Why should I buy coffee brewing equipment from my coffee roaster or local dealer?
Pre-owned La Marzocco PB2-ABR espresso machine. Perfect for a medium-volume coffee shop espresso bar concerned with consistency, reliability and durability. Reverie Roasters and our service company, Principal Coffee Equipment Solutions, are commercial and home equipment dealers for La Marzocco and many other great manufacturers of high-quality espresso machines, coffee grinders, and water systems.
Buying coffee equipment from your local coffee roaster or coffee equipment dealer is a great idea for many reasons. Most people know the value of “buying local”, and that will always be great for the community. But we all know that price can easily persuade a customer to buy from online resources. Let’s face it, saving money is such an important thing. However, there are many reasons why your local supplier may be the best idea. And it also may be the best value, too. You just need to ask.
Here's seven reasons why you should consider your local coffee roaster or coffee equipment dealer:
1. You get to work directly with the people who are responsible for the equipment. Many coffee shop owners (new and experienced) don’t realize how coffee equipment warranties work. Many coffee equipment manufacturers require the sales agent to manage the warranty work. If an online supplier sells you a machine, they will ALWAYS be the middleman. This means that for any issue you have, you will have to work through their 1-800 # to get help. And once you get frustrated with this process, you’ll end up calling the service tech company they deployed and it’s very likely you will end up paying for things that would have been covered by the warranty or by the manufacturer.
Further, you need to know that equipment manufacturers allow for “markup” on equipment to cover the sales agent’s overhead, but also the warranty, in addition to their overhead and profit. The company selling the equipment are almost exclusively responsible for covering the labor costs associated with warranty work. So, by cutting them out, you are on your own to cover your repairs.
2. Your local supplier knows the market better than an online company does. They know several key things that couldn’t be known about your market, such as:
a. Availability of Parts and Qualified Technical Support by the local tech you will work with, which can be their own service department (like ours, Principal Coffee Equipment Solutions) or another company in the region. This is key because you don’t want to end up buying an amazing machine that nobody can work on. This will lead to slower service with a higher cost in the end.
b. Water Quality Management can’t easily be done on the phone. You must maintain a certain set of standards of water quality to manage your equipment health. In fact, most manufacturers have very specific requirements for water quality that will lead to denial of a warranty claim. For example, here in Kansas and Wichita, chlorides are a major issue, and they must be reduced drastically or omitted entirely. An off-the-shelf filter won’t cut it. Your local supplier should know this because they own the warranty. They get it and can solve this issue for you.
Here’s an example of a document that explains the water quality we are given. This report, a Consumer Confidence Report, is required to be published every two years by municipalities to demonstrate what is in our water. We can gain insightful information about how to manage your water quality and customize a solution to meet you goals for taste and equipment health.
3. Coffee supplier-dealers (and most are…we are!) know what equipment makes their coffee taste great, how to use it, and how to manage it to make it work great for you. Your online retailer is concerned about one thing…selling stuff. That’s it. They will refer you for support to a service tech company.
A thing about your choice in service tech companies…You really need to know what their interest in coffee is. A few years back, when the Specialty Coffee Association created the Coffee Technicians Guild, a trade-specific group working to create standardized educational pathways for coffee professionals to become equipment technicians, a survey revealed that some 80% of the current techs in the market were not coffee drinkers. Working with a coffee roastery to help with your equipment purchases and technical support helps get you world class tasting coffee and healthy equipment. Plus, there’s an incentive for the roastery to keep your equipment working!
4. Coffee supplier-dealers often can beat the price of the online stores because their primary revenue source is (and should be) selling coffee. Offering deals on equipment to your customers is a great way to build a great relationship with your customers and get them started on the right path. And with the advent of the internet, margins on equipment continue to be squished to practically nothing. So, if you haven’t priced out equipment with your coffee roaster, you probably should. I know that Reverie Coffee Roasters is consistently better priced than many of our competitors. You just have to ask.
5. Your roaster supplier and local tech often know more about the equipment than anyone because of their interest in good quality coffee. Making great coffee is their priority! They generally know what the latest and greatest equipment is to invest in, and they probably have a few pieces to show you and even train your team on.
6. Pre-owned equipment may be an option. Your local suppliers could have used equipment for sale. A word of caution; used equipment is not all the same! If you don’t know the detailed history of a machine, such as one purchased online, you really don’t know what you are getting yourself info. You can easily buy an asset that costs more to fix and maintain than would have been new. But if you buy it from a local supplier that repairs machines, you may find they have a good idea of the equipment’s condition and history. Plus, if they are a customer, they generally won’t want to sell you a lemon because they get to deal with the aftermath of that decision. Additionally, if you happen to get a used machine with some issues that creep up, as they often do, your local supplier is likely to take better care of you to keep that relationship healthy.
7. Supporting a local business is just good business. Your local dealer really benefits from keeping the sales local. Profit stays in the community and you’ll be building a strong relationship with their customer partners. When you choose to buy local, you are helping grow your own community ecosystem. Individuals and families directly benefit from your purchase.
As you can see, it makes a lot of sense to start looking for your coffee equipment with your local coffee roaster and service tech providers. They truly are the experts in the industry and can be the difference between making it easy or hard in the coffee shop operations. If you are interested in exploring great quality coffee equipment for your café, restaurant, or office, reach out to us. Our expert team of coffee professionals at Reverie Coffee Roasters and Principal Coffee Equipment Solutions are here to assist.
Send us a note about equipment and we’ll get back to you right away.