Should We Give Full Disclosure When Quoting?

Hey Paul,
I really don’t think this should even be a question that needs to be asked!If I am asked to quote a price then I will quote the price – all inclusive. If there are options on top of that price then they should be listed separately but there is no way that I could mislead a potential client by doing what you had done to you. I have a very simple test that I use – can I look at myself in the mirror the next morning. If you think of yourself as a professional sales person then you should be behaving as one, not trying to be deceptive. You MAY win the deal the first time but at what cost? 

No question about it, how can you gain trust and ongoing business from a client, if you are not upfront about the full price of a quote

Trust has gone out the window! Who is left that you can TRUST!
Car dealers-no
Car Repair-no
Taxi/car service-you thought you were getting a fair price then Hello!!
Insurance companies-sell you the lowest price to get you to buy and then when you need them. Deny
Sometimes your bosses do not trust you and require a bunch of cover your ass paperwork or is it cover their ass because they are being asked.

Paul,

I believe in full disclosure.  I often tell my customers that the last question I want to hear is “why did you do that?”

Sadly, the practice is common.  Ask any major airline.

Cheers,
Marc

Hi Paul, Has to be full disclosure all the way – if you do it the way your car hire company did, you end up with p’d off clients and who wants that. 

I always quote all inclusive costs + savings within all packages. If there’s add on options I leave them separate underneath with details clearly saying add-ons.

Kim

For me, the answer is clear. You quote the price inclusive of all other fees.  The car service representative lied about the real price and it’s a practice they probably use to give the impressive that their fee is competitive. The problem with their strategy is that a lot people, including myself would not only never use them again but tell their friends not to either. Very short-sighted and sleezy.

Full disclosure all the way! Clients don’t like surprises especially if it is higher cost

I HATE THAT WHEN THAT HAPPENS TO ME – so why would I do that to others? It’s too uncomfortable for me to have to back pedal as to why I had all these other charges, so I avoid the pain for both of us by telling my clients up front about everything. If I lose based on price alone, it’s ok because I want to work with people who value my services and willing to pay for them.

Absolutely you quote all fees.  This way, your custmer has options – whether to pay the fees as a one time charge or to amortize the cost into the piece part if a product, or into the length of the contract if a service.  A customer with options feels more in control and therefore, more likely to trust in the product or service provider.  Trust = business.

Over 20 years ago, my practice, while explained a detailed quote for technology products and services, I made clear that all costs were covered in my proposal….I caotioned if another proposal was for less, in particular installation services, that means a network Engineer, will be forced to do a less and ideal install…….akin to trying to cram ten pounds of you know what into a five pound bag…..in nearly all cases, it enabled me I overcame a price objection…….

Hi Paul,

I feel all mandatory fees should be in the quote.  Options can be left out or quoted separately.  That’s what I expect when I get a quote, so that’s what I do when I give a quote.

If I were in your situation, I would have disputed the bill with my credit-card company, so the limo company would have a black mark, at the very least.  And I certainly would never do business with them, again.

Paul,

 I agree with the consensus here, full disclosure. That also means discussing any and all alteration charges upfront with the client and agreeing on an acceptable charge. I liken this to buying a set of tires for your car. The tires are $400 then you are hit with mounting, balancing, valve stems, and tire disposal. Just tell me what it’s going to cost don’t nickle and dime me. One time I bought $600 worth of tires and asked for an inspection – I was charged a $2 shop fee for a razor blade to scrape off my old sticker……spoke to the manager he waived the fee and I hadn’t been back to that place since…..

Full Disclosure!!  Treat others as you would want to be treated!  Or if this keeps up, we will end up creating a Federal Department of Full Disclosure that will osticize every company from top to bottom which will add even more cost to all of our daily services.  Sorry, its an election year.  I had to throw that in! 

Quoting the full price up front is the only HONEST and ETHICAL thing to do. Edward Nortorn said in the movie “Rounders”, “You can shear a sheep several times but skin him only once.” Bet you won’t be ordering car service from that company again!!!

Nothing but 100% up front disclosure is acceptable. If there’s a possibility of fees for which you cannot provide the exact amounts until they’ve been incurred, you still MUST tell your client and you should give them an idea (even if it’s a range) of what those costs might be.

I cannot even fathom WHY a company would pull any of the nonsense you experienced. I know they do. But in this day of W-O-M and immediate access to social media to share your experience why would you??

