The cost of doing business

I'm always amazed at how prices -- unless they're printed out and stuck onto an item -- seem to be negotiable. It's as if a sign attached to an item means "This is the price. Pay it." No sign, and it's haggle city, baby!

We recently came across a situation that reinforced that notion. We created a brochure for a customer. When he received his bill for the design services, he balked at the price -- big time. "I could have done this for a lot less... like nothing."

Of course, as we all know, nothing hardly means nothing. We'll conveniently overlook the cost of his time and the cost of the computer to do the work. But still, there was something about his argument that struck a nerve.

I pointed out that yes, he could have done it himself. Just like he can fix a leaky faucet himself, or rewire the electricity in his house. And yes, in the end it would be done. But, I cautioned, would it be done right? And would it really be free?

I don't know what a plumber costs these days. Let's say, for the sake of using a round number, a plumber is $100 per hour. So you have a leaky faucet, the plumber comes to your house, you explain the situation, he looks at the faucet, goes to his truck, gets one of his "never seen that before" tools, goes under the sick...twist, twist, grunt, grunt, grunt -- and he extracts himself from under your sink. "Done," he says.

As you get the bill, you think "Damn, I could have done that myself...and for a lot less."

Of course you could, if:
-- you had enough experience to know what you're doing
-- you owed the right tools
-- you knew you could do the job right, the first time.

Cause if you didn't have any of the above, you might have to spend some money to get:
-- a book to help explain what you have to do
-- the right tools to do the job
-- a chance that your sink won't leak into your basement and flood your house.

But if you did everything right, it wouldn't cost you anything (except the book and the tools).

We used this analogy with our customer. Our designers already have the books (in their heads, based on years of experience). They already have the tools (computers and programs to do the job correctly), and if the artwork isn't prepared correctly, we can fix it (without the basement getting flooded).

You can use the same example for fixing your car, painting the house, bringing down a tree, etc. There's a reason these things are referred to as "professional services." Best to let a professional do it.