# You ever fire a customer?



## gosh (Sep 28, 2014)

Last year, I had a neighbor bug me about cutting and baling 7 acres for him. He lives a mile down the road, never stopped in to introduce himself or anything, just drives by. I didn't return his call because I was just too busy with my own stuff, so he stopped by and pleaded with me. So in the spirit of "love thy neighbor" I agreed. Terms were simple: cash deal, cut anytime after July 4.

On June 30, guy calls and insists that I come now because of favorable weather window. I was in the middle of trying to fix an irrigation problem and I told him exactly what I was up against. I was not nice about it. He called again a couple of days later and bugged me again. I decided that I would go ahead and cut. What a crappy piece of land. Uneven, gopher mounds all over, swather high centered. I remember laying on the ground digging the dirt out of the machine and sending him a text message saying I'd never do this again and he said he understood.

It got rained on. I turned over the windrows. As soon as it was dry, he wanted it baled immediately. It was mostly alfalfa, some grass and a lot of weeds. And by immediately, I mean 2:00 in the afternoon. I clarified he meant RIGHT NOW and he said yes. Fine by me. Leaves were crunchy dry and humidity was very low but I wanted out of this deal, so away I went. Not my best work. But I wanted this pain in the butt out of my life.

Guy calls me a couple months later and needs some grass hay for his lady friend. I didn't have any, all sold out. Then he calls again, begging. Well, I had a customer back out on me so I had his 2 tons after all. This was good looking stuff, but he continuously questioned me about mold. I moisture test periodically, so I got him to shut up about that after I explained. Then he bickered about the bale count with my daughter. Then he bickered about the weight. I told him 70 pound bales. He shook his head "no" and I asked him what he was thinking. He said 68.

Good grief. I explained to this jackass that we have a scale, take bales from throughout the field to create a random sample and weigh each bale individually to come up with an average and this guy wants to whine about 2 pounds?

Got him loaded up and out of here. I pulled the next 2 bales off the stack and weighed them. 69 and 71, I kid you not.

So when this guy came around this spring to ask me if I was interested in continuing the arrangement, my immediate reply was HELL NO. The look on his face was as if I had just kicked him in the nuts. I just told him I didn't have time and let it go at that. I decided that this guy was incapable of understanding that he is a jackass and that explaining this would be a waste of time.

So I gotta admit that felt pretty good. I'll never do business of any kind with that guy ever again. And my life is better for it.

Anybody else fire a customer?


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

gosh said:


> Last year, I had a neighbor bug me about cutting and baling 7 acres for him. He lives a mile down the road, never stopped in to introduce himself or anything, just drives by. I didn't return his call because I was just too busy with my own stuff, so he stopped by and pleaded with me. So in the spirit of "love thy neighbor" I agreed. Terms were simple: cash deal, cut anytime after July 4.
> 
> On June 30, guy calls and insists that I come now because of favorable weather window. I was in the middle of trying to fix an irrigation problem and I told him exactly what I was up against. I was not nice about it. He called again a couple of days later and bugged me again. I decided that I would go ahead and cut. What a crappy piece of land. Uneven, gopher mounds all over, swather high centered. I remember laying on the ground digging the dirt out of the machine and sending him a text message saying I'd never do this again and he said he understood.
> 
> ...


YES. 
Glad to hear yo did this and yes, it is a liberating feeling. I do it right to their face.


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## Edd in KY (Jul 16, 2009)

I have a had a couple small hay customers in the past that were a pain, and not worth the effort. When they call for hay, I am always sold-out, even if I have an active ad on Craigslist.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Edd in KY said:


> I have a had a couple small hay customers in the past that were a pain, and not worth the effort. When they call for hay, I am always sold-out, even if I have an active ad on Craigslist.


Same here....no time for it.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

In a New York minute, and not just once. I work hard at what I do and expect respect and prompt payment. I do not haggle, life is too short.


