good business ideas – Gaffers Tape, Gaff Tape, Batteries & Production Supplies From TheTapeworks.com

UPS Steps Up Its Game

In an obvious attempt to take on new services by Amazon and the US Postal Service, UPS is now offering Saturday delivery at regular ground shipping rates on Saturdays.

Now that Amazon is operating its own fleet of delivery vans, UPS has lost a considerable amount of business to this new service.

Expanded delivery service by the Post Office, including Saturday and even Sunday delivery of parcels and first class mail has also eaten into UPS’s share of the parcel delivery business.

As of now, this service is available in only about 40 municipal areas, but, if successful, don’t be surprised if it is rolled out on a nationwide basis.

This means that you can now include Saturdays when counting the number of days before your ground shipment is delivered.

Not only are ground rates now offered for this service, there is no longer an additional fee for Saturday service.

Our order takers can help you understand when you should expect to see your order.

TheTapeworks.com is your “go to” site for gaffers tape, ProCell batteries, tie line, extension cords and lots more “satisfaction guaranteed” production expendables.

TheTapeworks.com
Voice 866-386-8335
Fax 800-327-6651
Email sales@harrisonbros.com

Harrison Bros. Inc.
47 North Chatham Pkwy.
Chapel Hill, NC 27517

Go Big Or Go Home!

We’ve been big on duct tape for years (decades really), but a recent gift from one of our suppliers completely redefines what a “big ” roll of duct tape is.

Thank you, Electro Tape!

We’re not sure how long this roll is, but it easily weighs 15 pounds and we know that it would make even MacGyver swoon.

It even came with its own display stand.

It will be on display for a limited time in our office, and while tickets are free, you’ll need to schedule your 15 minute viewing time at least a week in advance.

TheTapeworks.com
Voice 866-386-8335
Fax 800-327-6651
Email sales@harrisonbros.com

Harrison Bros. Inc.
47 North Chatham Pkwy.
Chapel Hill, NC 27517

Do You Really Need It Tomorrow?

In general, we applaud Amazon’s march towards next day delivery. We use Amazon almost every day, and, for the most part, we think that they do a great job. We even have a new Amazon fulfillment center in our community, along with the 1500 jobs it brings.

Still, we know that shipping isn’t really free, and we know that next day delivery is going to cost even more.

You can get a case of gaffers tape from us, through Amazon with “free” shipping. It will cost you $395.76, no matter where you live in the country. Even if you are not an Amazon Prime member, you’ll still get it in two to three days.

You can get that case for a lot less, quite often just as quickly if you order direct.

An order placed directly at TheTapeworks.com shipped to Kansas City, MO. will also arrive in three days, but will only cost you $356.02.

The same case shipped to New York City will arrive in two days and cost $351.09 and you’ll get it in two days.

Order today from Raleigh, NC and your shipment will arrive tomorrow at a cost of $345.68.

Instead of free shipping, your invoice will show the true shipping cost via UPS ground and you can easily compare your savings to what you’d pay at Amazon.

TheTapeworks.com
Voice 866-386-8335
Fax 800-327-6651
Email sales@harrisonbros.com

Harrison Bros. Inc.
47 North Chatham Pkwy.
Chapel Hill, NC 27517

Maybe The Customer Isn’t Always Right

I try to spend a few minutes each day reading up on ideas related to sound business practices. There is an unending source of good (and sometimes not so good) ideas for business management available.

One of the ideas that comes up over and over is the timeless concept that “the customer is always right”. After many years of selling specialty products online and through catalog sales, I can tell you that nothing could be further from the truth.

I field at least a couple of phone calls every day from a prospective customer who needs to be talked out of making a purchase from us. This is sometimes harder to do than one might think, but I would always prefer to lose a sale than to sell you the wrong item.

Over and over, a customer will try to talk me out of recommending that they not use a tape product for an outdoor application because it does not have UV protection and is not intended to stand up to exposure to sunlight.

Time after time, I have to convince a customer that using an extension cord of too small a gauge will create a fire hazard.

I wish I had a nickel for all the times I have tried (unsuccessfully) to convince a caller that the performance of a ProCell battery is identical to that of a Duracell CopperTop.

