But as a sales person or business that sells something unfortunately what your talking about goes with the job/business. All Sue has to do is talk to this guy once and then he says to another guy hey if you want a whole system Sue is who I would go to she helped me and didn't think twice!
RC
RC this scenario is certainly a possibility. However, I fear that a much more likely result would be the guy who received free information telling his buddies:
"Hey, just do what I did...you don't need to spend that kind of money, I designed my very own system for a fraction of the cost! Just call Sue and she'll tell you what you need to know, then visit Ebay and order the stuff"....
And yes, part of owning or working at a business involves goodwill adjustments. It runs with the territory. But goodwill, just like good intentions, does not pay the light bill. I walked out and put that belt back on for that fellow, without even taking the mower off the trailer, just because he broke down halfway through the yard and rain was in the forecast. Didn't charge him a dime, but told him the reason it came off was due to worn parts...how about letting me correct the problem when you finish mowing the grass?
Never saw him for two weeks, until he showed back up with the belt off again, wanting me to come out and "slip it back on for him like I did last time", so he could finish mowing yet again. Where does a business draw the line? When does goodwill shift into good riddance?
Most folks who solicit free information are not bad sorts at all, and they truly don't understand the problem with asking someone to give up a few minutes of their time in order to try and help them. But what they also do not see, is the five other guys who called in that day wanting the same thing....it all adds up. And make no mistake, the purpose of being in business is to show a profit. If you can do that AND help someone out along the way, I'm all for it.
I'm including Sue in together with my way of thinking, and I shouldn't be. I don't know what her thoughts are on the matter....she may have absolutely no problem with spending time on the phone with DIY'ers. And maybe some of those people will purchase individual components from her, to go along with the valuable info they received. I hope so.
