Complaint Review: DRSS - Las vegas Nevada

Please anyone reading this DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH DOLLAR STORE SERVICES 

1) I do have actual ex-employess they do not work for the competitors

2) John LaFronz did not speak about all the stores that have failed

3) over 70 bankruptcy cases

4) 2 suicides because they felt like failures and lost all thier family money

5) DON'T TAKE THE BAIT!!!

CALL ME (((REDACTED)))

John La fronz rebuttal has false information about me being absent or going on vacations while my store was open. I went thru 3 reps beacause they kept changing them on me and all of them that kept trying to have me buy items that were over $1.00 when I had a dollar store.

My first Rep Russell refused to help me with my first order I had to figure things out on my own. 

I have been recieving calls from alot of owners and new potential owners that I have been able to talk them out of not opening a dollar store so I am happy abou that.

So if I can help any potential owner not investing with this company and avoid bankruptcy that is what makes me happy at the end of the day not like John LaFronz who enjoys sleeping with blood money that he has taken from hard working Americans

Do the math:

70+ bankruptcy and 2 suicides

I am responding to the items you raised in your ripoff report posting of July 26, 2015.  We believe that it is important that any reader understand how bad business decisions and practices can negatively impact a business:

1.  “Leftover slatwalls, shelves and hooks, buildout is over priced…”: 

Our store packages are priced by size; there is no cost fluctuation based on the amount of fixtures used.  Often, as explained in the purchase agreement you signed, there are fixtures included for future use that may not be used during the buildout of your store; different products at different times of the year may require more or less shelves or slatwall hooks.  Having these fixtures on hand is an advantage to you.

1.  Merchandise cost, “…it’s so lopsided...great pet supplies, chemicals, HBA and food are over .80 cents, and the merchandise under .40 cents is junk”:

  The average cost of goods for your new store orders across all categories and suppliers was .55. For the supplier (B) that provided all of the goods you reference as being over .80 cents, the average cost for their opening order was .63 cents !  With one small exception, this was the highest average cost supplier used for your opening orders.  Based on your re-order activity, you utilized this supplier 23 times in the time your store was open.  I would suspect, however, that your average cost was much higher on these subsequent orders, as you had little or no re-order activity with the other lower average cost suppliers we provided to you, choosing to buy the majority of goods from this supplier, REGARDLESS OF COST, as opposed from choosing the lowest cost suppliers for certain categories of product:  Here are some examples:

Supplier C—average cost of goods   .61  0 reorders

Supplier C-1—average cost of goods  .48  0 reorders

Supplier D—average cost of goods  .57  0 reorders

Supplier E—average cost of goods  .50  1 reorder

Supplier K—average cost of goods  .51   5 reorders

Additionally, a large number of the 23 orders to the one supplier appear to be too small to satisfy minimums; the freight cost on these orders was likely very high, further eroding your profits.

1.  “So now you open your doors and what sells is your high end items so now any profit you made you have to replenish with the low profit margin of .20cents…” 

This is simply not true !  In Dollar stores, product sells in all categories.  Dollar Tree is a prime example.  They carry the same categories of goods that your store did, including the consumables.  They would not carry the other categories if they did not sell them.  The examples above clearly show that you did not run a balanced operation,  not buying from the correct suppliers but rather just buying from a few suppliers because it might have been easier, and so you quickly eroded your profits. Consumable product can create traffic in your store, but you cannot allow consumables to BECOME your business.  Maintaining an acceptable average cost of goods was covered in your training, as was how to maintain a purchase log so that you could track your average cost of goods on a continuing basis, making adjustments to your buying habits as necessary.  Clearly you did not do this effectively, if at all.

1. “…You must have at least (a) $1,000 order for a full pallet…”: 

This is categorically not true. Over 50% of our suppliers have minimums well under $1,000; some as low as $200 !  Some suppliers have a minimum order quantity which guarantees the store a freight cap or guarantee; others have a minimum order amount for free freight.   At least one of the suppliers that you never re-ordered from offers free freight.

1. “The JW discount is just pennies off the listed price”: 

This comment is a concern, and is reflective of bad business thinking on your part.  This is a business in which the pennies DO matter; a .05 cent discount on a product equates to 10% additional margin on the retail side.  This 10% is critical, and this 10% goes right to your bottom line, or doesn’t, if you are buying improperly. A comparison of any of our key suppliers website prices  to what our stores actually pay by being a part of our network will show that the savings to a store can be 20% -25% ! The thinking that reflects that pennies do not matter likely goes to the heart of errors in your buying habits over time.

