Mr. Firla: On Mr. Runyan's behalf I would like to reply to your inquiry:
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Sb: POOR STOCKING PRACTICES
Fm: INTERNET:Bombur2@aol.com
To: 70471.1433@compuserve.com
Subject: POOR STOCKING PRACTICES
>Dear Mr. Runyan:
>I just placed a parts order and of the seven items FIVE are out of stock or
>no longer carried. No brake shoes, brake pads, or horns (high or low), and
>you no longer offer a brake adjusting wrench, which is most unfortunate.
We are expecting to have the brake pads and shoes available within the next
two weeks. Supplier deliveries have been lagging behind and were generally
interupted by the Christmas holidays. We have been on the telephone today
to get a better delivery schedule on the low and high note horns. I would
suggest that possibly you give me a telephone call on Tuesday or Wednesday
next week and hopefully I'll be able to give you a more positive update. I
tried to call you earlier this afternoon, but I did not get an answer at
your home.
>I am active in the CT Triumph Register and speaking on behalf of only me,
>I'll say we have always tried to support your company. It is good to see John
>at our annual suaree in late summer. However, TRF's reputation among many
>members has slipped for the very reason as defined above, and many ordering
>battle stories are passed at meetings.
We certainly appreciate all of the help and support that we receive from
your club and every other club in the U.S. that we deal with. John and/or
I have been attending your show in years past, and we certainly appreciate
the offer each year. For us it's a 12 hour trip, but we feel strongly that
the membership is important enough for our presence and participation.
Don Sforza (club president) has always been a great TRF supporter and along
with many other club members has made the journey each year to our Summer
Party. I hope that our reputation remains solid and that the battle
stories are few and far between.
>While your handbook carries an ominous statement about how slow the British
>are during the Christmas season I believe that to be a good reason to order
>earlier rather than to write about it.
Ordering earlier won't really solve the problem. We order based on
inventory requirements and available inventory capital. We could not afford
to "double order"; doing so would decrease the margin and could effect the
prices that we try to keep low and affordable. The truth of the matter is
that the U.K. basically shuts down from the week before Christmas until the
week after New Year's. This effects every aspect of parts procurement from
manufacturing to delivery to export shipping.
>Please, sir, less emphasis on floor tiles and pubs. Your fine firm was built
>on selling good parts at a fair price.
We try to keep an even balance between all of our interests. The Coventry
Inn has been a very important interest for us all. We are very proud of it
and will continue to write about it and promote it as much as possible. I
am sure that if you get to see it one day that you will agree that it is
worth every bit of newsprint that it has received.
Mr. Firla, I am sorry that you have had a bad order experience with
us. I will do whatever is possible to expedite the parts that were ordered
on January 24 to keep the backorder time at a minimum. I hope to hear back
from you by telephone.
Thank you for your feedback.
-CHEERS-
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Respectfully Submitted,
Peter Firla
48337/T6
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