Given the sad fact that I know it DOES happen more often than it should, I’ve made it a habit to confirm that the price I’m being given IS the “out the door” price. If you ask them, they will tell you. Problem is, I shouldn’t have to ASK!

Just remember – karma’s a B$tch and it WILL come around if this is their sleazy way of treating their customers.

Hoping this is the last time you’re deceived by such a shameful practice…

Virtually Yours,
Anne-Marie

Hi Paul, I do agree that full disclosure is all important. Though, most of us on this blog are not selling car services. So I see a big problem with flat out full disclosure as the only way to keep the customer informed. Many client are not forthcoming with information. A one area where clients hide info from a rep is with ship to address. Leading the rep to believe one shipment will cover the project, then spring drop shipments into the mix. Another place they hide from additional charges is last minute changes. Then it becomes “my other vendor does not charge for that” these should be covered by the estimate. I have always tried to point out that the client is going above the estimate and provide updated cost in a timely manor, there seams to be push back. So everyone how do you respond to client related cost overruns, when you are accused of deceptive pricing?
 

We absolutely always quote 100% all inclusive. We treat our clients the same way we want to be treated — up front and honest. Is there truly any other way to do business?

Hi Paul, 
100% of course. From the European point of view I have always found this compulsory tipping somewhat (…) strange. But to us Europeans there is another thing very strange. The listed prices in shops (or restaurants or hotels or…). When you get to the check-out there is always the salestax which makes for big surprises. Why not list the all inclusive price on the shelf (compulsory over here). Can’t be that difficult …..

Cheers Ted

Couldn’t agree more Ted . . . well stated!

Thank you!

Thanks Lynda!

 ”I’ve made it a habit to confirm that the price I’m being given IS the “out the door” price. If you ask them, they will tell you. Problem is, I shouldn’t have to ASK!” and that’s the underlying challenge with too many companies.
Thanks Anne-Marie!

You got that right Nick!

Thanks for stopping by!

I’d vote for it

Thanks!

My only hope is that the manager crucified his employee for doing that  . . . unless of course its some crazy company policy

Thanks Rodney!

I’ve done all of the above Rene and here’s the sad part . . . they did a really good job. They were on time, nice driver, great service. The guy heard me coughing and asked if I needed him to stop at a drug store.

They blew it on their dishonesty!

Thanks for stopping by Rene!

That’s a great point about pointing out for others to be aware of surprise costs!

That’s a great point about pointing out for others to be aware of surprise costs!

Well said Rich . . . Thank you!

I feel the same way Jamie . . . Thanks!

I agree!

Thanks for stopping by!

Totally agree Barb!

The real shame of it is that their service was fantastic. They blew it on the honesty part!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

I agree Kim . . . honesty all the way!

Thank you!

“why did you do that?” . . . I really believe if more sales people reflected on this, we’d all be embracing the full disclosure thing!
Thanks Marc!

Thanks Gregg!

Thanks Jeff!

And trust is what creates repeat customers and referrals Sade!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

What you’ve written here should be posted in every sales office worldwide Mal . . . well stated my friend!

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment!

tell them everything.  Treat people the way you want to be treated.

It was BS. Did you cancel the car service?

HI Paul,
I agree the automatic gratuity would short the recipient in my case too. I do the same thing, I start at 20%…. 
As for pricing, this is something we are notorious for in the printing business. Quoting the job and then billing extra pre-press time for client revisions, changes to specs etc.
As well as quoting the job completely, I also let customers know what can make the job go up  and inform them when they get there. All of the extra charges are usually legit with most companies, but i have seen many customers lost over the years in various shops, totally due to invoice shock.
Shouldn’t need to be said, but a great post Paul!

I fell your pain brutha! One company I worked for was global and as to North America for some reason it was most cost effective to have our “QBRs” Quarterly business results where we would go over the orchids and the onions of the quarter just finished and give our initial plans and projections for the new quarter to the executive team – in Dallas TX (LOVE that TX Bar-B-Q! :9 )

Anyway, the cab fare from the Airport to The North Dallas Sheraton was ~ $90. The shuttle was $24 but it took way longer to shuttle so we would do 4 to a taxi to get the cost down.

Will you ever use that car service again, no. Will you be more cautious next time, yes.
My customers stay with me because I give them all the information to make an informed decision, good, bad or really ugly.
I may lose a few sales, but not sleep.

