Totally dead and even after kick starting it after free wheeling down the hill the battery came to life enough to drive back up and never gained any charge. This normally works if there is some life left.
This morning one of the work cars would not start and from previous experience with this type of battery as it is smaller than the average battery once it starts to play up you need to replace it. In the past with this particular sized battery jump starting it gets it working, but within a week or two you will find the battery dead again. A similar vehicle was left stranded in the middle of nowhere and it cost me quite a bit of money to sort out being far more than the cost of a replacement battery. You learn from your mistakes and why the first sign of trouble and it must be replaced.
I normally use the local battery center down the road as I have had good service from them before and they conveniently come out to you. When I phoned through I told them what I needed and was given a price which I thought was steep. The person joked on the other side as I think my reaction was unexpected and then the haggle started.
Why haggle, just give me a decent price and don't chance your luck too much. I thought the price was high due to the small size of the battery and the person on the phone gave me a price too quickly. This is not a standard battery and me being given a price within a few seconds just told me to question it. If the guy on the phone told me to hang on so he could check the price I would have been none the wiser and accepted his price. You pick these things up over the years and the salesman needs to learn some tricks. The art of the sale has been lost and most of it is common sense through being believable.
I am a regular customer and the first time we have had to discuss pricing and quite honestly found it off putting and told the person on the phone it was rude and disrespectful. The question I posed to him do you want the business or must I phone around and go elsewhere? The price tumbled from the first quote which was expected and you wonder if they treat all their customers this way.
New battery fitted and expect 2 years life out of this as this is kind of the standard lifespan today especially on these smaller batteries.
The thing is why do people play games on products that have loads of competition because what should stand out is the service and your personality. Maybe they get away with ripping one or two people off charging them 20% extra, but then how many customers do they lose in the process? People make business so complicated because they think they are so smart and is one of the reasons these businesses do not last. The only reason why there is 4 different battery companies in the area is those running them have not captured the market in the area. There should only be one or two and noting there is 4 tells you all you need to know.
The servicing of the clients needs is what wins you the repeated business plus word of mouth. The price should be the same price whether you have the battery fitted at their premises or 5 minutes around the corner. This is within less than 5 minutes drive and the same guy who came today has been here before as he recognized my sons car whose battery they replaced a year ago.
A battery business like this one relies on the residents in the area through local support so being pleasant and not trying silly games should never be an option. I popped down after the new battery was fitted to test the alternator on the car making sure it was working and it was so this was purely a battery coming to the end of it's life.
The same philosophy should apply to all the service related businesses in the area as it is the relationship they build with their clients that guarantees them repeat business. We have 3 tyre companies in the area that also do shocks and brakes yet I only use one who I have built a strong business relationship with. They service my company fleet which including the family cars is 7 cars in total. The staff know me by name and this is a good sign as you are treated as a customer should and they go over and above your needs which makes you feel wanted.