I never fail to be amazed at the way some some companies choose to kill any chance of building customer loyalty, practically before the customer walks in their door! By it’s very definition, loyalty has a very strong trust factor. This is why customer referrals are so important, and are the easiest customer to obtain!
It seems no matter where you look these days, businesses are adding hidden fees here and there. A CFO may call these “revenue enhancers”, but I call them nuisance fees! And, it’s hard to build loyalty when you’re a nuisance!
Most airlines want to charge you for your bags, food, movies, and anything else they can think of. Banks are adding late fees that are higher then the minimum payment! (It always struck me as kind of funny that the bank charges a high fee to someone who didn’t have the money to pay in the first place… but that’s another article.) I find it troubling, if not downright dishonest, when I engage a service or buy a product, only to find that there are a lot of hidden fees along the way.
When I agree upon a price, that’s what I expect to pay. You wouldn’t put up with it if you went into your local GMC Dealer and picked out a car, only to find at the closing that you needed to pay another $500 if you want an engine, $10 if you want the radio to work, and $2 for the horn to be initialized. You would walk out of there quicker than you can say’ “Bye Bye”.
If you’re a business owner or someone who has the opportunity to set pricing, I would urge you to consider nuisance fees as you consider any repricing decisions. I’m not advocating that you give the store away.
I am a big fan of package pricing. We do it at ServiceQuality.US and our affiliated companies. If you want to engage us to perform a service such as mystery shopping, for our minimum investment you’ll receive a robust program that will give you everything you need to effectively manage your program. If you want a higher or customized level or reporting, you can purchase that customization or enhancements on an as needed basis.
If you feel that you absolutely need to have a base price, with added fees along the way, disclose these options up front! As a consumer I want to be able to make the appropriate choice, using a apples to apples comparison. You customers will appreciate it too, and repay you with their loyalty!