Take it from a guy that started his sales career selling cars: BE UPFRONT! Always. No exceptions.

You should absolutely quote the entire price.  In our business there are always going to be times when a job comes in and unforeseen circumstances can result in an increase. However, I’ve heard from customers who were forced to go elsewhere because of a lower bid that their job ended up being more than we quoted because of additional fees that weren’t in the original quote. Why risk the repeat business with deceptive pricing?

We should always quote the lowest price and let the customer figure the rest out.

Otherwise we might end up with a repeat customer, more business, a better business relationship and referrals. All this is more work, and as we are all strained for time, who needs the extra work and income?

In the 12 years Jessie and I have been in business the number we quote is the price no matter what. I don’t think there has been an instance where we went back to the client and asked for more. It is not easy to get a new client and it is very important to nurture the relationships with those you have. Putting “gotchas” on the invoice is a sure-fire way to piss customers off – no one likes surprises.

I can personally vouch for the level of fairness in which you and Jessie approach your price quotes and your business in general.

An honor to work with you both!

I’m feeling a bit under the weather today Adam and have to admit that you got me for a second

There really is a much bigger picture here that many people miss altogether Lisa.

And you’re right . . . why risk the repeat business?

Thanks!

AMEN Doug!

Thanks for stopping by!

“I may lose a few sales, but not sleep.” . . . Well said Cathy!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts!

Thanks Dan and I too love that Texas BBQ

Thanks Lorne . . . sounds like your customers are lucky to you looking out for them!

Unfortunately I didn’t Mark but I did raise hell!

Absolutely Dave!

Thank you!

Now that’s an awesome way to put our cards on the table Mary!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Couldn’t agree with you more, Paul!

Happy Wednesday!!

Virtually Yours,
Anne-Marie

I agree with Cathy! Here is my take from the customer side. I am very disappointed to have to request from my vendors specifics, particularly when I give details. For instance, I send an RFQ and have the delivery location or locations listed and the quote comes back without the freight.  I would think vendors should realize with the cost of freight these days, It matters!  Vendor A you just lost the job! Ok so I ranted a bit. Point is I agree with many of you. If you want to keep, or aquire business then you should think it all the way through. Itemize it if you are unsure or better yet talk to your customer and ask.
The reality of business is you make me look good then I am more likely going to call you. Wham! you got my business.

Sadly the car service is competing against other companies who bank on the fact that customers will go where ever will save them $3…  had there been 2 ads, and one said “$89″ and one said “$159 with no fees” people probably would have still picked the 89 and assumed there wouldn’t be 70 worth of fees involved.  This goes in to marketing… how do you market without playing dirty.  How do you get the consumer to realize that the competition that offers super cheap rates has a crappy car and high fees to follow without saying “Don’t be a sucker and fall for those cheap rates etc.”

as far as “will you ever use that car service again” you fall into 2 categories which gives the company a 50/50 chance.
1: You never use them again and next time read more into the other options policies.2: You use the car service because at least you know what you are getting into 100%.

Its like going to a restaurant with 10 people, the first time you go and the auto tip gets added, you are upset.  After that, you know what to expect so it does not really bother you anymore, even though you wish they would just be legit.

How often does the average person use a car service, if they lose your business, does it even really affect them. its sad, but it wont, and scamming those people is how they compete against the peoples mentality of “save a buck at any expense”… peoples willingness to go to jump ship to save a dollar, (almost) makes stores HAVE to lie.  Nowadays there is no loyalty, or even product respect if there is $2 to be saved.

In my business, hidden fees are rampant – fuel surcharge, special delivery fees, lift gates, etc.  We use full disclosure as a selling point and our customers love it.  “You don’t have to have a good memory if you never lie” serves us well.

Ted,
I believe we should keep the sales tax as a separate line item to remind people how much the government is taking from us.  Include fees that are part of the business, yes, but we must always be reminded of how much we pay in taxes, or they will gradually increase without notice.

My experience is to be up front and let your customer know what the initial price involves, if they make changes the price will change. If they do make adjustments give them a good faith estimate for the additional charges. Let them make the decison to incur the additonal charges or sell them on what may be the advantage to making those changes.

Having that kind of increase is a big deal already for the people who prioritized the used of money. I am sure that many will have to make this a big issue.