First let’s get things straight on terminology by defining two types of people. Cheapskates and Value-Oriented Consumers.
Value-Oriented Consumers want to get the most for the money they spend. These are people who know spending a bit more for something that will last longer is better in the long-run. Here is an example of what I mean by that.
I have a pair of slippers I bought from LL Bean at least 20 or so years ago. I don’t wear them every day but when we lived up North they were great for a firewood run in the Winter. There are paint drops of the Burgundy wall color that was popular decades ago that won’t go away. They’re a bit worn but, to me, they’re all the slippers I’ll ever need. Now here in Florida, I’ll put them on to run the dog out or just have around in the Winter when the temperature gets less than 50.
At the time I bought them, they were a bit more expensive than other slippers I might have bought but these were made well. I had been ordering from LL Bean for years, starting back when you got a catalog, filled in an order form and sent it in or called them on the phone. The notion of ordering “online” was not even an option yet. I remember ordering these slippers and calling in the order only because there was a variety of choices and I wanted to talk to someone about which to choose. I felt confident relying on their recommendations and placing that order because I knew they took anything back, no questions asked, much like former retail dominator Sears had when I was a child. My dad always shopped there as did most everybody’s dad I knew because they would always take something back if it did not work out for you.
I think I got my education in what kind of consumer to be at Sears. Or maybe it was the local hardware store where men were on duty who knew just what you needed for whatever it was you came in there for. That was just the way business was done. Consumers built relationships with stores, brands, even particular sales people who stayed put in their jobs in the time of life-long employment. That’s not to say there were not fly-by-night companies that would try to take advantage of consumers. There have always been and always will be those sharks out there who are not concerned about building a long-term relationship, earning our business and counting on us to make a living over a lifetime. Venture Stores come to mind as does any one of a mind-full of other failed business’.
The Value-Oriented Consumer knows what they want and if they don’t they know where to go for expert recommendations, good pricing and they consider that business their source for whatever it is they sell.
We had a florist we used who I had worked for as a boy sweeping floors. They had done flowers for my wedding, and any other special occasion along the way. At one point, the salesperson we always talked to there, moved to a different florist, so we moved with him. There was commitment on both sides. Sure, that florist dropped the ball once along the way, making a holiday wreath for us that just was not what we had in mind at all, but quickly replaced and made good on the deal.
Are you getting the hang of this concept of “Value” yet? It involves attempting to have a long-term business relationship with a company that “gets it” . Gets YOU.
The social media Twitter/Facebook/MySpace craze of today focuses on building relationships as a cornerstone of the movement. That’s wonderful. If they do it. In the long run, consumers will come out way ahead IF they find and use a business that believes in this concept of value also. Both sides have to “get it”
In the world of today, so much has changed but so much is the same.
We have computers, instant access to online resources that might appear to be a good substitute for a good business relationship with a company but they are not.
Every once in a while I hear a doctor or someone else with (supposedly) a lot of smarts who will say sarcastically, “Oh sure, if it says so on the Internet it must be true!” and I think “Uh yeah, so what’s your point?” believing that what I see on the Internet IS true for the most part. I mean, sure, I’m not stupid, if I see something unbelievable on the Internet I won’t believe it. Plain and simple. But some people just really like to believe that if someone has a slick website then they must be telling the truth and what they see before them is fact.
That right there may be the single most destructive thought the age of technology may have brought us. It plays to the worst side of us, the side that wants to believe whatever we see that supports our point of view. With billions of web pages, it does not take much looking to find just what we think we want. That’s if we let ourselves get all caught up in it all and forget the lessons learned, the gains made and the viewpoint that made sticking with a business and developing that long-term relationship over time such a smart strategy
You see, in the olden days that was the only choice. It was Sears, Montgomery Wards or JC Penney , maybe Macy’s to choose from for most stuff. Having a job working for Sears for 40 years was a common thing and there were lots of people doing that. The Information Age, Age of Technology, Computer Age, whichever you want to call it, eventually ruined that. A by-product? Maybe
Now, we have to go out of OUR ways as consumers to seek out and stick with business’ who…well…”care” about us
That is the task premiere for a Value-Oriented Consumer. Much like moving to a new city, Value-Oriented Consumers have to find those people, those business’ that “get it”.
Cheapskates are easy to define as they are so one-dimensional. They go for the flashy headline advertising to get “the best deal” missing the point altogether.
Cheapskates want so badly to get that $199 cruise that they disregard the facts. In reality they have to pay port charges, taxes and government fees that often nearly double that price. Add in a fine-print item like a non-refundable processing fee or cancellation fee that most people don’t find out until later and this is not the stuff that long-term, mutually beneficial business relationships are made of.
