Outrageous

[pjcomp]

<< I think we should do more than simply "let the market decide".>>

Go on then - what shall we do? On my last quote I got the job because I was £3k less than the next outfit. I know they're not rip-off merchants, but they've got overheads I haven't. I didn't know the pricing I was up against, but my idea of a fair price for the job beat their idea. The buyer did his homework and got what he wanted. The admonition to "get three quotes for a job" has been around since Noah specc'd the ark so anyone who doesn't and takes the first price that comes along pays their money and takes their choice.

So when does the crusade against high prices begin, who are we going to demonstrate against? Who's painting the banners to parade down Whitehall?

It's nice to see such high-minded principles, but what are you actually going to DO to combat this basic feature of commerce?

PJ

 

[northernsun]

If we were talking about just high prices you might have a point- the price is too high, they go out of business. Or if we were talking about smart, savvy customers only then, again, you might have a point.
We're not though are we? We are talking about overcharging, pressure sales and the rest. And we're talking about people that may actually believe that the MCS accreditation and REAL membership is enough to give trust and who unfortunately might not have done their homework. Is it tough luck for those people, are thay fair game?

What we should do is make the things that concern us known to REAL/MCS and pressure them to do something about it.

The bit that you're suggesting, I'd like to think I'm doing that already- Doing a good job for a reasonable profit.

 

[SRE]

Out of interest PJ have you ever worked for a larger organisation and managed their overheads to be able to compare? My overheads are significantly more per installation than a larger company because I can do 2 jobs a week max and we don't always achieve that - compare that to 20/30 jobs a week for the bigger guys - they have cheaper insurance, buy materials at cheaper prices and have more jobs to ofset their MCS overheads onto. If you're argument about having higher overheads stood up then why is Tesco selling systems so cheap - using your argument they should be more expensive.

 

[pjcomp]

<<What we should do is make the things that concern us known to REAL/MCS and pressure them to do something about it. >>

REAL already knows - a recent Radio 4 programme covered the pressure selling concerns and had a REAL reprsentative making the right noises in response.

SRE, sounds like you're the same size "organisation" as I am. Yes, I've worked for big companies (though not in this industry) and their overheads don't simply relate to the work in hand. They have premises and support staff to pay for, along with a lot of other costs, that small businesses don't have to fund. they have to fund them regardless of whether they're doing any business. They have to decide on their price list the same as we do. Just because they charge more doesn't mean they're ripping people off (though they may well be), and small businesses can rip off people as well - how many "rogue traders" who appear on TV are big companies?

There's a difference between high pricing and ripping-off. If the companies you complain of charge a high price then don't deliver a good service and a working product then they're ripping people off - but so would you or I if we delivered that sort of work. If a good service is provided it's for the customer to decide if they're getting value for their money. Simply taking the level of pricing as an indicator of a rip-off is to misunderstand what's going on.

PJ