Scenario 1: I own a professional cleaning & restoration company. I hear that my competitors all across town are slammed busy. I then look at my schedule(s) and realize that I too am booked for weeks! Should I be angry or resentful that my competitors are busy as well? No! I am grateful that there is a demand for all of our collective services and products, and if I am busy and profitable, as are they, so what? Proves for a strong economy, at least in our industry. That is the way we feel regarding our competitors in the manufacturing end of things. We respect and welcome all good competition, and the best thing that we can hear at CAD days, Road Shows or other events (and we mfgr.'s all talk more than you might think) is that we are ALL busy.
Scenario 2: I own a professional cleaning & restoration company. I want to put ALL of my competitors out of business. BAM. I am going to discount my services, say down to .02 cents a square foot for standard carpet cleaning. I can do this due to the fact that I have a rich Uncle who will pay me to get along while I annihilate my competitors! A few weeks into this exercise, I realize that the cleaning & restoration needs in my area are far too broad for me and my company to handle, and I cannot grow the business any further due to the fact that I am not profitable, and my rich Uncle has had it with borrowing me $. I still see most of my competitors trucks out cleaning away. Well, you can see where I am going here. Again, we welcome all good competition, and it is that competition that keeps us all improving and thriving.
Scenario 3: I own a professional cleaning & restoration company. I want to OWN the market. Since I am loaded, I am going to buy out all of my competitors, forget the price tags. Midway into this exercise, I notice shiny new carpet trucks with new names and logo's sprouting up all over town! Darnit! WHAT could have gone wrong? I then find out that the recently unemployed technicians from the company's that I have been buying out are starting their own companies! I never thought of that happening. Again, we welcome all good competition, and I think you know that I am living proof that you simply cannot buy out your competition. Others will sprout up.
I truly mean it when I say that we welcome all good competition. Although I cannot comment on what may or may not have happened in the past, (That would be subject to hearsay) I can say that we have absolutely no agenda in regards to "rivalries" or "hatreds" or anything of the sort with ANY competitive manufacturer. We actually share more information than you might suspect. The only rivalries that I see are between the owners of competitive products. Do you like Chevy, Ford, Honda or Yamaha?
I prefer my Honda Rubicon when it comes to quads, but I don't fight with my hunting buddies that own Yamaha's.
My .02 cents.
Regards and Best Wishes,
Thom