Cheapskates go from one source to another with no regard for the future, as though the only thing that matters is the price they pay today. That short-term thinking is killing business in America, maybe all over the world, and opening the door for those smart enough to be Value-Oriented Consumers to start a “new” movement in how business is done. A movement that should sound or feel somewhat familiar after reading this because it’s all been done before. Business is surely “sourcing” stuff to get the best value but up until recently that has meant the best price.
After going for the best price always and getting burned a high percentage of the time, business is learning. Consumers are learning.
Business is learning to offer what will be mutually beneficial to their customers in the long run, not just focusing on the day-to-day which created the environment that brought us Payday loans, cheaply made goods, poorly excecuted services and where we are right now. The old business model of putting things out on bids to three different sources and using the cheapest one with price being valued way too high led our country to the brink of disaster and a economic period that will surely be called the Great Recession decades from now with exactly the same heaviness as the “Great Depression” was from a former generation.
All society’s greed did was create a group of Cheapskate consumers not focused on the long-term. Not focused on building relationships. Not focused on doing it right, whatever it was they were or still are doing.
But I’m seeing more and more people these days looking for the long-term benefits that brand loyalty can bring. We were a “Tide” family when I grew up. That was the laundry detergent we used and there was no changing that. Tide got lazy though. Tide got lazy, forgot about our relationship, and opened the door for Cheer to come in and take over by doing what? Building relationships by providing a superior product with excellent customer service and a desire to be our laundry detergent. Think about other companies that lost their way and are not around any more. Think of the consumers that spent their time and money with those companies only to be left alone looking for another source.
Does the airline industry teach us anything here? How about the mighty American car industry? How did they let the door open to foreign imports who have taken so much market share from them?
Frequent flyer programs may have made one airline more attractive than another. More features and better craftsmanship may have made one car company more desirable than another. The Cheapskates were in the driver’s seat on that one for sure. Driving business to give them exactly what they thought they wanted, business complied…for the most part. Some did not. Coca-Cola never changed its formula and didn’t Kentucky Fried Chicken. But they practically gave away their products at a price below what that product deserved in order to gain market share. In order to satisfy the short-term thinking Cheapskates
Cheapskates either just don’t know or are stupid.
Value-Oriented Consumers are smart but might very well have been cheapskates in the past.
Business is headed back to Value-Oriented Consumers who shun the cheapo Internet Cruise Brokers and embrace highly skilled and experienced Travel Agents. Instead of putting stuff out for bids, companies are working with one supplier to source their needs at a competitive price. That price might not always be the lowest but the commitment of that business to the consumer more than makes up for it in the long-run. The focus is back on the long run. Just now. Just starting back for many. Some will “get it”, others won’t at all and they will die the financial and business death of others before them who didn’t “get it”.
The housing bubble burst, Wall Street crashed in a way not seen since that last “Great” bad time, Obesity (with a big “O”) is fast becoming the number one killer in America, taking over for long-time favorite Cancer and unemployment tops 10% in more areas than it has in decades. People are starting to reevaluate how they do things and “tightening the belt” is not the answer. The belt is so tight in some areas that there is no room to go anywhere except a new direction
Because we learn.
Some learn.
Others don’t learn.
Others never will.
Some people will buy a dozen pairs of slippers in their lives while others will buy just one or two. I am excited that every day I see more and more of my clients or those I come in contact with who do “get it”, want and demand the very best value and come out miles ahead in the long-run. That’s exciting to see. What burns me, what makes me mad and people I have no use for are the Cheapskates that don’t “get it”. I have served plenty of them, once or maybe twice, before they went on to the next “low-price-at-the-expense-of-all-else” short-term business relationship.
That’s what I think. What do you think?
Yesterday, it was announced that due to weather conditions on the way, arrival of Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas at Port Everglades will be delayed by two days.
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There are three basic ways to book a cruise. Directly with the cruise line, an Internet Cruise Broker or a Travel Agent. Which is the best way? Let’s find out.
spelling corrections. In the past, the cruise lines DID charge this fee but it as been dropped for quite some time. If you see this fee it should be a red flag to pay special attention to the details before buying. Processing Fees are another one that runs up the price of the cruise and is often charged by Internet Cruise Brokers.
They simply don’t have time for you. To get those low prices they give up a good deal of their commission. They still have bills to pay so they rely on a huge volume of buisness to survive, often bending the rules or taking your money but not turning it over to the cruise line. Not long ago, I happened to visit
Resident Discounts-
Senior Discounts- they’re not for everybody
Last Minute deals
Military Discounts
Past Guest discounts
How to find out about the deals?
Travel Agents not only cost you nothing, they more and more frequently becoming your only hope to finding a good cruise that is right for you at a good price.