So a customer called us here at Clark Heintz Tools & Equipment a week or so ago about a motorcycle lift. He had purchased a lift for just under $1,100.00 from another source, got it home to RI, and set it up. To his surprise the lift collapsed the first time he used it. The customer asked if we had anything "that isn’t a piece of junk." First, I can’t help thinking what a sad situation it is for both the business and the customer. No business wants a dissatisfied customer, and no customer wants to be dissatisfied–right? Not to mention the "danger" factor. Certainly things can malfunction, but when you’re dealing with a lift? Need I say any more?

I told him we carry Titan lifts, Handy lifts, and Quality lifts, and I made a few recommendations based on what he was looking for. I’m a firm believer of following the customer’s lead. I have extensive product knowledge and offer as much information as I can when solicited, but I will never push a product they just don’t want or can’t afford. He said he’d stop by the shop, on his way to return the failed lift. They weren’t accepting of the explanation initially, but he was able to prove that it collapsed, and managed to get his money back.

He was concerned and wanted to see bike lifts from each company we represent. I understood his concern (naturally) and reassured him that our offering of lifts wouldn’t fail on him. There’s a method to my madness. I’ve been doing this for 37 years, and the choices I’ve made in what lifts I carry are well thought out. All are solid, well-made lifts, but I try to represent different price tiers, depending on the buyer’s needs and finances. After recommending a Titan lift because of his price point with the failed lift, I told him it doesn’t have all finished polish he is looking for, but it is well-made, and I stand behind it. In fact, I never have had a return and never a dissatisfied customer.

At this point, he told me he was a nut about quality (preferring the best of the best), so then I got more of a sense of what he wanted. Top of the line. I presented a Handy lift to him. After commenting on the fine details, he seemed to really gravitate to this lift, and he said he willing to put a little more money into it to know he had quality. He paid $2,050, nearly double what he paid for the failed lift, but that’s what he wanted. I didn’t have to "sell" him anything; he just wanted a premium quality lift.

The experience actually made me realize why I started selling Handy lifts. I like the best of the best, too, and these are QUALITY lifts. Interestingly, even though Titan is in a different price tier, I chose them for their quality as well. They may differ from Handy, but a good, solid lift with many extras as standard equipment, nonetheless. (Quite frankly, I wouldn’t be selling it if it wasn’t.) Titan lifts fit people’s needs and the price is right.

Here’s an analogy: Driving a BMW as opposed to a Ford Focus. BMW’s are engineered right, and they have all the polish to go with it! Costs a lot to fix, but it’s a rugged, nice, long-lasting car. Will the Focus work well? Yes, the Focus is a well-made car, too, but maybe the bumps feel a little different, and it’s a little noisier when riding on the road.

With either choice, you reach your destination, right? And that’s all that matters.