IMPORTANT changes in Hancock & Moore-Jessica Charles-Councill furniture AUGUST 1

[drcollie]

Last day to order for distance deliveries before the new policy goes into effect is Wednesday July 31st.

[DCGator631]

At least they allow you to still deal with your B&M customers as you deem fit. I understand protecting B&M stores, but H&M needs to be sure their dealers are really up to speed on their products and are promoting their products - not just lumping them in with other lower quality furniture they're trying to sell for less.

They may be hurting themselves in the long run with this new policy. If I had to go to a local retailer H&M would not be on my list as it would have been far out of my budget. More and more people are used to Internet shopping these days as well and are always looking for the best way to save money.
I wish them all the best with their new policy, but don't be surprised if they find it hurts their bottom line and they change it.

[drcollie]

I have been operating under this new H&M policy for two weeks now, and it has been hugely - massively - frustrating as a dealer who does a lot of business out-of-state. A number of folks from the forum have told me over the phone "We will just make a trip to Washington DC and buy from you in order to get the best possible price" and every time I hear that I can't help but think how inconvenient that is for customers to have to do that. It also makes me appreciate how loyal many forum members are as well. I'm not sure I can change any minds at H&M to amend this policy, but rest assured I will continue to try.

Normally I would switch brands and find another vendor to market for distance sales. But in this case, its not so easy. I've looked at other lines available and quite simply - they're not Hancock & Moore. Not even close, and it would be a fallacy to represent them as such. Believe me when I tell you that many of these other vendors are chompin' at the bit to step into that void - they want that business badly. But I just don't see the offerings, the build quality, the selection, and the huge customer support structure behind the brand (that many of you here never experience but is vital to me as a dealer) in these other lines.

To make matters even more frustrating, one forum member called me yesterday and told me there are at least three dealers quoting prices not following the policy formula, though she would not name names as to whom they were. Enforcement of this pricing policy will be difficult, I can see that.

Should you decide to make a trip to my store in the Washington DC area and are more than 200 miles away as the crow flies, I'll pay for 1 night's lodging - 1 room - for you at the new Candlewood Suites that just opened near my store ($ 2K minimum purchase of H&M family products required). The least I can do is to help you make the trip!

http://www.ihg.com/candlewood/hotels...rm/hoteldetail

[QualityCounts]

Duane - As someone who lives in a town that theoretically has H&M retailers but which in reality has slackers with hardly any H&M pieces on the floor and sales staff ignorant about what they do have or could get ... I wonder if H&M realizes how many like me who learned about H&M through this forum (that is, SO MUCH about H&M through this forum and you) would NEVER have purchased ANY H&M pieces BUT FOR YOU.

You could do a poll on that and I bet most of the many forum members would be among those folks.

[MRSSQRDAWAY]

Duane has been the only reliable H&M dealer I have done business with, not to get into details of the only honest dealer. These new rules of HANCOCK & MOORE have forced customer like me totally out of their market. I am disabled, no longer travel, there are no H&M retailers in this area at all. My only choice was buy on the internet, and then the cost was barely within my budget.

[brsett]

This is interesting, mainly because Duane's pushing not to shop the for last penny is why I went to a dealer in NC near my parent's house, rather than order from him. In practice it was excellent advice, because I saw a sofa I did not see on the internet and could only appreciate in person (Carmen in tan cameo). When I receive it, I intended to describe how the shipping went (including specifically what company is used), and disclose the price (assuming that was okay with Duane), though probably not the dealer name, as that seems unimportant.

I think H&M is making a good decision, as the internet does not do these sofa's justice, and I would have ordered a different, cheaper H&M sofa had I not gone to a brick and mortar.

Additionally, I travel to Washington irregularly, and I do plan to shop at Duane's store when I go next. Partially because I think he has good prices, but also because I want to rent his expertise in furniture by buying from him.

[QualityCounts]

Brsett - You have the good fortune of having a good local dealer. Many of us do not - and some have no dealer anywhere near them. H&M's new policy leaves folks like me and them out in the cold, unless we can get to DC to shop with Duane.

The new policy would make a bit more sense if it were to force H&M dealers to carry a lot of pieces on their floors and to be knowledgeable about the full line, and to have high enough volume to be Town & Country dealers ... but that does not appear to be the case.

[brsett]

Actually. I have a terrible, unknowledgable local dealer. Thus I drove 3 hrs to a better dealer. I realize some folks don't have that option. Otoh, I can buy a range rover in Knoxville, but not where I bought the sofa.

[drcollie]

The difference is that I am "involved" with the product lines I sell, and am enthusiastic about the items as if I made each one myself. It's not that the other dealers are incompetent, its just they're not really into the art of furniture-making and trying to make sure what is sold to a customer is a good fit. To them its just a sale, and as long as you are buying SOMETHING from them, they don't really care what it is. The difference is I do care. I make it my business to know as much about the lines I sell as I can - and part of that is YOU need someone to tell you what you're getting for your hard-earned dollar rather than just 'a brand name'. I'm kind of a furniture specialist that happens to be a retailer - and there are not many out there that do that. I'm also completely honest - to a fault - it costs me sales from time to time. I'll tell you if something is crummy and you should think twice about buying it... or if I think its way too big for your room, etc. Example:

I've been on the phone this week with a prior H&M customer of mine in New Jersey and he wants (4) high-end barstools for his kitchen island. H&M's, about $ 1,500 each. He knew exactly what he wanted and was ready to place an order. I said "Email me a photo of your kitchen counter so I can see it before we do this". Now, virtually every retail salesperson would have said "Great! Let's write it up", taken the order and if they got there and didn't work out well the reply from the salesperson would have been "We ordered exactly what you asked for, its really not our problem, sorry". So, I got the photos and I could immediately see that the stools in question would not work. They were going to conflict with the supports for the counter (carved wood) in a big way and it would have been a $ 6,000 mistake. I told my customer that and suggested he get hold of a cheap $ 49 bar stool and use it around the island and tape mark the floor to see what works, dimension-wise. After doing so, he called me back up and said "You're right, those would not have worked at all - glad you stopped me from ordering them" and now we've moved onto much smaller (and less costly) but still very nice bar stools that are size appropriate for his counter. He was ready to order the smaller ones today, but I wanted him to have a sample of the leather beforehand because I don't like anyone ordering off photos - so that's in the mail to him today as well. Do the homework up front and the end result if better all around.

This is the right thing to do - get involved in a customer's order and look at the usage and application before they buy. That's the way you do business correctly - its not always about being the lowest price, etc. This is what the other dealers fail to do. They fail to take an interest in what is going to work best for their customer in a given situation, and most people can read that in the way that salesperson interacts with them. And and such, they get labeled as a 'bad dealer' or incompetent, and rightly so. Any fool can take an order and make a sale. The real trick is to have a satisfied customer at the end of the day - and while not perfect, I have more than most.

[QualityCounts]

Duane - what a wonderful explanation. When wearing my professional hat as a deal maker, I am always looking not only for the Win+Win in the near-term, but seek to foster longer term future deals between the parties based on the trust and integrity that each brings to the original deal.

You not only put that approach into practice (I base this conclusion on the many stories by and about you on this forum, and my dealings with you), you could teach it to a society greatly in need of such learning.

However this H&M saga plays out, please keep on walking your walk by doing things the right way. You are inspiring others, and maybe H&M's principals who know you will modify their plans so that the benefits will flow to you, us, and them before they lose you and us as passionate ambassador and buyers of their products.