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

gosh said:


> Last year, I had a neighbor bug me about cutting and baling 7 acres for him. He lives a mile down the road, never stopped in to introduce himself or anything, just drives by. I didn't return his call because I was just too busy with my own stuff, so he stopped by and pleaded with me. So in the spirit of "love thy neighbor" I agreed. Terms were simple: cash deal, cut anytime after July 4.
> 
> On June 30, guy calls and insists that I come now because of favorable weather window. I was in the middle of trying to fix an irrigation problem and I told him exactly what I was up against. I was not nice about it. He called again a couple of days later and bugged me again. I decided that I would go ahead and cut. What a crappy piece of land. Uneven, gopher mounds all over, swather high centered. I remember laying on the ground digging the dirt out of the machine and sending him a text message saying I'd never do this again and he said he understood.
> 
> ...


I did a field for a guy, just about the same. Prairie dog mounds all over the place; at one point it almost stopped the sickle. Some you just could not see; when it came to baling I just went around the mounds, left a lot of hay in the field. I'm lucky I got paid on that one; I cut the first cutting and gave him an invoice and got paid for cutting. When it came to baling, the farm had gone into probate; it turns out that it was in his mothers name. Fortunately his attorney gave my invoice to the Judge and they released enough money to get me pain. I should also say that I got paid all in cash, but I did eventually get paid. I told him that he needed to get someone out to kill the prairie dogs and then plow it up. As far as I know he never did get his second cutting. I don't think he did anything with that field either.

I have fired customers in my construction business; some that I just could not work for. From my experience teachers, attorneys, doctors, policemen are the worst to work for.


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## Uphayman (Oct 31, 2014)

You bet. I consider it part of the customer building process. Cull out the bad ones , replace with new and better ones. I set my prices with regards to quality, supply, and value added, (stored inside on pallets). A few think they're going to work me for a better price. To their surprise, my response is " if you can get it cheaper ......have at it." When a person calls up and only asks price....." sorry not taking any orders". I'm fortunate that I have a waiting list, unbeknownst to the people who have to try to screw you for it to be a good deal.


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## gosh (Sep 28, 2014)

JD3430 said:


> YES.
> Glad to hear yo did this and yes, it is a liberating feeling. I do it right to their face.


Do you mean that you actually take time to explain to them that they're being a jerk and that's the reason why you're quitting them? If so, then you get a big AMEN from me!


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## gosh (Sep 28, 2014)

Edd in KY said:


> I have a had a couple small hay customers in the past that were a pain, and not worth the effort. When they call for hay, I am always sold-out, even if I have an active ad on Craigslist.


That's the strategy I was going to use with this guy. By the way, what town are you nearby in Kentucky?


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## Randy Litton (Jan 21, 2018)

When I started out 25 years ago, I had moved from Louisiana to Tennessee. I swore when I graduated and got off the farm in Louisiana I was never going to farm; fast froward, mortgaged my life to live on a dirt road and farm to teach my boys to work. Work force graduated from high school and joined the military, family rule... work, college, or military.. no body rides for free.

I worked 56 hours a week average at chemical plant instrumentation and farmed. I became aware of people who do not comprehend the steps and underlying principles of how things work, all you got to do, is an indication they have only read about the subject.

At one time we did thirty five fields within a eight mile radius of our farm. Their reality, its cheaper to have someone cut hay and maintain the postage stamp field, than bush-hog their property @ $50/hr.

Baled, almost, a aluminum chase lounge deposited in a windrow during a family quarrel, of one customer. Was not forming bales correctly for another customer, because when I went to their barn I learned if you put your knee in the center of the bale and pull on the closest string to the knee the bales have a tendency to come apart; who knew. Our hay never touched the ground , going from baler to wagon via chute. We loaded off the wagon in the field, but did you know you are responsible for the hay getting wet if the customer takes the hay home and doesn't put it in the barn? You are also unable to distinguish your hay from baled briers, weeds and saplings when called about another stack of hay in a barn you delivered to, from a delivery from a lower price producer, it's amazing what some people will swear to.

