Talking badly about your competition is a major sign of weakness and envy, and some experienced clients even want to draw you into this game to see what kind of person and how professional you are.
And “you” who dream about your competition every night and think you have a lot of negative arguments against them, can’t wait to throw mud at them in front of your potential client who you think you’ll win over, but WRONG! because you demonstrate weak character, insecurity and fear, and these don’t sell. The inexperienced end up talking more about their competition’s products than theirs, and that’s not the right attitude.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROBLEM
We are writing this article because lately the “opinion-based” and “unfounded attacks” against us have intensified, because we do our job very well and the competition doesn’t like this situation.
In addition, because we do not want to directly fuel every discussion initiated by the competition, we have chosen to put the cards on the table and dismantle all the nonsense written by them, punctually, in the following lines:
1. Who is behind our team and what is its history?
The first and most important thing to keep in mind when you want to analyze a supplier, you must check the team:
– is there a legal entity?
– how many years has it been on the market?
– in what fields does it still operate?
– what vision does it have for the future?
For example, we are part of a group of companies that have been operating in the HoReCa field since 1997 when our parents opened the first à la carte restaurant in the city.
Later in 2004 we opened one of the first event halls in Romania – Ballroom Andra, which we have continuously developed, currently reaching 5 locations, including the most grandiose hall in the Moldovan area – “Palatul Mirilor”, and the development plans do not stop there.
In 2017 we also launched the photo booth production and sales division – Photo Booth Factory.Ro / VandCabinaFoto.Ro, initially developed out of an internal need (we needed photo booths for our event halls and what we found on the market at that time did not satisfy us from an aesthetic point of view). The success of this division gave us the courage to develop, innovate and contribute to the education and growth of the photo booth and mirror rental market.
2020 was the year in which the 360 Selfie Booth video platform model also appeared in our portfolio, initially for personal use, and will enter large-scale production in 2021; but we will discuss this topic in more detail a little later.
Also in 2020, we launched the HoReCa furniture import and sales division – WeDeco, which allowed us to bring a luxury range of chairs and tables for the private events industry to Romania.
In 2021, our colleague Mac (managing partner with Adrian) wrote and launched the marketing book for the private events industry “How to become the first choice of bride and groom” which will help you sign more contracts, even if you have no experience in marketing and sales. The book can be purchased on the website, but it is offered free of charge to customers who purchase a product from us.
During this time, we have also developed other services for events: floral creation workshop, balloon arrangement workshop, luxury decoration rental services.
2. Team involvement, community support and help provided
Since the launch of the photo booth production and marketing division – Photo Booth Factory.Ro / VandCabinaFoto.Ro, we wanted to come up with a different approach, a pro-client approach with constant support, both in the pre-purchase and post-purchase period.
In short, what does this mean? That we care about the interest and success of our customers even after they have purchased the product, offering them constant support, assistance and advice.
How we do this:
In addition to all these aspects, we have a dedicated team for support when needed:
3. Product quality
When we say, without modesty, that our products are premium, we rely on the following factors:
all product components are CAD designed, laser cut, electrostatically painted and hand assembled
all components used are tested by us to ensure that they withstand and behave properly in operation
having a rental department, it gives us the opportunity to see how they behave in operation and to modify/update them periodically
4. Transparency of prices and components
With us, you don’t have to do research to find out the prices, we don’t have “prices without an invoice”, we don’t offer a price and then say “if you want an invoice, the price is different, because I have to account for all equipment expenses”.
On our website you can find all the prices and all the components of all products.
In addition, we would like to point out a few aspects that are “discussed” by some and others:
1. Why do we call ourselves “The largest manufacturer in Romania?”
Because during the 6 years of activity we have delivered over 2000 pieces of equipment to our clients, both in the country and abroad, even reaching the Maldives (those who are curious can search on Facebook – Photobooth Maldives).
And the results of our work from a fiscal point of view can also be seen on the website of the Ministry of Finance, where in the last 2 years we have been market leaders.
2. Why do many tell us that we are “The best?”
Because we are transparent, we have positive reviews among our clients, we have a dedicated customer support team, we have invested and continue to invest in the development and education of the rental market for booths, photo mirrors and 360 Selfie video platforms.
3. Are your products brought from China?
No, all the product cases that appear in the price section are 100% produced in a metal fabrication factory in our group of companies.
