713-869-7575866-261-3184
Member Of:
RSS Feed
Posts Tagged ‘Family’
Price Vs. Value – Another Look at Purchasing
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009
After last week’s blog about Price Vs. Cost, I started thinking a bit more about my lawn service decision and I realized something important. In a world full of choices (and opportunity costs), the concept of cost, price and value tend to get a bit confused at times.
Let me explain…as I discussed last week, I decided a long time ago to hire a lawn service so that my weekends are spent with my family vs. doing the yard. However, it was not as simple as that. There are tons of lawn services that are available in my neighborhood. So, I had figured out the Price vs. Cost concept in my head, but was now on to Price Vs. Value.
Price Vs. Value At Home
I chose my lawn service for many reasons that had nothing to do with how much they cost. They were not the cheapest of the ones that I was considering, but I know that you get what you pay for in almost every walk of life. I needed a lawn service that would show up as scheduled, do a thorough and professional job with my yard, use updated equipment, friendly and trustworthy employees, have flexible payment methods and were prepared to make amends when problems occurred. I’m not naive to think that problems won’t occur at times, but a company that can make things right has value that can not be expressed in dollars and cents.
This is what I mean by Price vs. Value. Let’s say that I went for the cheapest option for lawn care. I have no guarantees that the company will be around in 6 months and then I’m right back looking for a new provider. Also, I have no idea if they can trust their employees, so how do I trust them when they are around my home and my family once a week? These are just a few concerns that I considered when looking for the best company, not the cheapest company. The VALUE of a good provider, outweighs the few additional dollars that I pay per month.
Price Vs. Value At Work
I see this concept all of the time with my Houston Courier Service. It seems like every Tom, Dick and Harry thinks they can start a courier service. In one year, I have witnessed the coming and going of over 20 different small Houston Courier Services. My courier company has been around for over 30 years and I still get pulled in to price wars with fly-by-night services that will likely shut their doors within a month.
Our business is very different than most Houston Couriers. We don’t sell on Price, we sell on Value. We have spent thousands of dollars to have the most updated technology that provides real time tracking of packages, online order entry and reporting. We are fully staffed to prevent long hold times on the phone and we train our customer service department to treat customers with the utmost respect. We have a 99% on-time delivery percentage and don’t over-promise to our customers. We can stock inventory in one of our several distribution warehouses across the city. We are not a company that wants to compete on Price. Surprisingly enough though, our bids are usually not very far off from the cheapest/unreliable provider’s bid.
In this economic climate, it makes sense to watch your spending and cut back in areas where possible. But, again, make sure you are watching the Price Vs. Cost and the Price Vs. Value. You could be stuck doing everything on your own or working with people you can’t rely on. That’s the last thing you need right now.
Until Next Time,
Eric
Price Vs. Cost
Tuesday, March 10th, 2009
Price Vs. Cost
When I was in college I took an Economics class and learned a valuable lesson that has helped me throughout the years. It’s helped me in both my business and in my personal life. It is a simple concept, but one that some people seem to be forgetting these days.
What I’m referring to is Opportunity Cost. Let me explain what I mean… Often, the cost of something is considered in terms of money. The opportunity cost of something is based on what must be given up as a result of my choice. Any decision I make that offers me a choice between options has an opportunity cost.
Here is an example that I often refer to when thinking of this theory. For almost 9 months of the year (the beauty of living in Houston), the yard at my home needs to be mowed once a week. I see that I’m given two options – Either spend my weekend mowing, edging and bagging my yard or spend time with my family.
To Mow or Not To Mow...
So, what do I do? What choice do I make? This brings me to Price vs. Cost…
In my opinion, both options need to be done. I must have a well-kept yard and I must spend time with my family. However, I’m the only one that can spend time with my family – I can not hire that out. I can hire out the yard work – but at what cost? Or should I say – at what Price? My opportunity cost for doing my own yard work is foregoing time with my family. There is no price associated with this. My opportunity cost for spending time with my family is the yard work. There is a price associated with this.
So, I’m presented with the choice. Spend about $100 per month for someone else to do my yard work and use the time I would have spent doing the yard with my family. Bringing the girls to the park, creating memories with them, spending time with my wife, etc… is far more important to me than the $100 per month in yard fees.
The way I look at it is this – the cost of doing my own yard is much more than the price (but don’t tell my yard guy or my rates will surely go up).
Price = $100
Cost = Not spending time with my family and missing out on the really important things in life.
Where am I going with all of this?
Lately, the economy has been suffering and this often means that people will evaluate spending and find places to save money. My advice is to be sure that the money you are saving by “doing it yourself” makes sense. What are you giving up in Opportunity Costs just so you can save a few dollars?
Understand the difference between price and cost and make smart decisions with your time and your money.
Till Next Time,
Eric
Ode To Mothers
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
All I can say is wow…I’m “mom” this week while my wife cares for our newborn baby, Samantha. My other girls, as excited as they are about their new baby sister, continue to have very busy lives that require the Donaldson Shuttle bus to depart constantly from our home base.
Like a scene from Driving Miss Daisy, I carefully drive as they sit in the back and are carted around town to 2 different schools, dance lessons, sleep overs, sporting events and a myriad of other after school activities. I find humor in this because I run a Courier company that delivers “time-sensitive packages” but can’t imagine having to manage this eventful process every day (but in my defense, my delivery packages don’t know every Hannah Montana song).
What’s amazing to me is that not only does she normally do all of this for our daughters, but my wife has a job of her own as well. So, my blog this week is all about how great moms are. It’s time to give them more credit for what they manage, how busy they are and how they make it look so seamless.
The Donaldson Ladies
So, thank you to my wife for being such a great mom and making it look so easy. I know that it is a handful and I am forever grateful for all of your sacrifices. And, thank you to my mother for all of her sacrifices over the years. I understand how much work and love it takes to keep a family going and that strength, devotion and patience will pay off for generations.
Until Next Time,
Eric
Home | About Us | Solutions | Online Ordering | Online Tools | Blog | Contact Us | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy
Courier Website | Local Internet Marketing by
© 2010 HotShot Delivery. All Rights Reserved.