The city of Hillsdale, a Chicago Burb, has bought a new system to assist in writing parking tickets. It seems the 15 year old system had, to use the technical term, crapped out. The hand helds couldn’t be replaced, at least without buying all new software. So the bought an entire new system.
I don’t know whose system they bought, but if it was me, I would have gone out and looked at all the systems on the market and bought the one that fit best into my organization, regardless of what I had before.
The existing company provided equipment that became obsolete. Now I do understand that things do wear out, but when they become irreplaceable, then there is a problem.
If vendors could work out a trade in, or existing customer discount, or something like that, perhaps they could keep current clients rather than have them wander all over the marketplace looking for replacement items. This may have happened in Hillsdale.It may not.
Your customers are your most important asset. You need to work with them to keep them, grow with them, and meet their needs. The company I worked for always gave tremendous discounts to existing customers who wanted to replace or expand. It was good business and a win win for both of us.
JVH
