Helping a fellow vendor, where to draw the line?

[RikaKazak]

So there's 3 people that run cotton candy machines in my area.  Me, a huge vendor that does multiple states, and a guy that owns candy shops.

 

It seems like the candy shops wouldn't be competing with me, but he runs them in the malls (where his shops are) so kills those potential accounts for me.

 

Over time he has called me when the machines break down.  And I've helped him out (told him where he could buy replacement sticks when vendever closed its doors, told him how to mix the sugar/flossine so he wasn't just selling straight sugar cotton candy, told him how to get a new sensor when one went bad) but yesterday he called again, and I sort of don't want to help anymore, because I feel like I'm being taken advantage of.

 

Basically one of his machines broke down, he called in a repair man, and the repair man couldn't fix it.  I know what's wrong with it (exact same thing happened to me 2ish years ago) but it's impossible for me to explain the fix to him.  It'd take me about 6 hours to fix the problem, and I'm just not articulate enough to explain the fix via a phone conversation or email.

 

However when this happened to me, it took me 4 weeks to research the issue, (part of that was asking on here, calling smart, trial and error, and fixing things that didn't need to be fixed)...so I feel like if I do the fix for him, it's like he's getting the advantage of all my knowledge/skills/learning, while he doesn't have to do anything.

 

What should I do guys?  On one hand I enjoy helping others (don't we all?  that's why we're on this forum) but this is a direct competitor, that's kept me out of a few accounts.....should I tell him sorry I don't know how to fix it?  Should I offer to buy his machines, run them, and split the profit like I do with other accounts?  Should I just say "sorry, I don't have time right now?"

 

Advice would be greatly appreciated :D  (isn't it ironic I'm asking for advice/help from fellow vendors about how much advice/help to give other vendors...I thought that part was kind of funny....but I do think there's a difference in this situation right???)

[brmorr]

Here is how I personally would handle him. When he calls asking for repair advice, say you can come out and repair it for him. Charge a hourly rate from the time you leave your house until the time you pull back in your driveway. He has no issues with calling a repair man to fix his stuff, so why not become that repair man and get paid for it. Charge like $75 a hour or more, plus charge for parts as well.

 

Since he is a direct competitor, offer your service which can make you money as well. He obviously does not know how to work on his machines, and you do.

[havending]

So there's 3 people that run cotton candy machines in my area. Me, a huge vendor that does multiple states, and a guy that owns candy shops.

It seems like the candy shops wouldn't be competing with me, but he runs them in the malls (where his shops are) so kills those potential accounts for me.

Over time he has called me when the machines break down. And I've helped him out (told him where he could buy replacement sticks when vendever closed its doors, told him how to mix the sugar/flossine so he wasn't just selling straight sugar cotton candy, told him how to get a new sensor when one went bad) but yesterday he called again, and I sort of don't want to help anymore, because I feel like I'm being taken advantage of.

Basically one of his machines broke down, he called in a repair man, and the repair man couldn't fix it. I know what's wrong with it (exact same thing happened to me 2ish years ago) but it's impossible for me to explain the fix to him. It'd take me about 6 hours to fix the problem, and I'm just not articulate enough to explain the fix via a phone conversation or email.

However when this happened to me, it took me 4 weeks to research the issue, (part of that was asking on here, calling smart, trial and error, and fixing things that didn't need to be fixed)...so I feel like if I do the fix for him, it's like he's getting the advantage of all my knowledge/skills/learning, while he doesn't have to do anything.

What should I do guys? On one hand I enjoy helping others (don't we all? that's why we're on this forum) but this is a direct competitor, that's kept me out of a few accounts.....should I tell him sorry I don't know how to fix it? Should I offer to buy his machines, run them, and split the profit like I do with other accounts? Should I just say "sorry, I don't have time right now?"

Advice would be greatly appreciated :D (isn't it ironic I'm asking for advice/help from fellow vendors about how much advice/help to give other vendors...I thought that part was kind of funny....but I do think there's a difference in this situation right???)

90/hr 2 hour min

[AZVendor]

You want to follow the advice here for charging for your services.  No more free service calls!  We used to see certain customer names come up on caller ID and would shout out before answering "Free service call, line 1."  It definitely gets old and you have to draw the line on free service.  Don't give advice over the phone to him any longer.  If he can't figure it out for himself then he needs to pay someone who can figure it out and that's now you.  Make it worth your while and don't be afraid to charge more than you think it should be.  Nothing is free any more, except this forum, and it's time he learns this. 

[ronsidney]

I'd give you my opinion and help you out but I'm gonna need you to PayPal me $90 before I will say anything.