Do any of you guys operate for, or own a small pump company(2 or 3 pumps)in an area where you have to compete against a large nation-wide company that has all kinds of money, and they don't really care if they have to do cheap pumping for a while to get rid of you? What are your thoughts on this, and how do you deal with these companies?

 here in hawaii there is only one company thats big i think they shut down mainland branches. my uncle the (owner) of the company i work for used to work there. we got 4 concrete trailer pumps and 3 grout pumps. and to my knowlege we are the leading company here in honolulu in small line pumping with good rates, great service and employees with good attitude. wont say anything about that big company but i think the ammount of repeated costumers we have gained over the years means that we are doing something better.

I was reading something yesterday about how to keep or even grow your business in a slow market.

One of the truest statements was that anyone can do what ever it is that you do. HOW you do it is what the difference is between a failing and a successful company. It is true that if you have a smile on your face it is difficult for the person you are addressing to not smile back.

VERY TRUE!

Small owner operator here... I show up on time, always have a smile on, help clean shovels and tools pick up the site etc, when there is a break in the job. I keep extreamly clean and always thank the customer for the business. Keeping good customers and I am in the bay area in CA, so I am surrounded by "the big guys", doing just fine. 

Thanks for the input.

why is it that everybody hates the biggest pump co. in town. the bigger and better they get the more they are hated.they usually have the best equipment, the best sales force,the best safety program, they are not the cheapest either.do not hate them learn from them. hire good people,work hard ,build a orginization and let the orginization build the business and you will succeed.

I think you will find loyality plays a big part of small bus.The smaller companies have heart and dedication.The larger ones work like a machine.Yes the larger companies will get there market share but you will make some friends for life.

Some folks just have an emotional reaction to large companies. When they inhibit the smaller competition through price lowering (example WalMart) then I understand. Like OS2 says, MOST large companies are not the lowest price in a market area. It is just a matter of who is able to take better care of a customer. Bottom line (IMHO) it is up to the operator on the job to show the customer why your company is the right one for the job.