3Aims wrote:
Canadian wrote:
triracerboy wrote:
Personally this sales method has been really frustrating.
I leave a meeting and try to buy a disk.
They are in my shopping basket and and when i try to buy it is sold out?
My ability to buy was based on my internet speed and how fast i can type. Perhaps a lottery would be better? (that might help you get an idea of true demand also)
I'm really sorry about the frustration today. The DISCs were very popular today and were gone in about 4 minutes. There are many ways we could do things but it's impossible to please everyone.
If we chose to use a lottery then people would be upset when they weren't selected but they were "first" to enter. Also, we get a very good idea of demand during these sales. Again, I'm sorry for the frustration today.
What about the first to people who signed up for the "pre-order", errr, availability notification message? Same conclusion right? Also, how do you get "a good idea of demand during these sales" when you don't know how many people were unsuccessful with their purchase? Reading ST? I'm sure you are a really nice guy and obviously make a great product, but I do think you need some outside help. My $0.02. I'm not trying to be combative or ugly at all. Plenty of other choices for consumers. I work with small businesses daily and I can't help but see some red flags around your process. You can still do all of the things you mentioned above like controlling growth, keeping quality high, limiting outside investors, adding new wheel lines, etc, however your delivery to market strategy as it relates to the client experience is really flawed. At a minimum you need to allow for a true prepaid pre-order. I saw your response about this option. Most will wait if they know for certain that they will get the product by X date. Plenty of examples on this forum alone. I'm sure I was beat out today for a disc by a number of people who probably made a last minute decision to buy one when I was in line for weeks. I was traveling during the 4 minute window so I lose. Seems odd. Again, not the end of the world. HED makes a great disc too and it's already being shipped. I just find it odd that you are ok with the fact I would have given you $600 a month ago to ensure I could get one. As of now, had I not bought a HED, I would be waiting for the next 4 minute window. Does that sounds like good plan to you? If it does, see line two about getting outside help.
I feel that you are frustrated about your experience today and I'm sorry about that. It's honestly impossible to please everyone and we've clearly upset you. Here are my thoughts regarding what you've said....
Demand: There are many metrics that we see on the back end that give us a good idea of demand. Number of sign up, number of users on the site etc.
Pre Paying: We did this when we started the company and we had a ton of complaints. Here is what we heard...
Why do we have to wait so long?
Your lead times should be getting better.
If you're always taking peoples money in advance you must be having financial problems.
Your company clearly "needs help" if you can't cut down your lead times.
These guys just can't figure out production.
So what did we do? We cut our lead times down to a week. Fast forward a few months, and our demand is now higher than ever and people want to pre pay again. You said above that you find it odd that we are ok with the fact that you would have given us $600 a month ago to ensure you got a wheel AND as a result of not being able to do that you bought a HED wheel instead. Is that ideal? Of course not but what is the solution? Pre paying right? This sounds like a great idea. You get the opportunity to pre pay and get the wheels by X date. But what X date is acceptable? We had 997 people signed up for this pre order. If we allowed everyone to pre pay then some people would be waiting 6+ months for wheels. If you came to me two weeks ago and said "I want to pre pay for a wheel" and I told you that you'll likely get it in October/November would that have made you happy? I'm guessing it would not have. I'm guessing you would have posted that we need to figure out how to manage production or some other problem.
Now I'm not trying to be combative or ugly either, but things aren't as simple as they appear. Before I got into this business I would have been asking the same questions. The simple fact is our demand is high and we are already on schedule to triple production this year (that's about 4500 wheels). Everything has it's limit and factories are no exception. Growth requires a delicate balance and there is risk involved in every move you make. As business owners your job is to minimize that risk.
Finally, can things improve? Absolutely! If things were perfect I wouldn't be writing this message to you. You'd have been able to buy your FLO wheels today and you'd be a happy customer. But we are a very new business who is growing at a very quick rate and we are doing everything we can to keep up. In time, this will get better, we promise. We are very sorry for upsetting some people (including you) as we continue to grow. I promise that we will do everything we can to make as many people happy as possible.
I hope this makes sense,
Chris Thornham
Co-Founder And Previous Owner Of FLO Cycling