Thread: I hate shop managers trying to rip you off

I'm getting close to needing to glue automotive carpet onto the draws I'm building. The best glue I found is 3M foam adhesive which sprays on. It is great stuff but expensive ($30 per can).

I found this adhesive at Clark Rubber and have purchased a few cans over the years. On my way to work today I dropped into Bunnings to get the carpet and then dropped into the Clark Rubber store which is close by.

I had to wait for the store to open at 9.00am so I patiently waited while the store manager put out his displays. Finally 9.00am rolled around and I went in and asked for the adhesive which they told me they had in-stock yesterday. After the manager rumages under a bench for a few minutes he brought out a can and said here you go and took it to the counter and scaned it in. I wondered why it was under the bench and not on the shelf anyway I picked up the can while he was processing the payment for $30 and I noticed the can was lighter than normal so I took the cap off and you could see it had been used because excess glue was on the can's edge and on the nozzle.

I said this is not a new can it feels lighter than normal. He said this was new and looked at it himself and said he had another one which he uses and this was the last one. I thought to myself well f#$kyou how can you knowingly sell this to someone when you know it was used (and most likely used by yourself) at full price. He told me he would sell it for $20. Well that's nice, charge me $30 for a can that is probably 3/4 full then lie to me and then drop your price to $20 and tell me that is the buy price of the can. I don't give a ****.

I'm pi$$ed off not because of the $'s but because this was deceiving and unethical to sell something at full price and knowingly lie that it was new. I also wasted 20 mins out the front of his store while he didn't even bother to ask me what I wanted. I won't name the store on here but here are a few hints it was in a suburb of Melbourne starting with N, second letter u, third letter n, fourth letter a, fifth letter w, sixth letter a and ending in wading

I need to got out and find another store with full cans of adhesive.

End of rant.

Chris

Mate
that is disgusting, not in a good business ethic.


here is what I found;


Clark Rubber Franchising Pty Ltd

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Clark Rubber Franchising Pty Ltd at a Glance

Concept: Retail and mobile pool servicing Territory: Franchises available Australia wide Training Provided: 5 weeks minimum - 2 weeks classroom, 3 weeks field Marketing Support: National, regional & local Agreement Terms: 5 + 5 years Number Of Units: 81 Investment Required: $420,000 (on average) Business Established: 1946 Franchising Commenced: 1995 Qualifications Required: motivated, goal-orientated people Clark Rubber is an Australian brand icon. Leaders in the foam, rubber and above ground pool retail market, Clark Rubber has over 80 franchise stores throughout Australia, as well as a further eight stores operating under the Para Rubber brand in New Zealand.



Clark Rubber franchising

“I looked at a few business opportunities before I was told about the Clark Rubber Narre Warren store (in Victoria)."

"This particular store wasn’t performing well for its own reasons, however, the backbone of the business appeared strong, the brand is an icon, the area is growing rapidly and I was more than happy with the level of support that I was being offered from Clark Rubber. The growth potential was also attractive and a five per cent marketing budget, I believe, was a huge plus for the business."

“There has been no secret to the turnaround (growth peaked at 113% in September) since I took over the business in May, 2006 (the store’s figures went from being ranked in the 70’s to high 20’s in just four months).I’m working to a formula, a Clark Rubber set of tools if you like, and I’m now aiming for the stars. The next goal is to break into the top 20 and then I’m going for number one.”
– Narre Warren, Victoria, Franchisee, Mike Smith.

Franchisees have a wealth of support at their fingertips through the experience and knowledge of the national franchise support office team, as well as the franchise support managers, who spend all of their time in the field, supporting the network.

A marketing budget of $7M, along with an in-house graphic design team, local area marketing and public relations, product management, merchandising, IT and finance expertise, as well as business analysts, all make-up a wonderful support base for the franchisees.

Regular state meetings and an annual national conference ensure strong communication throughout the network.

Clark Rubber has experienced enviable growth in the past 10 years after opening its very first store in Richmond, Victoria, in1946.

Entrepreneurial managing director Chris Malcolm took control of the company in 1994, opening the first store in Nunawading, Victoria, in 1995 and in the first 12 months of operation, guided the operation to 25 stores nationally.

In 2000, Chris Malcolm purchased the Clark Rubber brands from Pacific Dunlop and today the franchise is one of the top 50 fastest growing franchises in the country, with an annual turnover of close to $80 Million, a budgeted sales target of $96 Million in 2007 and a consistent annual growth of 14 per cent.

In 2006, Clark Rubber was one of seven finalists in the FCA Franchise of the Year Awards. The franchise was crowned the FCA’s Franchise System of the Year in 1999 for entry capital over $200,000 and four years later was a finalist in the category "Retail and Business to Business 21 - 100 outlets”.

Victoria has the greatest number of Clark Rubber stores nationally with 27, New South Wales, 25, Queensland, 14, West Australia, 8, South Australia, 6, ACT, 1, and NT, 1.

HISTORY SNAPSHOT
- Clark Rubber has a modest beginning in 1946 when two men, Charlesworth and Clark, formed a partnership and established Clark Matting and Rubber. The brand grew considerably and was listed as a public company in 1951.
- Clark Matting and Rubber was sold to the Adsteam Group in 1982. By 1993, the brands were owned by Vita Pacific, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pacific Dunlop.
- Former Solomon’s Carpets Managing Director, Chris Malcolm acquires the brand from Vita Pacific in 1994 and capitalises on the awareness and strength of the Clark Rubber name by choosing franchising as the best way to re-launch Clark Rubber.
- 1995 - Chris Malcolm opens the first franchise store in Nunawading, Victoria.
- 1998 - Clark Rubber celebrates the opening of its 50th store and really begins to stand-out in a crowded retail market.
- 2006 - Awared the Franchise Council of Australia 'Franchisor of the Year' award 2006. Also Clark Rubber opens its 80th store.
Want more information? Send a Quick Request directly to Clark Rubber Franchising Pty Ltd



How about a deftly worded, got and get yourselves well and trulyed, letter to the head office, as it seems Nunawad was the first franchise,
don't get angry get even, stick it into them, just for the satisfaction of it all, and to be sure, just go into the store and get the blokes name.

I am not a fan of businesses that try to screw you. For example, I was trying to source some reasonable priced macca crackers, so i can sell them with the nuts I am taking to sydney and beyond. so did a bit of research, went to one of the local tourist shops, spoke to the owner and found something new and affordable, bought one for testing, this bitch tells me, the supplier would not accept an order of less than 500 units, but she could do a wholesale deal for the hundred or so that I wanted. Anyway armed with the name got onto the internet found the supplier and have bought a hundred and they being delivered next week. the minimum order size, was 50. I am yet to go back and give her a mouthful. Seeing her prices are 400% over cost.

good luck

john