The customer formula is simple; you bale the best hay, cut at the peak of perfection, hauled to the customers barn loft, stacked neatly, then give them a schedule to which you will adhere to feed their backyard livestock so they don't have to get their giblet butts off the couch.

Yes, I have fired customers. The customer is not always right, but they are always the customer. We have grown to 318 acres, 80 acres Vaughan's Bermuda, square baled in 21 bale bundles with a Bale-bandit.

Moral to the story, be nice, you might have to kill them later...that's a joke by the way. Sarcasm added.


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## Edd in KY (Jul 16, 2009)

Gosh, I'm in 
Woodford County, near Versailles, KY


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## gosh (Sep 28, 2014)

Edd in KY said:


> Gosh, I'm in
> Woodford County, near Versailles, KY


OK, got it. Reason why I asked is I lived in Henry County for 3 years as a child. Little town named Pleasureville. It's where the agriculture bug bit me, helping our friends milk cows, put up hay, and farm tobacco. Was a very long time ago.


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

I usually set the hay out of the barn when people pickup in a horse trailer. That way they aren’t backing in my barn possibly starting a fire with hot brakes or faulty wiring. This lady and her husband showed up with a horse trailer so I set her hay out on the ground in front of the barn and she went off. She said her boys didn’t eat hay that was set on the ground. I ask her where the hell she thought hay came from. When she finished loading the hay she said she would be back to get her other 40 bales. I told her she was done and don’t bother coming back to get the other 40. She could not understand what was wrong. Her husband just looked at her like really. I don’t know where she gets her hay from now but not me!!!


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

broadriverhay said:


> I usually set the hay out of the barn when people pickup in a horse trailer. That way they aren't backing in my barn possibly starting a fire with hot brakes or faulty wiring. This lady and her husband showed up with a horse trailer so I set her hay out on the ground in front of the barn and she went off. She said her boys didn't eat hay that was set on the ground. I ask her where the hell she thought hay came from. When she finished loading the hay she said she would be back to get her other 40 bales. I told her she was done and don't bother coming back to get the other 40. She could not understand what was wrong. Her husband just looked at her like really. I don't know where she gets her hay from now but not me!!!


Some people are just too valuable to keep as customers and are better shared


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## gosh (Sep 28, 2014)

Hayman1 said:


> Some people are just too valuable to keep as customers and are better shared


Now that is a great line. I will use that.

Actually, I'm stealing it. And I'm not going to give you credit!


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## Wethay (Jul 17, 2015)

Sign behind the bar "The customer is always right, but the bartender decides who is still a customer".


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## RockmartGA (Jun 29, 2011)

Hayman1 said:


> . I do not haggle, life is too short.


Do you offer quantity discounts?

How much are you wanting to buy?

A pickup load.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

That’s the way I approach the matter.....if someone is buying one, the price is say $50....if they buy more the price MAY drop, but I have to feel and read each customer.


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## RockmartGA (Jun 29, 2011)

Wethay said:


> Sign behind the bar "The customer is always right, but the bartender decides who is still a customer".


Just wait until the "snowflake" generation discovers horses......


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

RockmartGA said:


> Just wait until the "snowflake" generation discovers horses......


That's already happening up here in the recently fraudulently overthrown state of Pennsylvania.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

somedevildawg said:


> That's the way I approach the matter.....if someone is buying one, the price is say $50....if they buy more the price MAY drop, but I have to feel and read each customer.


Big Dawg, you're the man. I'm going to run with your idea.  :lol:

More along the line of "My hay price is $50 a bale, but I offer quantity discounts. Which most customers take advantage of when buying my hay. This allows them to purchase at hay at over a 80% discount (savings ). Wouldn't you like to take advantage of those savings? How many bales do you need?"

