A short story with a moral

We bought some outdoor timber and canvas chairs several years ago. They came with a lifelong guarantee – a very generous guarantee and not very practical too, we thought, wondering how this would work out.

A few years went by and we took the occasional broken limbed chair in to be repaired – each time at no charge. Wonderful! Until January this year when, even before I got the chair out of the car, I could tell the business had changed ownership.

I was left in no doubt when, hands on hips, I was greeted by stony-faced Viking Matriarch, Olga. ‘That vil cost $60’, she said, ‘Ve will ving ven it is done’. ‘Ok,’ I said, leaving the chair with them.

Although I wasn’t bothered about the $60, and had tacitly agreed to pay by virtue of leaving the chair there under those terms, I decided that when I returned to pick up the chair I would mention the lifetime guarantee – just out of curiosity. (Research purposes, you understand!).

‘You know when we bought these chairs we were promised a lifetime warranty.’ I handed her my credit card.

‘You can’t have veen,’ she barked, stiffening her shoulders and snarling like a Doberman snapping at the end of a steel chain leash.

I stood stock still just in case she leapt for my throat!‘Don’t worry,’ I replied, ‘I said I would pay... How long have you owned the business?’

‘A few months,’ she sawed my card though the machine, ‘PIN or signature? The chairs only had a 5 year varranty. Those chairs are at least 10 years old.’

…. It was a beautiful summer’s day. I couldn’t have cared less about the $60, I just wanted my chair repaired. A person has got to earn a living, I get that. But talk about sensitive! I’d lay a bet I’m not the first person who’s gone in there with a broken chair and a ‘lifetime’ warranty.

I doubt this business will survive under its new owners. Who wants to do business with Olga? Not me. No thanks!

Faults in body language aside, Olga was unable to open a discussion about price, and unable to soften the news that now I would have to pay. Olga feared her customer was going to get something for nothing and leapt to the defensive... Her attitude towards the customer was as foe rather than friend, and she was unable to calm her instincts from that of going into battle to one of colluding with a satisfied customer.


The moral of the story: 1) Don’t promise things your business can’t honor and 2) don’t be defensive about the way you do business. Learn how to be confident and relaxed when discussing your price.

P.S. Actually our chairs are seven years old. But who am I, the customer, to know that?

P.P.S. If you would like some coaching around handling your price discussions please refer to www.priceyourselfright.com

If you wish to copy this article please include this acknowledgement: ©2010 Jane Francis is the author of Price Yourself Right: A guide to charging what you are worth (ISBN: 0-595-38601-6) available at Barnes and Noble (USA), WH Smith (UK) or online at amazon.com or amazon.co.uk