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  • From: "Del Williams" <delannw AT dlogue.net>
  • To: <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Re: Tomatoes (Totally Tomatoes)
  • Date: Fri, 6 Dec 2002 07:54:56 -0600

Well, Leigh, you are pointing out one of the fundamental problems of
"getting bigger".

I just completed an employee opinion survey for a nationwide company that
started in one locale... started buying up similar small businesses... they
went corporate... and just kept buying. Actually doubled their workforce in
two years to 10,000 employees.

The major complaint of employees is what this corporatization has done to
customer service. Corporate implemented a computerized inventory system
that sales has to use, but the system isn't conducive to sales. It takes
forever to check out a customer... and so customers get PO ed. And then
they go elsewhere.

The prices are a bit higher at this business but their customers were
willing to pay because of customer service.

Furthermore, corporate doesn't understand their own national regions. So
contracts that were valued for ages or at the local level... well corporate
doesn't care because they don't know. And corporate doesn't care about
local loyalty ... especially among suppliers.

Now, that isn't true with every business I deal with... but this one seems
to be a good example of where corporate does dumb things and cuts off a
customer base even though those customers are the reason the local business
ever thrived and was worth buying in the first place.

Del Williams
Clifton, IL









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