Made in America
I’m not a believer in excuses, something I learned from my Mom. She just turned 80 and is safely locked down, like most of us, in my small hometown in New England. There aren’t a lot of good things that can be said about this pandemic, but there are many things to be thankful for. Like being able to, and looking forward to, speaking to her every day.
I told her that we have nearly 1000 new customers in the last 60 days, that I speak to and answer emails from many of them, and in some cases drive to their homes to deliver products that can help a little, during these difficult times. I was explaining the challenges with my US suppliers, literally out of inventory for 15 weeks. That the overseas manufacturers dominate the personal and residential UV-C device markets. And how they have not only choked the supply chain (adding months to deliveries) but also launched a dozen online stores that mask themselves as US retailers with the ability to direct ship in 7 to 10 days at volume-based margins. They charge more for the products to US companies like Act Earth Wise and dominate advertising, tripling our typical advertising cost. I said, it makes it extremely difficult for US companies to compete profitably.
That’s probably a lot to process, but you’d have to know my Mom. She said, none of that matters, you’ve asked those people, all 1000 of them to trust in you and your team. Do what you do, be honest, be creative, work a little harder, and partner with people with values like yours. You’ll give the companies a run for their money.
I’m not sharing this story to bash our international competitors, complain about the lack of availability of these type products in the US, or to make any excuses, instead to just say, we apologize for the logistical challenges we’ve had, and to let you know we continue to strengthen our partnerships with good companies with good leaders that also believe that customer service is the top priority.
If you’re happy with our service that’s great, if you’re not, tell us what we can do to make it right.
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