1. “Rep assigned to you…try to get you to buy dollar plus items”, “ …most offerings are dollar plus products…”: 

This is patently inaccurate.  We do share information on dollar plus offerings, as some stores choose to purchase them.  Over 90% of product information we send to our stores, and sent to yours, is product that is priced to sell for one dollar.  While some stores may add an over a dollar component, our notes reflect that you went about this in a way very detrimental to your business.  In January 2^nd, 2014, you commented that you”… were raising your prices on regular dollar items, that you knew your area better than anyone.”  Doing this can be the ‘kiss of death” for a business.   What I do know is that customers are not stupid, and they typically do not react well to seeing an item that they bought for a dollar a week ago selling today at $2.00!  One example you gave of this was a can of silly string with a .68 cent cost selling now for $2.00.  What you did in this regard was in fact make yourself a “RIPOFF” to your own customers ! The correct way to introduce over a dollar product is to provide different product that reflects more VALUE to your customers; they are then accepting of the different price; simply marking up the same product fools no one, and was clearly counterproductive and a business killer for you.

1. “I couldn’t believe that an employee of DRSS was brave enough…”:

 The claims in this posting are totally inaccurate, and may have actually been created by a competitor. We do not at all know that the purported “employee(s) was an employee.  So many of the claims and information in this posting are unfounded, and claim to have information that our own company officers do not have.

I note that comments made by you indicated that your store appeared to be doing very well sales wise up until a summer slump, which as you indicated yourself, is typical.  In May 2013, you commented that you were having trouble keeping supplies on the shelves.

We are of course saddened that your business ultimately did not do well.  In reviewing our information on your project, there were significant blocks of time where we were unable to contact you.  On / about March 12^th, 2013, about three months after your store opened, you took a 2 week vacation to Arizona.  On April 6^th, a conversation with your employee indicated that you were on vacation. From May 14^th until June 27^th, we were unable to speak with you, learning in late June that you were busy with family.  Again, from the 27^th of June, it was not until August 27^th that we received an email from you, indicating that you had been busy with family matters and a baptism.  This reflects a significant time away from a new business, and likely had an adverse effect on your business success.  I note many attempts by our staff to reach you during these time periods, to no avail.

We are in the business of assisting independent business owners in getting into businesses of their own.  We provide assistance in finding locations and negotiating a lease.  In your case, I believe that you opened your store in a location that you brought to us. We provide training, supplier information, fixtures and equipment, and the opening inventory.  We perform each service, and provide each item required in the Purchase Agreement that we execute with each store owner, including you. We cannot and do not guarantee success.

Starting any new business involves an element of risk. It also requires intense dedication, the ability to make good business decisions, and in this case using the information provided (suppliers, etc) to your best advantage.  It may be easy to purchase many items from one supplier, but it is not often the best economical decision for your bottom line.  There are many other factors that play into the success or failure of a business; items you have not discussed.  What was your salary percentage?; was it controlled in relation to your sales ?  As you were often absent from the store, no doubt those absences required additional salary expense just to staff the store.  What impact did these absences have on the day to day operation of your new business, during its’ formative period.

I understand your frustration at your business having failed; it is natural to want to place blame on someone else.  We had made a conscious decision to not respond to your Ripoff Report posting, however we may choose to reconsider that decision, as I think it is important that any potential readers understand that there are two sides to every story.

I wish you well in your future endeavors, and again, am sorry that your business was ultimately successful.

Sincerely,

John LaFronz,

General Manager,

Dollar Store Services

I just found out that DRSS is telling new prospective owners that I was in a bad location and this is not true. My store was making $900 to $1000 a day. My first opening day I made $1200 and that was a soft open. I was in a very busy location and I couldn't keep items on my shelf the problem was having the money to purchase because my profit margin was only .20 cents. All my paper towels, bath tissue, bleach, detergent, food etc .. these are the items people come in looking for and it went fast.  If your lucky you can find it for .69 cents but your not getting a 25% discount like they tell you. And now add in the freight.

They tell you in training that you have to balance it out with cheaper items like cotton balls, Q-tips, baking soda etc but they don't sell as fast as the higher end products do.

Please do not listen to them if they tell you that my store didn't work because I opened in a bad location. I was in a great location but people can't shop in your store if you have no product to sell them

please call me 916-606-8700 Martcia

Please contact me 916-606-8700 my name is Martcia Calvillo