It has always been our hope that by creating web sites that were deep with information that we could lead customers to make the right choice-a purchasing choice that would provide a product that met their needs. The same theory is at work when we provide information that should help a prospective customer realize that they product they are considering is not the right item to meet their needs.

Sometimes we lose a sale by insisting that the customer is not always right, but, in the end, this is a lot more satisfying than trying to always make the sale.

Are you someone who believes that conventional business wisdom is not always the way to go? Share your thoughts with us!

TheTapeworks.com
Voice 866-386-8335
Fax 800-327-6651
Email sales@harrisonbros.com

Harrison Bros. Inc.
47 North Chatham Pkwy.
Chapel Hill, NC 27517 les.

Does A Better Package Create A Better Product?

We’ve been selling a product called tie line for a long time. It is used by lots of theatrical and special events production companies for tasks like drapery hanging, bundling and cable management. It is also known by the name “trick line” because its matte black color means that you can’t see it on a darkened stage or against a black backdrop. Its handy for all sorts of special effects.

There’s not really a lot that can be done to improve this braided cotton cord. Or that’s what I thought until we received our first shipment from a new supplier for this product. For years, the tie line we sold had been wrapped on cardboard spools. I have used this product a lot myself over the years, and it seemed like before the tie line was gone that the spool had ripped, collapsed, or completely disintegrated through rough handling and packing into road cases and tool boxes.

This new tie line supplier had spooled their product on a heavy-duty plastic spool and it works much, much better. The spool can stand up to rough handling, sweaty palms and a little rain on an outdoor event site. The product is the same but it is now offered in a much better package.

This new vendor is also supplying us with new smaller 300 foot spools, so now you can buy a spool that will fit in your tool box or under the seat of your truck. No need to lug around a lifetime supply if you only need a small amount.

If you need tie line, but aren’t sure whether to buy the glazed or unglazed version, here’s a little info that might help. If you intend to tie and untie the knots over and over againg (say, for cable ties) use unglazed. It does not hold a knot as tightly. If your use is for something more permanent (e.g. tying a drape onto a truss or batten) use glazed. Knots tied with glazed time line remain tightly bound over a long period of time.

I never cease to be amazed at how a simple change in packaging can dramatically change the way I look at a product.

How The FedEx/Amazon Split Might Impact Gaffers Tape Prices

We were surprised to find out that Fedex and Amazon were ending their relationship and that Fedex would no longer be delivering packages for the retail giant.

Fedex will still use UPS and USPS, but, more and more, they will depend on their own fleet of delivery vehicles for Amazon deliveries.

Since non-Amazon sellers of expendables like gaffers tape will have one fewer option for getting orders to their customers, UPS has less motivation to hold down prices in order to compete with for businesses who ship with UPS.

We know that what our customers really care about is the “delivered” price, and that price is bound to rise, since UPS knows that, in most cases, tape purchased from non-Amazon vendors will be less expensive even if UPS raises the shipping cost.

Your Local High School Just Might Be The Future Of The Arts

We enjoy working with our local schools and are particularly proud to be involved with the arts curriculum at Northwood High School, the school my children attended. They are finishing up a series of special events this month and we applaud them for their hard work.

Periodically, I have pointed out the phenomenon I call the “graying” of the concert production industry. Lots of hands-on techs who got their start in sound and lighting began their careers in the 1970’s and ’80’s and are now looking at retirement or career changes. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of kids ready to take their places.

If you read the trade journals that cover the concert production industry, you know that a very high percentage of the articles feature technicians in their 50’s or even 60’s.

My work at Northwood High confirms this trend. Northwood has a newly renovated auditorium with state of the art sound and lighting systems. Twenty years ago, there would have been students crawling all over each other to get a chance to learn to operate this equipment.

Not today. Northwood has hundreds of kids involved in band, dance and drama but almost no students who want to work backstage or in the production booth. They simply don’t see it as a college or career track.

If you have technical skills and are making a career change, give some thought to sharing all you’ve learned with your local high school arts program.

TheTapeworks.com
Voice 866-386-8335
Fax 800-327-6651
Email sales@harrisonbros.com

Harrison Bros. Inc.
47 North Chatham Pkwy.
Chapel Hill, NC 27517

No Eye Contact Means No Promotion-At Least Around Here

I get to work with a lot of young people, and it makes my days much more enjoyable. Between my office andworking as a volunteer at the local high school and as an usher at my church, I am exposed to lots of great kids.

