Bulk Discount
by Don Magin
Yes, sir. I'll
take care of it as soon as I get back to my
office.
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"Hello,
is this the ERD Battery Company? Good. My
name is Wilbur Small.
Oh, okay, I'll
try to speak up, but I'm afraid my voice isn't
very loud. I'm the purchasing agent
for S.C. Enterprises, and I'm calling to see if I
can negotiate a large volume discount. How
large? I'm thinking at least two
billion each of sizes double A and D…yes
that's right, two billion—two thousand
million. Also, fifty million each of
sizes C and triple A, and ten million of of
the 9-volt. And we need delivery by December
first.…
I know this is
short notice, but you see, up till now, we've
made our own batteries. For some
reason this year, the Environmental Board and the
Employee Safety and Health agencies have denied
our permits. Apparently it has
something to do with use and waste permits, and a
hazardous materials training program for workers. It
was a complete surprise to us. I
myself don't understand that technical stuff very
well, but the consultants we hired, Pointed Ears
Engineering, assure us that we do have some
deficiencies in those areas.…
How big a
discount? Well, I was hoping for a 100%
discount. All right, I didn’t
think that would really be possible, but it doesn't
hurt to ask. Our expenses have gone up
so much in the last few years, and having to buy
batteries just wasn't in our budget this year. The
cost of our raw materials has skyrocketed, and
our heating and utility bills have gone through
the roof. About the only thing that
has remained stable…yes, that's right,
stable…has been our transportation costs. They
haven't changed in more than a hundred years,
thanks in part to the fact that we grow our own
fuel.…
Do you think
you could do a little bit better on the discount? After
all, we give most of our production away for free. No,
I'm sorry, I don't have a Non-Profit Tax I.D.
number—we've never needed one before.…
What about if
we pick up them up, saving you the delivery
expense? That's good, another couple
of percent helps.…
So, if it's
all right with you, we'll arrange to pick them up
on 01 December. By the way, do you
have a freight elevator that goes to your roof?"
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