have a real hair across their butts for me at Joseph Simons because I don't make them my regular supplier. Never mind they want to charge me 30% more for everything because I'm small and don't buy enough. I told them when they can give me better prices I'll be back. Hasn't happened yet.

Leo_14

Trips

John,

It's funny you mentioned an offer of a trip. My boss got to go to Germany a few years ago and although we have had our share of issues with the product involved he always goes back to it. But he also boycotts supply houses that become slow on service. We are small and I asked him why he doesn't give most business to any one house in particular to get volume pricing. He said they get too comfortable and the prices slowly go up. He will periodically stop buying from ones he is frustrated with. They later come back giving him deals. He's been at it quite a while andit seems to work for him. But my point is even though he is tough wine and dine got his loyalty.

Leo

Ross_7

oh yeah..

I know where your coming from there. One of the plumbers I work with said he saw a pricing guide at the supply house I was mentioning above, and they have 12 different pricing brackets, depending who you are. What a load of crap.
At least when I go to Sid Harvey's they give me the right pricing bracket.
Ross

Jed_2

and it never will (NM)

Brian_19

TT

I like to just frame a wall out of 2x4 and cover it with a good grade of plywood. A good place to mount the boiler, piping, controls,and wiring.

Unknown

yea,

it's easy to tell who your friends are by the kind of prices they give you. LOL...

Mad Dog_2

We deal with several different suppliers for the different

products we install. That being said, we have our main supplier whom we do the vast majority with because they are very good to us, don't "beat us up" on other products we use. We have stopped doing business with a few over the years for the attitude you are talking about. If it gets abusive - go elsewhere. Mad Dog