Maybe, I should even think along the lines of Kohl's cash. The more they spend, the more they can spend, the next load. With a limited time offer naturally. 

No Big Dawg, I can't afford to give you any royalties for your idea, without raising my prices more, sorry. 

Larry


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

r82230 said:


> Big Dawg, you're the man. I'm going to run with your idea.  :lol:
> 
> More along the line of "My hay price is $50 a bale, but I offer quantity discounts. Which most customers take advantage of when buying my hay. This allows them to purchase at hay at over a 80% discount (savings ). Wouldn't you like to take advantage of those savings? How many bales do you need?"
> 
> ...


Well Larry, you could set yours at $60, send Dawg 10$ for the idea and still make out. No one can pay Dawg's price and ship to your neighborhood. Of course, the quantity discount math gets complicated but everything being case by case, no one is likely to figure it out and beat the system.   (just one uppin your  )


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Damn it man....I always miss out on the gravy train 

I had a guy today that was waffling on me....needed 100 round bales. He bought em' for 10% less than he could have by buying say 20.....but he was probably gonna buy some from me, some from someone else ifn he needed some (and he knew he was) but he saw a way to save, I saw a way to get a commitment and the rest is history and his check is in my pocketbook


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## Farmineer95 (Aug 11, 2014)

"Some people better off being other people's customers".

It's a game to them to get what they want and be right. Game or pride-arrogance complex. Just ask them, they'll tell you.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I wouldn't do Pup's way.....
Hay don't sell for enough as it is. 
Gotta get em "trained" first, then maybe give em a break IF they are well trained.


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## Edd in KY (Jul 16, 2009)

There are a lot of "I am smarter than you" 70 year olds. It is not generational.


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## Ox76 (Oct 22, 2018)

lol - what about the guys who think if you're younger than them it makes them better than you somehow? As if age is the thing that makes a man a better man? Had one here yesterday like that. Irks me every time. And he was really a dumbass in every other aspect, in addition to being offensive several times, but was oblivious. People always seem to amaze me.


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## gosh (Sep 28, 2014)

Ox76 said:


> lol - what about the guys who think if you're younger than them it makes them better than you somehow? As if age is the thing that makes a man a better man? Had one here yesterday like that. Irks me every time. And he was really a dumbass in every other aspect, in addition to being offensive several times, but was oblivious. People always seem to amaze me.


Right on. One of the main reasons I enjoy hanging out with my 83 year old neighbor so much is that he's 83. He's learned a lot during those many trips around the sun. When he offers his opinion on something, I listen. He's changed my mind on stuff on many occasions.


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

I don't give discounts. It cost the same to make the hay whether they buy 1 or 1000. The inputs are the same. When you buy fuel ,fertilizer , or equipment you don't get a discount. Walk in the store and tell the clerk you want a discount for buying 100 gallons of fuel or you are going to only buy 10 and go down the road and buy the other 90. They will laugh at you. If they buy 100 bales at a time ,does that hay have any less inputs , NO. The money has already been spent long time ago on fertilizer, lime, fuel, equipment and time . Don't forget all of this just because it was a few months ago. When you were working your ass off they were out trail riding and having a good time saying " That old dumb farmer down the road will have my hay for me this Winter".


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## Ox76 (Oct 22, 2018)

gosh said:


> Right on. One of the main reasons I enjoy hanging out with my 83 year old neighbor so much is that he's 83. He's learned a lot during those many trips around the sun. When he offers his opinion on something, I listen. He's changed my mind on stuff on many occasions.


