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How low can you get?
Page 26
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I thought you would like to know I had the original "nightmare inquiry" so often imagined but so rarely experienced.
As you know we are primarily designers and suppliers of special trailers generally in the 10-50 ton range. Because we are in the yellow pages under "Trailer Manufacturers" we get a large number of inquiries for boat trailers, camping trailers and the like. As these trailers are .so far out of our range we maintain agencies for manufacturers of such trailers.
Our "nightmare" involved a gentleman phoning for a van trailer to carry two tons approximately 10ft x 5ft X 6ft 6in headroom and by virtue of having one of these other manufacturer's leaflets I was able to quote him a price of £1435 (the difficulty was that I called this "fourteen thirtyfive"). There then followed a long conversation when this customer could not believe he was getting bodywork, axles, wheels and even tyres for this price and I was getting more confident by the moment that he was about to order a large quantity.
Then he said, "Could I recheck that price — is it really fourteen pounds thirty-five pence?"
Unfortunately when I told him it was really one thousand four hundred and thirty-five he rang off. Perhaps he had not heard of inflation?
RUSSELL DOUGHTY, Doughty Trailer Sales Ltd, Bournemouth