Yes, I’m blaming you, you can blame me, and then we’ll get together and blame everyone else. In reality, it is all of our fault. I do it, you do it, everyone does it then we complain about when the shoe is on the other foot. Are you wondering what in the world am I talking about yet? Well, stay with me because I’m going to tell you. We ALL shop for that good deal. We all want to get the very best we can for the very least amount of money. In ALMOST everything we buy. Notice I said ALMOST everything. When you go to the grocery store and check out and the cashier tells you the total is $379.95 do you look up at them and ask if they would take $350.00? Most likely you don’t, but I have and I can tell you in one word the reply is always, “No”. I try the exact same thing at the local fast food eateries, local restaurants, and even convenience stores. Can you believe I get exactly the same reply, “NO”? There must, however, be a written rule somewhere that I am not aware of. I am rarely ever able to quote a price on my work that it isn’t immediately followed with, “That is a bit higher than I expected, would you consider coming down a little”? Then the price haggling begins. If I say no, I’m told I had a lower quote from (XXXX) but I would really like for you to do it IF you can match their prices. So in order to have a happy customer, if at all possible I match the competitor’s prices. Now here is the catch. When I give someone a price to do a certain job, I am going to do exactly that job I said I would and usually a little more using the exact same material I would have used at the higher price, and the quality of work will be as always my very best, period. Sadly not everyone is like me. Most are much smarter in a way. They are thinking about themselves first. If they are forced to lower their prices they are going to make sure they come out with the same money one way or another. They will get cheaper low-quality products, take shortcuts on the job quality to get it done faster, whatever it takes for them to come out ahead. This is how the whole world works when you think about it. Everyone wants cheaper but everyone wants to make the most money they can too. So what do we do? We cut corners, we replace steel with plastic, we find cheaper labor, we cut the quality of workmanship, and some just take your money and don’t give you squat. More and more we find ourselves on the shorter end of the bargaining stick. So when you go to the store and find a product that is cheaper, yet after careful inspection, you find it is made in another country and looks to be made of poor quality before you start complaining remember you asked for it. If things keep going in this direction don’t be a bit surprised if we all end up with a whole lot of nothing, that we got for nothing. We can ALL turn this around though. We must all be willing to pay a fair price for a well-made product and quality services. In turn, receive a fair price for the product we make and or the service we provide. There is much to be taken from the ole saying, “you get what you pay for”.
Simply my thoughts
Dean Butler