I love the old timers. The respectable ones, which thankfully most of them are. I've always liked folks older than me. Never fit in too good with folks my own age. Guess that makes me a loser. OK! lol


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

broadriverhay said:


> I don't give discounts. It cost the same to make the hay whether they buy 1 or 1000. The inputs are the same. When you buy fuel ,fertilizer , or equipment you don't get a discount. Walk in the store and tell the clerk you want a discount for buying 100 gallons of fuel or you are going to only buy 10 and go down the road and buy the other 90. They will laugh at you. If they buy 100 bales at a time ,does that hay have any less inputs , NO. The money has already been spent long time ago on fertilizer, lime, fuel, equipment and time . Don't forget all of this just because it was a few months ago. When you were working your ass off they were out trail riding and having a good time saying " That old dumb farmer down the road will have my hay for me this Winter".


speak the truth!! 
nobodys giving me no damn "discount". 
I start em higher than I need to make and if they come back for more, don't bug me, don't ask for anything, I _ might _ give them a small discount.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

broadriverhay said:


> I don't give discounts. It cost the same to make the hay whether they buy 1 or 1000. The inputs are the same. When you buy fuel ,fertilizer , or equipment you don't get a discount. Walk in the store and tell the clerk you want a discount for buying 100 gallons of fuel or you are going to only buy 10 and go down the road and buy the other 90. They will laugh at you. If they buy 100 bales at a time ,does that hay have any less inputs , NO. The money has already been spent long time ago on fertilizer, lime, fuel, equipment and time . Don't forget all of this just because it was a few months ago. When you were working your ass off they were out trail riding and having a good time saying " That old dumb farmer down the road will have my hay for me this Winter".


Not exactly.....I do get discounts for quantity buying regularly. When I buy net, I buy by the pallets. Twine by the pallets. When I buy chemicals and NPK i always get a discount for pre-pay. So yes, I do receive discounts by the way I do business. So I offer discounts to people that buy in quantity all day long. It's just smart business....it's also smart to not discount hay if you don't have to, but there is a point in which you will have to "discount" hay. My very best premium hay, barn stored in bundles and rounds are subject to the same rules. I have a customer that buys 8k small squares a year....do you really think he would buy from me year after year if I didn't offer him a discount for his hard earned money when buying hay for the last 5 years? Moreover, why would you not want to give that guy a discount? Do you not appreciate him? He expects quality, on time delivery and he gets that....I expect payment on delivery and I get that....both parties are happy and I'm on my way with a check. 
Now a lot has to do with your starting price...if you're in the high "average" or in the low "average" price to start with....I happen to start high and then I have some wiggle room. Now if you were making something like ditch hay or mushroom hay, there's no room to work....
Another example, I have a guy that I have to stop what I'm doing and load him one round bale at a time....he pays $60 for that bale of hay. I just delivered 640 bales to a customer, do you think he should pay the same? He didn't, he paid $50......but I got a check and he was happy and I was happy. 
So, while it may seem the best thing to do is never discount anything, that would be the perfect scenario....in most situations, it only prudent to offer discounts to loyal volume customers.


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## JOR Farm (Aug 27, 2019)

I receive discounts on net twine grease just about everything I can buy in volume I thought that was how everyone did it like the other day I ordered off road and the guy said he would tell me the final price when the tank was full. Ticket he left said $1.20 per gallon took almost 3000 gallons to fill the tank station down the road has $2.03 by the gallon. I do agree with and give quantity discounts but since I have 6 different barns with different quality 
Hay, rather than arguing over price I just figure out how much they are going to pay then open that barn door. Most never know the difference.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

There's no room to work or discount mushroom hay because the farmer doesn't dictate the price, the buyer does, but it sure as heck is a nice place to get rid of substandard hay, rather than try to hide it in the the middle of a load of feed hay.  
Anyhow, no way on the discount. I sold hundreds of round bales for feed at the price I want already this year and nobody seems to balk. They just call back for more. Seem to all be driving fancier cars, wearing fancier clothes and living in fancier homes, so I don't lose sleep over it. :lol:


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

You might get away with that attitude, but here you would be out of business. We deal in volume and volume sales earns discounts. Much rather load out 10 semi loads to a customer then start a loader constantly to load out a few bales. Plus we have winter to deal with, and moving snow over and over to load out sucks. Some years we set our hay prices, some years the market does it for us. This year it's damn hard to move hay at any price atm..


