Okay, I gotta ask this question of the vendors.
Is everyone so burnt out by being taken by the nationals that they've given up on the good clients?
With very few exceptions, we have been very good to our vendors and we pay as soon as the clients pay us. Like any other company, we have the occasional problem with a missed payment or a lost check but we get it corrected as quick as we can and I don't think I'm unreasonable to work with. So what gives?
Yes, we take a percentage. But everyone gets paperwork up front that tells them what it is. And, if they don't like it, they simply need to let me know they can't do it and I'll move on to the next vendor who can.
My problem, which seems to be becoming the norm anymore is that vendors are accepting work, then don't return calls or emails and most of the ones that do are turning stuff in so late I am getting my ass chewed by my really good paying, long term clients.
How many of you need to get out of this industry altogether? I'm so tired of finding vendors to complete the work that comes in, then having to find replacements for them within 2 weeks because they don't respond.
On the flip side, I have some excellent vendors in my network and am very pleased with the way they perform. But the ones that don't are making my life a living hell. I spend a lot of time online these days looking for vendor replacements for the primadonnas and the non-performers.
One of the things that a few vendors are not understanding is that we don't get work in all of the areas we service all the time and there are some areas we've got vendors in that we've never received work in. But, even in the areas where the load is light, we still have to be on time. If we're consistently late, we stop getting work in those areas altogether.
Okay, end of rant for now. But I really would like to hear what everyone has to say about being burnt out. Are you? And, if you are, why are you accepting work if you don't plan on doing it?
BTW. I'm not talking about accepting work from the nationals, then not doing it. My rant isn't about the nationals, although I can understand how quickly THEY are sucking the life out of people.
Linda