I like
pdq, but their aftermarket parts are ridiculously expensive. We also use belanger equipment and i like them too. One time on a Saturday morning at 9 AM on the East Coast I called Belanger for tech-support, I got an answering machine and did not leave a message, which I expected since it was Saturday. Five minutes after hanging up my phone rang and one of the tech-support guys said "did someone call Belanger?"… That wouldn't happen at
PDQ…
pdq has good tech support but it closes at 4:30 their time.
Now I'm slightly afraid Belanger tech-support will be just like
PDQ INC is, and their prices for aftermarket parts will shoot up like it also. I mean no matter how you slice it,a buyout = new mortgage = increased costs= need to find new revenue= price increases to serve that debt....
Plus keep in mind from what I have seen in this industry regarding consolidation so far, a lot of people are set to lose their jobs because of this merger. No matter how many times the purchasing company says things won't change they always do. The first people to lose their job will be office people. Human resources and payroll departments, OSHA compliance departments, upper management, et Cetera et Cetera. It wouldnt surprise me if tech support is merged into one department either.
Then by the end of it all belanger could technically end up existing in name only..... manufacturing could be consolidated, product development, and on and on.... till the only thing left is dover operating a sole central company that has purchased all the brands from its competitors.
Im not saying this is what WILL happen, just what i have been seeing happen in the industry after other recent mergers/buyouts. It may be Smart business, but it goes back to a question asked in another forum post about buyouts and mergers and if they were good or bad for our industry.