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

What do you think is causing slow sales? Warmer than normal?


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

somedevildawg said:


> What do you think is causing slow sales? Warmer than normal?


Most years we ship hay through brokers to Eastern Canada and the Eastern US all the way to Florida. This year the brokers tell me their customers are buying "just in time deliveries", not willing to gamble on what may or may not happen via Covid. Time will tell Locally we just had a bumper crop of high quality hay that needs to go through the system before we will see decent pricing.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

carcajou said:


> You might get away with that attitude, but here you would be out of business. We deal in volume and volume sales earns discounts. Much rather load out 10 semi loads to a customer then start a loader constantly to load out a few bales. Plus we have winter to deal with, and moving snow over and over to load out sucks. Some years we set our hay prices, some years the market does it for us. This year it's damn hard to move hay at any price atm..


I sure am glad not to be in that area. 
Here, I sell 5-25 round bales at a time for a nice profit. Delivery of the hay adds even more to the price and pays for the truck I would need for other work anyway  I sure as heck am not going backwards on my price, nobody else around here does, either.
All the > 16% or low quality stuff I make goes to mushroom @ ~$50/bale.

As has been said many times, farming is the only profession where you pay retail for your inputs and sell your products for wholesale. Screw that! I'm starting a new trend to make us all a little wealthier.  
Like I've said and others too, hay is a regional thing. 
I hope things get better for you, Ray!


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

I don't have to discount 2020 hay when I am already taking orders for 2021 hay. I sell out every year at normal prices to the same customers so why discount. If I have hay get rained on it goes straight to cow people and not in my barn . Yes it is discounted but there are no volume discounts to horse people. I just don't have to do it in my area.


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

JD3430 said:


> speak the truth!!
> nobodys giving me no damn "discount".
> I start em higher than I need to make and if they come back for more, don't bug me, don't ask for anything, I might give them a small discount.


I like the way you think!!


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

broadriverhay said:


> I don't have to discount 2020 hay when I am already taking orders for 2021 hay. I sell out every year at normal prices to the same customers so why discount. If I have hay get rained on it goes straight to cow people and not in my barn . Yes it is discounted but there are no volume discounts to horse people. I just don't have to do it in my area.


I agree...and I wouldn't change a thing....you put up a good product in a good market, no reason not to capitalize on that. Some are just not as fortunate and as such have to look for alternatives.


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

@ somedevildawg, I understand. Hay always runs in short supply here.


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## haygrl59 (May 19, 2014)

We have a running list of "do not sell to:" of bad customers. One did a charge back with his credit card but because I keep good records/receipts, we were able to get that resolved with the credit card company. Turns out he just wanted two semi loads of hay for free. The others are 'customers' that we could never please and they whined and complained the whole time. Fortunately, I have not had the pleasure of any of these folks calling me and asking to buy hay. I would love to say, 'Hell, no!'.


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## RockmartGA (Jun 29, 2011)

"Do you sell horse hay?"

Nope

Keeps me out of jail.... LOL


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## Bgriffin856 (Nov 13, 2013)

Helping out a neighbor or someone who helps us out usually don't hesitate to help them out. Decline custom work and depending on my mood and situation I might give up the little bit we do on hay shares. I cuss it every time the square baler misses or something breaks down

Debating on just setting the price across the board of $100/hr maybe more


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## sprout (Jan 1, 2018)

Saw a sign in a cafe in Lynchburg, TN....

99.9% of our customers are great! Please try to fit in.


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## mstuck21 (Oct 4, 2019)

I might make a sign for our store that says that.. that’s good


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## gosh (Sep 28, 2014)

carcajou said:


> Most years we ship hay through brokers to Eastern Canada and the Eastern US all the way to Florida. This year the brokers tell me their customers are buying "just in time deliveries", not willing to gamble on what may or may not happen via Covid. Time will tell Locally we just had a bumper crop of high quality hay that needs to go through the system before we will see decent pricing.