Indeed, in the past we have also brought a few models from China, to see the technologies used by the manufacturers there, but we want to contribute to the country’s economy, that’s why we try to produce, as much as possible, locally.
4. Market research on the 360 Selfie video platform product
Because some envious “manufacturers” try in every way to denigrate our platforms, we dismantle below, one by one, all their statements:
The weight of the platforms: “their platforms are heavy, mine are 10 kg lighter”. Well, our platforms are heavy because when designing them, the main objective was resistance, so that we would not be afraid when 10 people want to crowd onto the platform. So in the 3 years since we have been producing platforms, there has not been a single case of a broken/bent platform.
The controller that controls the arm: “their controller has buttons that look like they are a bomb trigger, and it also has to be kept on the table next to the operator’s laptop.” Well, the controller is operated by a remote control, and the buttons on it are strictly as a back-up measure, in case something happens to the remote control; as for its position, it can just as well be placed under the operator’s table. I chose the external controller option and not embedded in the platform, strictly from the point of view of operational safety and the ease of having access to it in case of problems.
Ringlight / circular LED lamp: “forget about that cheap and small lamp I give you, I’ll give you a big lamp with 2 batteries”. Well, what good is that big lamp of yours, if it blinds and bothers the customers on the platform? What good is it if, due to its weight, it swings that arm in the last ditch? Believe me, we tested all the models of circular lamps on the market, and we stopped at the Yongnuo model because it has the best power-to-weight ratio: it is neither so powerful as to disturb the customers on the platform nor so heavy as to cause swaying.
The software used: “I offer you stable software, not like others whose software crashes or the camera disconnects, I have not had any cases”
The first aspect: do not forget that we have invested more than 30,000 euros in the development of our software, the first software with a menu in Romanian, based on which is a team from Russia that creates software for the United States, and the only ones who have created software for photo booths with augmented/virtual reality so far. Go to their website https://proevent.rent/software/?lang=en to see who you’re trying to compare yourself to 🙂
If you were as knowledgeable as you claim to be, you could differentiate a software problem from a technical camera problem or an operator error. In the scenario you presented, you didn’t specify that the camera was disconnected completely, meaning it didn’t even stay connected to the laptop, which has nothing to do with the software, but strictly with the camera. When you say that the sharing station gallery is blocked, why don’t you say that it’s the operator’s error that they didn’t turn off the firewall.
Second aspect: statistically speaking, when we have over 800 software users, the chances are 40 times higher that we will encounter problems, compared to you who don’t even have 20 users, because most of those who bought the platform from you either bought software from us or use Dslrbooth.
The important thing is that, even on weekends, late at night, both our colleague Florin and the rest of the experienced colleagues in our community were there for customers who were experiencing problems.
The quality of the materials and the platform: “I make quality, I don’t skimp, I pay attention to details, not like others who think about profit”.
Well, how can you ever compare the quality of execution of your platforms with ours, when everything is done mechanized with industrial equipment and everything from A to Z in our factory.
From design, cutting, welding, lathe, electrostatic painting, assembly, printing, engraving, everything by our colleagues, a team of 8 people who have been working strictly only on platforms for 2 years.
Do you think that we walk around with the platforms from one workshop to another, from the lathe, to the one who paints, like you?
And you also say that you came with equipment from the first to the platforms, not like us, who weren’t careful; well, it’s normal that you came with equipment because you made the first platform a year after us.
The important thing is that we have taken into account customer feedback and in the 3 years since we have been making platforms, we have constantly updated them, both constructively and functionally, and we did not stop there, because soon we will also implement the arm start function directly from the software.
In conclusion, for those who had the patience to read this article, I do not want you to think that we consider ourselves perfect: we are human, we also make mistakes, we also delay and we still crash, but we always fix our mistakes, we learn from them and we try to offer our customers the best experience.
We know how to receive negative feedback, we know how to recognize when we are wrong, we know what to do to fix our mistakes, we know how to be fairplay, we know how to respect our competition, but when it goes beyond the limit, we leave “humanity” aside and we act in the same manner.
This article aims to expose the situation from our point of view and is intended to shed light on what concerns us.
PS: So Mr. “producer”, when you too will found nationally known brands, when you too will have over 100 employees in the businesses you run, when you too will have turnovers of over 3 million euros, you will be able to compare yourself with us from the same level. Until then, I advise you to channel your energy on constructive things and learn to be a human being and do business.
