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just a cute story

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george_42
george_42 Member Posts: 121
in THE MAIN WALL
One day I got a call for a leaking old Moen kitchen faucet.It really needed to  be replaced but the old (in her 80s) woman said she did not have much money and her husband was sitting in the living room dying of cancer. I worked on this faucet for 2 hours and then charged her $20 for the cartridge but I did not tell her that.Several moths later she called me for a broken faucet that would not stop  running at full force on the hot water. I was thinking while I looked at it that a new one would cost me about  $80 and that would be what I would charge her. She asked what it would cost to fix and I said about $80  and she said GET OUT OF HERE YOU THIEF, THE LAST TIME YOU ONLY CHARGED ME $20. As I left the hot water was still running .I help out a lot of people many times but sometimes I don`t think they know it,GEORGE

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  • kcopp
    kcopp Member Posts: 4,432
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    as the saying goes....

    no good deed goes unpunished.
  • Big Will
    Big Will Member Posts: 396
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    So true

    It seams like every time I help someone or give a discount to someone it comes around and Bites me in the _ _ _. Meanwhile it seems the other guy does poor work and charges way too much and the customers love him. Every time I think I have people figured out I get a smack in the back of the head just to keep me on my toes. 
  • Brian_74
    Brian_74 Member Posts: 237
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    Anchoring effect

    I believe that at least George's story is an example of what psychologists and economists call the anchoring effect. Unless you're in the trade, most people don't know what to expect to be charged when they call a professional. What they are charged that first time becomes their anchor. All future charges are compared to it. This is why companies like to invent MRSP. It gives consumers an anchor that makes a "sale" price look good.



    I mention this, not to suck the joy out of the stories, but because I believe people act out of malice less often than one might think. The anchoring effect isn't conscious. That's why people complain that you're charging more than the guy did in the early 1980s and think they've made a reasonable point. Of course, some people are just jerks.

    There was an error rendering this rich post.

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