What ended up happening with you? Did you have to drop the price or will you sit on it in case winter lasts longer than expected or did things smooth out and back to normal?


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

I have a friend in southern Pa, who deals in western hay '. He pays less and sells for less right now the markets are just not as strong as last year right now. He says some of the difference is made up in transportation , It costs nearly as much to get it here as what the hay is worth out there.

For the first time in years dairy cattle had good value and many in the east sold out of the dairy business Especially the Amish. Close to 50% of those dairy cattle will go for slaughter if meat prices stay put . Corvid 19 will affect the horse racing industry . That will affect the flow of hay and straw to the east . Cheap transportation is the key to western hay in this area .


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

No changes here yet on premium hay. Increased demand for hay in Eastern Canada, Maine and further south. Prices are meeting resistance but if they want the hay it will rise. We will carryover all our premium hay if prices stay low. Build more sheds i guess


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## FAHGreen (Apr 6, 2016)

Did I fire the customer?, you decide.

Told one customer that complained about the price , "your horses are a hobby , I produce hay for a living. If you can't afford the hay , take up stamp collecting"

Another one thought hay should be $4/bale I told him " bring your check book and I'll sell you the farm, tractor ,discbine,tedder ,rake,baler and wagons and other equip, and I'll buy the hay from you for $4/bale".

Still have the one customer. Life is too short to put up with the b.s. anymore.

My 2 cents.

Fred


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

Supply and demand in the hay markets All makes a big difference on what we will and will not do. Last couple years supply been going up a bit and demand fluctuating but down a bit .Not complaining still good here even though not as good as last 2 years . When buyers have more to chose from they get picky. they say Just remember for every hay farmer that fired a customer there are 2 customers that fired there supplier.


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## Shetland Sheepdog (Mar 31, 2011)

Well, now that the Libtards are gaining traction, it might be time to push for a subsidy on hay production! :huh:


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Shetland Sheepdog said:


> Well, now that the Libtards are gaining traction, it might be time to push for a subsidy on hay production! :huh:


I kinda doubt it. Last libtard administration seemed more intent on hurting farmers by naming 4" deep puddles of water "WOTUS" than any subsidizing of hay farmers. Subsidizing just makes you their slave anyway. Who wants that?


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## Beav (Feb 14, 2016)

We will join the soil bank for carbon reduction or some other silly crap, I don't want anything from the government accept to be left alone. My favorite customer way to try to drop price is well farmer down the road sell it for that. My question is "then why are you here?" or here's a quarter call someone who cares


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

Beav said:


> " or here's a quarter call someone who cares


 Beav,

Your dating yourself, a lot of my present customers wouldn't get the quarter thing. I'd probably really drive them nuts if i put an old rotary dial on the hay shed wall, so they could try to call someone COLLECT. 

Larry


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

r82230 said:


> Beav,
> 
> Your dating yourself, a lot of my present customers wouldn't get the quarter thing. I'd probably really drive them nuts if i put an old rotary dial on the hay shed wall, so they could try to call someone COLLECT.
> 
> Larry


A men i remember well the old rotary dial hanging on the wall right inside the door and we were on a party line shared buy 4 house holds.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

Beav said:


> or here's a quarter call someone who cares


 Got news for you , for the first 20+years of my life a pay phone was a dime .


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

I've fired several, another few I wish I could.

Years ago when we had the big national drought we were blessed with enough rain for some fantastic hay yet was still dry enough I could actually make it on time. Amishman came and got a load, brought a janky ole trailer that come out from under a mobile home. First he wanted to argue about price, then even where to park the trailer so I could load it. Finally got him loaded and told him to never come back.

