How much extra would you pay to have your water pumped?

Here's my situation. The 2 easiest things that I do at the store are the 2 things I hate the most. I hate testing customer's water and I hate filling up people's buckets and gas cans with RO/DI water or RO/DI water mixed with salt.

It's amazing. I would say that only 10% of our customers will fill their own buckets. It's not exactly hard. You put the hose in the bucket. If you want RO/DI water, you flip the switch labeled RO/DI. If you want saltwater, you flip the switch labeled Saltwater. I estimate that I waste a half hour of time each and every day doing nothing but holding a hose.

The owner told me that it has always been like this. We don't make any money on the saltwater so when someone comes in and doesn't buy anything but water and pays with credit card we are actually losing money. (i.e. wages for Chad to mix the saltwater properly, membranes, pre-filters, DI resins, electricity to run the heaters and mixing pumps, then wages for our employees to stand there and hold a hose, and then finally, the discount rate for the credit card). I'm thinking of changing our water program entirely. I want to raise the prices to cover our actual costs (our industrial membranes are a lot more expensive than hobbyist membranes). I'm also thinking of charging for us to fill their buckets.

Here's my question for people who buy their water from their LFS. How would you react if your store all of the sudden charged an extra 10 cents/gallon to pump the water?

 

why don't you just put the spickets out in the open? thats what the lfs near me do, I have never seen anyone ask them to fill up there buckets.

 

They are in the open. In fact, they are 2 feet away from the door so that when the buckets are filled and heavy, they can go straight from the filling station to their trunk parked 4 foot away from the door.

 

i don't see why people wouldn't pay for it! It's a fact of life that we pay more for convienence, if they don't want to pay the extra cost for the water made there, then let them get their own RI/DO units for home.

Maybe you could do it so that if they spend so much on livestock or dry goods then they get the water at normal price because you are making money on those things. but if they're coming in just for water then charge them the extra 10cents so you are covering the costs.

just MPO.

 

I think it will depend on more than just the price difference. If your price will still be competitive with other LFS in the area than why not raise it to cover your costs. If however raising the price ten cents will cause people to drive to another near by store, you will be losing foot traffic through your store. It all depends on where your competition is, how loyal your customers are and what your prices are already at. There are always lost leaders in a store, but they can be a major way of getting people in on a regular enough basis to see what you have in stock and buy when they see what they like.
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You know, I think this is an interesting subject, Inwall75.

In my opinion there are different issues you will be dealing with, either way you go. For example, you'll have the customer that fills up on salt water and since you'll be distracted with something else ( a sale pehaps) you will charge him for the freshwater he told you he loaded up... people will take advantage of this. Not everyone is honest.

On the other hand, I'm not sure what you charge for salt water, my LFS charges $1 per gallon and use reef crystals for salt mix. I think that's a fair price. If you do a "self service" deal, they'll start bugging you to make the price cheaper, since they will have to deal with it, instead of the personnel. It's like tipping at a full service restaurants and tipping at a buffet. Which one gets more? The one you have to get up to get whatever you want, or the one waiter that brings you anything you want and is attentive? I think this works the same way.

You could raise the price of the water, sure. And I think you should! At least to cover the cost. If you can make a 10 cents of profit per gallon it's alright. But if I was in your area, and your water costs $1.10 or $1.50 (mind you, I don't know what the normal price per gallon is in your area) and the other store close to you has it for $1 per gallon, my diesel working mind will think of that extra gallon per every 10 gallons I purchase that I could have if I go to the cheaper store.

The salt quality is a very good way to go if you want to get more money out of this. You can always say: The other place uses this low grade salt, we use reef formulated salt! That's the difference.
Honestly, I would pay the extra if it's laid out this way to me.

So, in conclusion, I would pay extra if the quality and service is better. Otherwise I would go to the other store. I do think that you should at least break even, if making some profit isn't a possibility. You're running a business, not doing charity.

 

Be happy you have a job? And thank them.

 

I would seriously consider doing what gas stations do, with different prices for credit and cash. Then maybe charge a fee for filling the buckets. That way, you're not getting screwed with fees, and customers know exactly why the price is going up. I mean, it won't really go up for the people who pump their own and pay in cash (you might actually be able to lower it), but the people who require extra time (or hit you with a CC processing fee) pay more, and know why they pay more.

 

+1 to this senario.

I have no problem filling my own and definetely would do so if is cheaper.

 

I didn't read all the responses.

Just put up a sign letting them know they are allowed to do it.

I didn't realize I was allowed for the longest time at my LFS before I started making my own water.

I'd say charge for pumping by an employee OR charge more for your costs... don't double raise... I'd stop coming. I haven't been to an LFS yet that commands my loyalty...