What we have at Metal Pros is a truly time saving operation and we put a lot of effort into making it this way.
Majority of the time, if the material is in stock, customers can place the order, get in their car, drive over and by the time they arrive, the material is ready. Placing the order before getting in the car saves the customer waiting time and allows us to keep our operation efficient.
Since Covid-19 started and we switched to curbside pickup, our operation became a lot more efficient and our service to our customers became much quicker. As a result, our business grew significantly.
This of course is at the expense of customers not being able to show up at the door wanting either to look at material or place an order.
Unfortunately, we don't have the option of allowing customers in the store while still maintaining the speedy service nor do we think it is ethical for us to pick and choose who we allow inside.
That is why we have to be very clear to our customers that we only do curbside pickup as to not create situations where someone may drive for an hour and not get service.
That is also why we have all our material on our website (over 6,000 products with pricing and live inventory), we have bundle discounts and offcuts priced and displayed, we have dozens of pictures and we pick up the phone right away and answer emails promptly.
Now, we understand that some customers want to be able to touch and feel the material before ordering it and that is perfectly reasonable and they should be able to do so.
What we ask is that you call in advance and let us know what you need (whether to buy or to look at) so we know to expect you and be ready to provide you with what you need to see when you arrive.
A second option is that when using our quoting tool, you select the material you want quoted and simply type "view before order" in the internal notes for the items you would like to view (see screen shot below). We then make sure we don't process the material until you see it in person and we also know to expect you.
View before order
On our quoting tool (quote.metalpros.com) select the item you want and to see it first, simply type "view before order" in the notes field
Otherwise, if we eliminate curbside pickup all together, we will not be able to maintain the type of service we are currently providing to the majority of our customers who order in advance and know exactly what they want. In other words, the satisfaction of some will be at the expense and dissatisfaction of others.
I hope this clarifies our decision but please let us know if you have other suggestions that if implemented, they can be a win win for everyone. Email us any suggestions to [email protected].