Have another guy I sold a boiler to, he tends to listen to his idiot common law son in law instead of me. I went to school with the kid, he wasn't even close to being the sharpest crayon in the box then and the decades ain't been kind to him. Still an idiot. Anyways the guy that bought the boiler just cant call and say he has a problem and call him back, no&#8230; that'd be too easy. He goes into a detailed spiel that actually conveys very few pertinent details. So when the answering machine cuts him off, he just calls right back and starts in again, if twice aint bad enough I've had call back five times and out of those five messages where he just picks back up where he was cut off, I've yet to have him actually get to the point and give some actual useful information, first few times I listened to all the messages and was still going HUH? After several times of him constipating my answering machine I've started to just delete the messages and call him back instead of wasting that much of my life listening to them and trying to figure out what he's actually talking about. He doesn't know any of the terminology which also tells me he's never read the manual. I've even had another call between his and he just waits and calls back with more blah blah blah. Takes longer to listen to his message than its ever taken to solve any of the issues that were basically his own ID10T error.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

endrow said:


> Got news for you , for the first 20+years of my life a pay phone was a dime .


Pay phone?


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

Shetland Sheepdog said:


> Well, now that the Libtards are gaining traction, it might be time to push for a subsidy on hay production! :huh:


If you are interested in that make sure you report all acreage farmed at the FSA . The last couple of programs have included Alfalfa. And if you are not interested don't bother .I find it interesting that FSA will add 80 approved specialty crops to the program list and not grass hay .


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

mlappin said:


> Pay phone?


Yes one dime in the old phone booth .


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

endrow said:


> A men i remember well the old rotary dial hanging on the wall right inside the door and we were on a party line shared buy 4 house holds.


I came in at the end of the rotary area. Had one in the barn that had a 60'so or 70's era phone book hanging with and this would have been very early 90's. Once it quit the modern phones just would not last a year in that environment. House I grew up in has/had a wall mounted one that I had to disconnect to get internet to work...wasn't going to figure out how to wire in a filter to it. Still there when I sold the house. Grandma's house that I live in now had a wall mounted one until life line needed to be installed and if I ever find it, it will get reinstalled. Still have a desktop one that someday will get plugged back in.


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

endrow said:


> .I find it interesting that FSA will add 80 approved specialty crops to the program list and not grass hay .


Because if they did every idiot with a mower and some free time would be at FSA signing up their "hay farm" postage stamps of fields that shouldn't be touched in the first place.

I'm not trying to put down the large acreage grass farmers out in OR, ID and WA


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

endrow said:


> Got news for you , for the first 20+years of my life a pay phone was a dime .


Ditto, but might have been longer than 20 years, in the sticks where I live. 

Larry


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## Shetland Sheepdog (Mar 31, 2011)

I have to chuckle when you guys say you can remember rotary dial phones! 

I can remember when they were brand new!


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

Shetland Sheepdog said:


> I have to chuckle when you guys say you can remember rotary dial phones!
> 
> I can remember when they were brand new!


You got me sheep, but I do remember only having to dial 5 numbers for local calls (we couldn't afford long distance BTW  ). Our phone number was something like MOhawk4-4492, didn't need to dial the MO (66) part. But apparently we were more upscale than Endrow, had a two-party line. :lol:

Lary


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

endrow said:


> Yes one dime in the old phone booth .


Haha, yah I know what a pay phone is but was a quarter to the best of my recollection.


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## Shetland Sheepdog (Mar 31, 2011)

Ayup, payphones! When I was a kid payphones were common! Used to be rows of them in bus stations & railroad stations, etc!

Used to go down the line checking the coin return slots! Every now and again would score a dime! Once in a while, more!


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## Beav (Feb 14, 2016)

Did not think it would start a trip down memory lane for everyone. My drive to college was 41/2 hours no cell phone, at 18 mom and dad only said call when you get there. Now these helicopter parents would have died from stress under the same conditions. I think parents back my day were don't worry we'll make more. LOL

MERRY CHRISTMAS


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## clowers (Feb 11, 2011)

I also had a rotary phone, and a two party line up until I was in the 7th grade.


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