However, one thing that I have noticed that is a real problem is the difficulty they all seem to have with eye contact. If there is any sort of a screen present (computer, tablet, smart phone, laptop, whatever) they almost always prefer to watch the screen rather than to look at me.

While I’m the first to admit that I’m not much to look at, I don’t think that these young people realize the potential cost of failing to look at the person who is speaking to them. If I have a promotion or pay raise, a better assignment, or a little bit of useful knowledge to pass along, they are much less likely to get their hands on it if they can’t look me in the eye.

Regardless of how much time they spend in some sort of virtual world, the young person who takes the time to understand the power of looking at someone when they are speaking to them has a very useful skill and, potentially, a strong competitive advantage.

TheTapeworks.com
Voice 866-386-8335
Fax 800-327-6651
Email sales@harrisonbros.com

Harrison Bros. Inc.
47 North Chatham Pkwy.
Chapel Hill, NC 27517

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

A friend in the pro audio business that I had not heard from in a while called last week. He wanted to order batteries, and we spent a few minutes talking about how things were going with his shop. During the conversation, he shared something with me that reminded me why I started working as a sound person over 30 years ago.

We were talking about in-ear-monitors, those little ear pieces that you see lots of performers wearing. They have replaced the bulky and loud floor monitors that have been in use for many years to help musicians hear themselves and each other. Floor monitors are seen less and less

My friend was ordering batteries for his company’s in ear monitoring systems (iem’s). I told him that I was surprised that they owned any, since I had been under the impression that most musicians carried their own systems.

He shared with me that performers still get their own custom molded ear pieces, but that fewer and fewer of them were carrying complete systems. Instead, they were choosing to have the sound companies provide most of the hardware.

One of the reasons that pro audio has become such a big business is because musicians were simply never very good at dealing with the technical side of the performance. They have a completely different set of skills.

I migrated from performing to being a sound person because I was the only one in the band who was interested in setting up speaker arrays, wiring stages and driving trucks. Being “first in and last out” is not high on the list of most performers priorities.

This attitude seemed to have extended itself into the area of personal in ear monitoring. My friend shared with me how often musicians were showing up with broken monitoring equipment, mismatched components and systems that they did not understand how to operate. It finally dawned on him that the only way to solve the problem was to invest on some systems himself and make them available to touring performers.

Problem solved and a new revenue stream created.

As long as concert performers require complicated technical systems to communicate with their audiences, the place of the pro audio company is safe.

TheTapeworks.com
Voice 866-386-8335
Fax 800-327-6651
Email sales@harrisonbros.com

Harrison Bros. Inc.
47 North Chatham Pkwy.
Chapel Hill, NC 27517

What I Really Learned During 30 Years In The Trenches

Until recently, my chosen career was in concert and special event production. I spent more than 30 years doing sound, lighting, staging and event management. It was a great run-I got to see the country and make dozens of great friends. I saw more than my share of great shows along the way.

So, what did I learn that I consider really valuable today? I can coil cables, level stages, mix sound for live TV and focus lights from the top of a 20 foot ladder. Those were all hard-won skills that served me well, but they don’t have a lot of value today.

The most valuable skill, by far, was being able to make decisions. Producing large events and concerts, every day was a string rapid-fire decisions, all focused on the starting time of the show. There was never a chance to kick around a lot of options or “sleep on it”. Not enough time

Fortunately, these were not decisions of the life-or-death variety, and if I was able to get two out of every three right, I was usually a hero. There was never the option of putting off the decision until later. The show would be today whether I made a decision or not. Choosing “not to decide” was the same as “choosing to fail“.

The Only Time That Matters Is “Show Time”

I reality, the more decisions I made in a day the more likely I was to get really good results. Making a couple of decisions before my first cup of coffee always gave me new options that got me closer to an on time show. That was the goal.

Actually providing good entertainment was the job of the performers and their hands on technicians. My job was to make enough correct decisions to insure that they got to do their job.

Making lots of decisions can be risky, even painful. Rarely will it do the sort of damage that is almost guaranteed by making no decision at all.