Getting quotes and then not buying

[sidewinder]

Is it just me that hates having to tell a supplier 'thanks for the quote but we're going with someone else' ?

I don't mind telling them if they were far more expensive than others, but if you have gone with one quote out of several that were very similar, I find it awkward to tell them 'thanks, but no thanks' when they follow up on it..I feel guilty for effectively wasting their time.

 

Maybe I should toughen up a bit, I'm sure they're used to it.

 

What do you all say in this scenario?

[plexer]

That's the nature of the business and they all know it.

 

You just have to move on.

 

Ben

[sonofsanta]

No, it's bloody awkward for me too. In the summer we did a big project for new machines, and it was incredibly close. I'd spent months talking to account managers, getting example machines, haggling... some had gone a long way out of their way to accomodate me and my daft requests, only to get told "thanks, but no thanks".

 

I do try and give genuine reasons for why we didn't, but it's still tough when said reasons are out of their control.

 

I suspect the real answer is that we should both man up and stop being such big cry babies and just get on with it. They are employed to deal with it, after all, but still... when you know they have targets and that their job may well rely on it, it's not easy.

[bandgeekmafia78]

Funnily enough I'm going through this right now. I've got to get 3 quotes and I have no intention of purchasing from 2 of the companies simply because:

1) the company I'm buying from are VERY good and we have a good existing relationship with them.

2) the other 2 companies cannot compete on price.

 

However I've still got to get the other quotes which is a waste of everybody's time and results in phonecalls for weeks afterwards.

[bladedanny]

I know what you mean. I also feel like this when getting quotes. Especially if a school asks how much something is, I get quotes for them and the schools says thanks but we're not ordering until next year.

 

It would be interesting to here the thoughts of some of the people who do the quotes. I know there are many on here.

[Little-Miss]

Yup same here....we're big softies aren't we!

[Edu-IT]

I think account managers expect it and don't take it personally. Just build up a list and buy different things from different people, each company has their own best 'market'.

[Mr.Ben]

Same here , but it has to be done. I use 3 different companies on a regular basis, but only try to use 2 + another company I wouldn't use for each round of quotes. All three companies know the deal, and I send out a list of things that are required each year for them to quote on. I try to do purchasing in large chunks and I am specific on the equipment that I want, reducing the time that they spend on the quote.

 

It does annoy me when I get quotes and the school then says that we are not buying though - it has wasted my time as well!

 

It's just business!

[TechMonkey]

Yeah I feel awkward. The other one is when you ask for details to pass on to SMT and then you are waiting for a response and you can't tell the supplier anything as you really don't know. I don't feel bad as that is their job & if they cause a fuss they need to change job as they shouldn't be so sensitive, but it does feel a bit awkward.

[Iain.Faulkner]

Exactly the same for me, I find this really difficult.

 

What I hate though is when suppliers won't take no for an answer as well and keep coming back!

 

I'm currently in the process of switching consumable supplier, and one potential supplier just won't take no for an answer. They've sent me through three different set of quotes so far and still cannot get near my preferred suppliers pricing, but they're still going to send me another one. How do I get rid of them without being plain nasty to them (it's really not in my nature to be nasty to people)?

[tommej]

Exactly the same for me, I find this really difficult.

 

What I hate though is when suppliers won't take no for an answer as well and keep coming back!

 

I'm currently in the process of switching consumable supplier, and one potential supplier just won't take no for an answer. They've sent me through three different set of quotes so far and still cannot get near my preferred suppliers pricing, but they're still going to send me another one. How do I get rid of them without being plain nasty to them (it's really not in my nature to be nasty to people)?

 

Say since their prices have changed 3 times so far you can't trust them to give you their best price and you're not interested. Then tell them to stuff it u.....

[Andrew_C]

I don't mind too much if I've got to the "I really am ordering based on this information" stage, rather than the "Hmm... Can we even consider buying..." In the latter case, I am upfront, and tell them that I need a ball-park price to start negociating with manglement about even budgeting next year for a widget, and not to get their hopes up.

[mthomas08]

Hope im not the only one in saying this but it does not bother me at all. Usually we get extra quotes from people we do not like or people who insist on ringing us up often as "salesman".

 

They usually ask why, that's where I enjoy saying "Got a better deal".

[Hightower]

On the other hand though, these additional companies are getting the chance of a sale. If we didn't have to do the whole 3 quotes thing then we'd probably use a preferred supplier for IT purchases not even giving the other guys a look in. At least now, they might be shot down a lot of that time, but every once in a while they'll do a remarkable price and get a sale that they may not have gotten before.

 

It's swings and round-abouts for me. It's all part of the business, but I will be honest with companies if they can't get close to the best price - the good companies normally bow out with "we can't get near that, but please keep us in mind for future purchases", and it's these companies I would get a quote from next time. The one's doing 3 or 4 quotes lowering each time I wouldn't touch with a clowns shoe.

[MK-2]

we've just been through this and had one supplier take it quite personally as they believed they had done a lot of the work and perhaps gave us the idea of the route we eventually took (they didnt).

got an email saying they were disappointed at how we had let them do all the work in speccing things up and then gone with someone else.

understandably they were disappointed but that did nothing to help and they didnt give us the idea or do the majority of the work.

[jamesfed]

If its a particulary large project I will usaly hold something back for one of those who lost out on the big pot of gold-

e.g. we did a primary school up with new tech a few weeks ago - bought the desktops/server/lics from one company and then got the new network switches from another.

 

In smaller projects though I do hate saying 'thanks for all your effort but not this time' but like others have said - its just the way of the world.

[Hightower]

got an email saying they were disappointed at how we had let them do all the work in speccing things up and then gone with someone else.

 

And at that moment there they would have been deleted from my contacts list, and a sharp reply asking them to never contact me again.

[timzim]

we've just been through this and had one supplier take it quite personally as they believed they had done a lot of the work and perhaps gave us the idea of the route we eventually took (they didnt).

got an email saying they were disappointed at how we had let them do all the work in speccing things up and then gone with someone else.

understandably they were disappointed but that did nothing to help and they didnt give us the idea or do the majority of the work.

 

Ignore them - they're just trying to make you feel guilty (and succeeding!). Let's be honest, they're in business to make money, not to do you any favours. If they can win orders by being devious and making you feel sh*t, rather than by giving you the best price then good for them and more fool you. I say give them no quarter, write a tight spec (so they're all quoting for exactly the same thing) and best price wins.

[synaesthesia]

Quotes should always be "no obligation". The idea of them in the first place is to compare suppliers whether its price, service or even because you like the nice funny lady/hunky sounding fella who answered the phone. You're gonna have to say no to someone and most of them will appreciate being told why. They might not be able to be more competitive in pricing, they might however be able to give their telephonists a bit more training in sounding sexy/hunky. It could work in their favour as well, so don't feel bad about it.