The price vs. service battle
I'm always after a good deal. When I'm buying a new tech toy I will extensively search Google for pricing from both local and overseas (taking into account the exchange rate and freight), create a spreadsheet, and figure out the best price from there. Reputation and after-sales support do affect my decision, but I'm primarily price driven. There is also the understanding that a cheap supplier won't have the profit margins to support a 24/7 comprehensive support help desk, so all these are factored into my decision. Once I've picked a supplier, my purchase is put on my VISA, to which the elves at the ASB finance department rejoice at having my slavery to them guaranteed, at least, for a few more months.
Price isn't always the deal breaker - when does receiving good service win over the cheapest price?
During the Christmas break, my partner and I were visiting friends out in Waiuku, a small town south-west of Auckland. After the hour's drive to get out there, we stopped at a Caltex station to fill up. It was here that I received excellent service, which triggered my ideas for this post.
As a school kid, I remember the service my folks used to get from their local petrol station. There was always an attendant to pump your petrol for you, your oil and water were checked, windows washed, and a friendly wave given as you pulled away. It was only after grazing on far too many unhealthy snacks in store while waiting for the pump to finish, did I remember that thorough service used to be standard. We have accepted pumping our own petrol in exchange for the illusion of sustained lower petrol prices.
I'm not always after the cheapest deal: in hospitality the opposite is true - I frequent places that give me good service.
I always buy my morning coffee from the same cafe since we are now on a first-name basis, and because of this, they look after me. I'm sure they are not the cheapest, but they give me consistently good service. The same goes for the restaurants - the ones that have given me the best service, get my continued business.
What dictates where you spend your dollars - price or service? I'm interested to hear what you think, in the comments below.
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Comment by jsauni, on 25-Jan-2010 23:09
I do initially seek out items based on price. But it is the service that will get you the sale with me. I'm willing to pay the extra difference for quality service.
@Dratsab, your right. Good service isn't praised enough.
Comment by paradoxsm, on 26-Jan-2010 23:51
Great post, I know the caltex you are talking about and they must be one of the few that show the rest out to be cash-crops that stand behind a till all day.
Probably similar, if it's some piece of equipment and I know all about it I'll usually go supa-thrifti as it's going to be the same mass-produced item. I will however either ask for a similar price match at my favourite retailer due to ease-of-returns or similar after sales service.
When its something that could be variable or something that could turn upside down if I dare to be a stinge then i'll go with whom gives the best service and value even if it's a more expensive option, to a degree.
I've often been pleasantly surprised by smaller retailers, restaurants and other providers going that extra mile and of course, word-of-mouth spreads.
Comment by Zac, on 9-Feb-2010 14:20
I recently started working at a computing store. This being my first real job, I looked to it as a good place to learn as much as I could.
But the first thing my boss made sure I got a hang of, and made sure to do well, was customer service.
We don't have the money to be able to buy bulk like the larger companies can, so we can't always get the cheapest price on stock. But we know computers, and we pride ourselves on customer service and knowledge. If someone comes in with a question or query, we strive to find it out for them, even if we know it won't mean a sale.
It's the only thing that get's people in the door.
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Comment by Dratsab, on 25-Jan-2010 13:39
Really it depends what your actually talking about. When it comes to eating etc, service wins out pretty much every time for me.
If I'm looking for something tech related price will be a (if not the) key factor. For instance, I'm currently toying with the idea of either installing a NAs or building a home server, with the latter being most likely. Probably very much like you do, it'll become a project which spans some time and will involve a spreadsheet.
Sadly, like so many others, I don't sing the praises of good service often enough. On the other hand I'm not generally given to publicly airing bad service either as I don't like whingers/whinging - although I'll let slip every now and again...