Get Rid of Opportunistic Fees & Improve Customer Experience

In this week’s Daily Dose video, I share a short video inspired by the lessons of my most recent book, Would You Do That To Your Mother

The following is a lightly edited transcript of the video below.


A drink of water from a bottle in my hotel room just cost me about 42 cents. Most big box stores sell a 24-pack of bottles like these for about eight bucks or 33 cents a bottle!

Would you do that to your mother? To your customer? I know that companies get addicted to the spreadsheet of incoming revenue streams that can be had from nickel-and-diming customers. But they only think of the upshot of that revenue, not of the customers who walked away and told everybody that they know that this is a company that takes advantage.

Does your company employ opportunistic charges and fees?

According to priceonomics.com, water in hotel room mini bars have an average markup of 100% compared to grocery store prices or a markup of about 300% based on what they actually pay!

When you think of only the short term gain and not the long-term loss of your customer’s business and their good word, your opportunity for growth depends heavily on customer acquisition and spending money to get in new customers because the ones you brought in last month have already left.

When you think of only the short term gain and not the long-term loss of your customer's business and their good word, your opportunity for growth depends heavily on customer acquisition. Learn more in my latest video. Share on X

Maybe that’s why the seven bucks for that water and all those other “nickel and dime” items stay in our business practices despite customer protests.

Choose fair pricing instead of opportunistic fees

Instead, why not try a habit that will keep more customers and get them talking about you and your fearless sharing? Why not just charge the customer what it costs you or just not charge at all?

In my latest book, Would You Do That To Your Mother?, I share a case study in the chapter “Take the High Road,” about Virgin Hotels, named #1 U.S. hotel by Conde Nast Reader’s Choice Awards. They walked away from price gouging at the mini bar, so you’ll never pay more for that Snickers bar than what you’d pay at the corner market.

Here’s a comic that summarizes this “Would You Do That To Your Mother?” moment:

 

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A post shared by Jeanne Bliss | CustomerBliss (@customerbliss) on

See more comics from the book, as well as quotes from my videos, interviews, and blog posts on my Instagram page.

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