I'm forwarding this interesting conversation I had with one of many trailer
manufacturers on providing me with metric units either in literature or on
their web site.
Best read from the bottom up to follow the flow. This person is certainly
receptive, it might take a year of thinking about it, but I think he might
include metric units at some stage.
Mike Payne
I appreciate the time you've taken out of your busy day. But as I said
at the beginning, I've made a personal commitment to only buy from
businesses that provide metric data and dimensions. I'm not in a
particular hurry, I'll be buying from a company that lists metric units on
their web site. If you do this in the next year let me know and I'll buy a
trailer from your company.
Regards,
Michael Payne
www.trailershowroom.com wrote:
Mr. Payne,
I own seven businesses located in four states. I am a very busy man and
I simply don't have the spare time to continue this conversation. History
lessons and tutorials on what percentage of the world population that the
United States makes up aside, you are still the only person in 10 years
of business and literally thousands of customers for us who has insisted
that I change my format to the metric system. I am simply not going to do
it at this point. In years to come I may possible consider doing it, but
that day has not yet arrived. If you would like to order a trailer,
please tell me the size that you are interested in. If you don't want to
place an order with us, then I wish you the best of luck in your quest
for a vender who is on the metric system.
Thank you,
Rick McKeithan
President,
A1A2Z, Inc.
DBA: trailershowroom.com
DBA: Carolina Liquidations
Sales Manager: 910-619-3988 (Traci)
www.trailershowroom.com
Thanks for your long reply, It might surprise you to learn that the
Metric is the preferred system US trade and commerce.
http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/laws/metric-act.html
Just as Arabic numerals 1,2,3, etc. replaced I II III, etc., the metric
system has replaced measurement in every country on this planet except
the US, where the news media changes (censors out) all reference to the
original unit. Thomas Jefferson came up with the idea for (metric) US
Dollars and cents during his time in France from 1785 to 1789, he
proposed his own metric system for the United States, one idea was
accepted, the other was not. You can read the history of the metric
system in the US at www.metric.org. and on Jefferson's writing on
measurement at http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/P/tj3/writings/brf/jefl212.htm
I'm proud to be American and to live here, I also prefer to see America
thrive in a world economy. We have an enormous trade deficit, Germany
has high labor costs and many labor benefits, but a trade surplus as do
many other countries. I happen to think one reason for this is our use
of an archaic Roman system of measurement not used anywhere else. I'm
not encouraging you to dump inches, I'm encouraging you to include both
units to appeal to the widest possible customer base. Anyone in the
world can access your web site. Given the choice, someone in another
country seeing millimeters on one web site and inches on another will
chose the metric one, will you know about their choice? Probably not!
I've not seen anyone wanting to convert back to the older systems, the
metric system is too simple and integrated, one normal comment is WOW, I
can't believe it took me so long to use this.
Just as you found it a pain to convert currency in Europe I find it a
pain to convert inches to millimeters. Now that most of Europe has one
currency (the Euro) conversion is a pain of the past, the same analogy
can be used for measurement, now that everyone (except us) use the same
system of measurement, conversion is a thing of the past.
Wishing your business success in the future.
Michael Payne
Potomac Falls VA 20165
www.trailershowroom.com wrote:
Hello,
All that I am trying to tell you is that in 10 years of being in
business, you are the first customer who has ever asked me for a metric
measurement; and I do business with people in European countries on a
regular basis. I went out of my way to send you a conversion tool. I
even told you that if you couldn't get the conversion tool to work,
that if you would tell me the size trailer that you needed, I would do
the calculation myself and send it to you.......but that wasn't good
enough for you.
I'm sorry that you apparently seem to have some sort of issue with
America and our way of life, but I am proud to live here and to be an
American. I don't much care what the rest of the world is doing, what
they think, or what they say. I don't live in the rest of the world.
America has been good to me and I don't see that I should take my
marching orders from the "rest of the world". Though I do care what my
customers think, I am absolutely sure that I will not make my business
policy based on what 1 customer out of 10,000 wants me to do.
I lived in Europe for 2 years and yes it was a pain for me to do the
conversions from dollars to European currency; but I was in their
country (Germany) so I had to do things their way. You are in the
United States, so maybe you should consider doing things our way.
Again.........if you will tell me what size trailer that you need
(either in standard or metric form), I will do the conversion for you.
If you want to make some sort of idealistic statement against the
American way of doing things (our standard system of measurement) and
refuse to buy from us until we do things in a more "European way", then
you will need to buy elsewhere. I would like to have your business, but
I really don't "need" it.
Thank you,
Rick McKeithan
President,
A1A2Z, Inc.
DBA: trailershowroom.com
DBA: Carolina Liquidations
Sales Manager: 910-619-3988 (Traci)
www.trailershowroom.com
I hate to tell you American Dollars were the first metric money system
in the world. If they had 12 or 16 cents to the Dollar you'd find it a
real pain in the neck unless you'd used it all your life then it would
work just fine.
www.trailershowroom.com wrote:
Hello,
I do 6.5 million dollars a year in business......those aren't metric
dollars. They are standard American dollars.
Keep your money........in 10 years of business and I ship trailers to
Canada, Mexico, The Bahamas, Jamaica, St. Maartin, Sweden, Germany,
and Russia. You are the first customer who has ever asked for metric
measurements.
Thank you,
Rick McKeithan
President,
A1A2Z, Inc.
DBA: trailershowroom.com
DBA: Carolina Liquidations
Sales Manager: 910-619-3988 (Traci)
www.trailershowroom.com
If you don't have the metric dimensions I'm afraid you'll lose my
business. I should not have to convert anything, if I need
information you should provide it. I really need a covered trailer
but will only buy one with metric specifications supplied.
The USA constitutes 4% of world population, the other 96% use only
the metric system, you are not supplying 96% of your potential
customers with information they need!
Regards,
Michael Payne
1 Thorton Court
Potomac Falls VA 20165
www.trailershowroom.com wrote:
Mr. Payne,
I'm sorry but we do not offer dimensions in the metric scale.
You can use the attached program to do all of the conversions. Just
click on the file attachment or save it to your desktop to run it.
It is a conversion calculator.
If you have trouble opening the attachment, just tell me what size
trailer that you need and I will do the calculations for you.
Thank you,
Rick McKeithan
President,
A1A2Z, Inc.
DBA: trailershowroom.com
DBA: Carolina Liquidations
Sales Manager: 910-619-3988 (Traci)
www.trailershowroom.com
Hi,
Do you have any brochure that list the dimensions in meters or
millimeters? Plus what do these trailers weight in kg?
Michael Payne
1 Thorton Court
Potomac Falls VA 20165
703 404 2715
