Following is an excerpt from an article in today's
NYT about how companies are recovering some of
the revenues lost to price competition, by adding
surcharges.
Now: What is the great under-recognized achievement of
modern medical science? The analytical decomposition of
medical services into component parts that are separately
billed.
Who would pay $40 for a blood test?
But $10 to draw the blood (venipuncture), $5 for
non-reusable medical supplies (syringe), $15 for
lab processing and $10 for clinical interpretation of
results doesn't sound so bad, does it?
Divide and multiply!
Capitalism is alive and well, and figuring out
technologies of non-price competition which
even give the appearance of being price competition.
Considering we got 4 things for only $40, a "bundled" blood
test that cost $25 is not competitive. --And, oh, my!
"Bundling"? Didn't the courts rule that was illegal
back in the IBM 360 days (ca., 1970?). Unbundling
is good for us because we get to pay $40 for 4 things
instead of $25 for only one thing.
There is no free lunch
below the AVP level.
\brad mccormick
'Fees Hidden in Plain Sight, Companies Add to Bottom Line
By JENNIFER BAYOT
AT&T Wireless recently began charging for calls that go unanswered for
more than 30 seconds. At many New York theaters, including the Shubert
Organization's 16, ticket buyers pay a "theater restoration fee" or a
"facilities fee."
Some hotels now charge a "connectivity fee" of about $4 a night for
access to the phone, high-speed Internet, faxes and such, whether or not
those services are actually used. They also charge $1 or more for
in-room safes, whether or not the safes are used.
Companies are adding new surcharges to all kinds of services and
products as they try to compensate for a sputtering economy and
price-conscious customers.
In some cases, the new surcharges are paid only by customers who
actually use specific services. They are intended to make prices fairer,
because only the users must pay extra and companies can avoid raising
prices across the board. For example, some Domino's and Pizza Hut
franchises have been adding delivery surcharges of about 50 cents to a
dollar.
In other cases, new fees apply to all customers, as a way of passing
along an extra cost of doing business....'
--
Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16)
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21)
<![%THINK;[SGML+APL]]> Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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