Tyson,
How’s that PJ’s intrusion?
hey j, i tried sending a PM but i dont think it made it over to you, but thats ok.
well, we did have a dip in business, but it was only about 15%…turns out they arent marketing so agressively for some reason. an example, i’ve only come across one mailpiece they’ve sent out (oversized postcard with 4 coupons on it). they dont seem to be doorhanging either. they hit one neighborhoodnear were i live one time, and it was a windy day so most of them ended up in the street. (ha)
i made a postcard to send out to my customers that was tailored towards getting them back in assuming they had tried the ‘competition’ you can see the front and back at this link if you wanna see it
http://gotprint.net/proofs/2007/02/08/G … -front.jpg
http://gotprint.net/proofs/2007/02/08/G … 4-back.jpg
i waited about 3-4 weeks after they opened to start the postcard salvo, and it seemed to be timed pretty good. we getting alot of people back in, and most admit they tried PJ, and was not impressed, so they’re back with us
also, thanks for the tip on that company thats doing you saturation mailings. they sent me some samples, and they had your mailpieces in their too. are you getting better responses with the color one?
-tyson
almost forgot, how’s your intrusion coming along?
Tyson, that is a sharp looking card…Your web site is good looking too…Royce…
thanks for the kudos…i did a bit of graphic art work in a former life :)…and i know enough about web design to get myself in trouble… hahah
-tyson
tyson writes:
almost forgot, how’s your intrusion coming along?
They’re slow going. The building (small strip center) isn’t even completed yet. It seems as though they’ve hit one snag after another. They originally projected to be open by now but it doesn’t look they’ll be opening anytime before June. I ready. I’m frothing at the mouth, waiting to unload on 'em. Whether my stuff affects them or not… somebody’s gonna feel it. -J_r0kk
you’ve gotta be that way…they’re not coming to town to be your friend…they’re coming to put you out of business
funny story on a side note, papa murphys called the shop today and asked if they could use our mixer to make dough, because theirs broke.
i almost couldnt get an answer out…just seems like a question you would never dream someone would have the nerve to ask :?:
On that side note, I had a regional chain call me and ask if they could “borrow” some of my drivers for a few days until they could get some hired. Yeah…right!!
truth is stranger than fiction
So I guess you did not send help…In my pizzeria days we shared a contract driver on slow nights with another pizza place and a chinese food place…Was not perfect but was a better price than having someone sitting most of the night with nothing to do…You can only fold so many boxes or shred so much cheese…RCS…
THAT’S a new one.
I actually did, once upon a long time ago, help out another local by letting them make a batch of dough at my place.
What would YOU do if YOUR mixer went down?
i would call one of two repair companies that we use, depending on who can make it out quickest.
Well, yeah - me too. But if the quickest is “first thing tommorow,” I’d think about seeing if I could make dough at a competitor’s place to get me through dinner…
I don’t have ENEMIES, just competitors.
And I’d probably might help one out, thinking I might need the same one day.
Talking about the mixer - lending drivers seems more totally nuts to me.
well, i can appreciate that…i’m not saying my way is the end all be all…however, i would never ask that of my competitors, so i expect the same in return
I’m actually good friends with a couple of my competitors. One has a bar that I go to from time to time. The other has been a friend since I first bought my store. I have loaned cheese, dough, pepperoni, ect. I never had to borrow this stuff because my company has two more stores within 5 miles that I can borrow from. I had to use the mixer at one of our stores this past friday as mine went down. One of these competitors places called and asked if I could spare a driver. I went and worked there for the night. I didn’t save the addresses or anything, just learned a bit how others run their stores. Gained a bunch of insight for the 5 hours spent. My attitude has always been that your nearest busy grocery store is a MUCH bigger competitor than your nearest pizza shop.
If your mixer goes down, try the local supermarket bakery.
HOWEVER, don’t try to make enemies of the other guys. You’re all trying to make a living and while you may fight over customers, do it in a fair fashion. You can tick off the wrong person who might choose to make it their life’s goal to see you go down in flames (no matter the cost to them). Perhaps you could find an indy that’s close, but not “too close” to buddy up with. Chains beg, borrow, and steal from their own chain stores regularly. As long as you find an indy that you aren’t wanting to invade and vice-versa, it could be a very good relationship to kindle.
My philosophy in our part of the state is that we will all stand stronger together than opposed to each other . . . independent restaurateurs, that is. Find some allies who can inter-support each other. Sure, my boxes have my face on them . . . but you can use them for a day or two to advertise my shop (if your pizza is decent enopugh to have my face on it 
)
Tyson,
I agree the website is nice looking. It is a big pet peeve of mine though that I have to scroll left to right to view the entire page. I have a 17" monitor I think with an 800x600 display. Other then that, pure gold man.
-Scott
thanks scott, i’ve followed your posts for a long while now, and have alot of respect for you
on the resolution thing, my web guy assured me that only 10% of the US still uses 800x600 resolution so it should look and function right for alot of people, but maybe he said that, just so i’d stop bugging him about it…hahaha
-tyson
Yeah, the standard now is 1024x768 - I do a lot of pro design and have to fit into that critera!