Low Price Does Not Equal High Quality

So we're a bit puzzled this morning. It seems that the economy has got consumers inventing new math.

I remember my basic arithmetic from grammar school and it went something like this:

1+1 = 2
2+2 = 4
12 + 8 = 20
100 + 100 = 200

And so on...you get it.

Well, it seems to us that with everything going on in our economy, healthcare, politics, etc. people seem to have forgotten their basic math. The new math appears to be:

1+1 = 3
2+2 = -15
12+8 = (x+3y)/(17x*sin45)
100+100 = whatever you want it to be.

It doesn't make sense, does it? It certainly confuses me.

So how does this relate to Video Production and the services that we provide. Well, lets take these crazy math equation and substitute price on one side and high quality and service on the other. So your new equation would look like this.

Low Price = High Quality, High Service

And thus the opposite must apply too-correct? That high price must equal low quality and low service. Do I have that right?

Sorry to say folks, but low price does not equal high quality and high service. In fact, in 99 times out of 100 it means just the opposite. There is a reason that the low cost leader in whatever service you're after is the low cost leader. Do they deal in volume? Do they cut corners with materials? Can you ever talk with an actual person? Do they outsource to foreign operated companies? Are they "too big" to fail? Do they get taxpayer subsidies? Do they also sell dog food and pizza?

I'll venture to guess that whatever the reason, at least one of the above reasons apply, maybe more.

I recently got a phonecall from a potential customer looking for pricing. Before quoting him my list price I explained to him all the benefits of using McKenna Video:

• State-of the-art equipment
• Premium materials (discs)
• Fast turnaround times
• We do the work-we don't outsource
  
• Customized
• The fact that you can actually talk to someone
• Local business

However, that didn't seem to matter as he was focused solely on having the lowest cost possible (in this case I don't think even free would have been good enough). What he didn't realize was that for his $10 per tape (I know who he was quoting), he never, ever gets to talk with someone, he has no idea who is doing the work, he doesn't know where he tapes will end up, what equipment they use, what kind of disc his video will be transferred to, when he'll get them back, etc.

Another example was an email from an individual this morning wanting me to match Costco pricing for a service. Really? Costco? Come on, can anyone ever match Costco on anything? So the question that I ask is would you retain your attorney from Costco? Would you get your accounting done at Costco? Some might (if price is your ONLY consideration) but most people wouldn't because the quality of the service is just not there. So why would you get your video services done at Costco? (Sidenote-ask Costco who actually does their transfer work, where your tapes go, how long it takes, and what is the 'loss in factory' rate).

So it goes with any service, you might pay a little bit more than what you can find on the internet or what a big discount retailer or wholesaler might provide, but the service that that local business provides usually can't be beat.

I hope that this little dissertation helps you look beyond price as being the only factor in determining where you have your services performed.

Blessings.