As a small business owner trying to generate sales, is it
ever a good idea to advise customers to not avail themselves of your services?
A few weeks ago, homeowners in parts of the Northeast
where I live began to receive notices that revised flood plain classifications
made it necessary for us to start carrying flood insurance on our homes. This
wasn't exactly a surprise, since there had been talk of the revisions for some
time. The unknown factor was how much coverage might cost.
The notices and subsequent discussions with insurance
providers or banks holding mortgages began to make the costs clear.
My wife and I were among those who received a notice a
couple of weeks ago from the bank with holds our mortgage, telling us the bank
could sell us flood insurance. The banks quoted a price, but encouraged us to
shop around among other providers for the best rate.
Our insurance broker informed us that to pinpoint an
accurate price, she'd need a flood elevation certificate. While we knew we were
in a flood plain and could consult FEMA maps to see what elevation zone we were
in, no elevation certificate yet existed for our house. To get one, we'd have
to hire a surveyor, which would cost between $600 and $1,000.
What we didn't know was whether the surveyor's findings
would result in a lower premium than what our bank was offering. Because we and
our neighbors were in the same boat -- most of them had no flood elevation
certificates, either -- we couldn't compare prices on insurance.
The bank wasn't particularly helpful in letting us know
how it determined the cost of our insurance without an elevation certificate.
Uncertain what to do, we asked a surveyor, who'd done work for us before,
whether it was worth spending the money on his services that could equal almost
half of what the bank quoted as a price for flood insurance. He said it could
just as easily turn out that once the elevation certificate was completed,
other insurance company premiums might be lower -- but they might also be
higher than the bank's quote.
If the surveyor had told us he thought the wise thing to
do was go ahead and get the elevation certificate, we would have hired him for
the job. Instead, he said, "I'd wait." He advised us that rather than
spend money on his services, he'd recommend going with the bank's offer, then
speaking with neighbors about their experiences. If it became clear later on
that the elevation certificate was worth it to receive a lower rate, he'd be
glad to handle our insurance.
He didn't turn down the job because he didn't want it. He
works for a small company in town and could use the business. He advised us not
to rush into hiring him because he believed this was honest advice and the
right thing to do for a valued customer. When the time comes to get a flood
elevation certificate or any other surveying services, his company has our
business.
Jeffrey L. Seglin, author of The Right Thing: Conscience, Profit and Personal Responsibility in Today's Business and The Good, the Bad, and Your Business: Choosing Right When Ethical Dilemmas Pull You Apart, is a lecturer in public policy and director of the communications programat Harvard's Kennedy School.
Follow him on Twitter: @jseglin
Do you have ethical questions that you need answered? Send them to rightthing@comcast.net.
(c) 2014 JEFFREY L. SEGLIN. Distributed by TRIBUNECONTENT AGENCY, LLC.
4 comments:
If the surveyor was a smarter businessman, he would have offered a cut rate and done your whole neighborhood.
Not everyone is greedy.
I was arrested once for victimless crime where I felt I had a reasonable explaination. I called a newly ordained lawyer I knew and asked him to represent me. He asked key lawyer type questions and stated that the fine, in all probability, would be much less than his fee. I was to attend the first round and plead my case in the manner he suggested. Should the case be changed to "criminal", he would assist. Well, I followed orders blindly and the case was dismissed.
Well, he certainly had the chance to get a slam dunk case and chose to be fair in a financial sense.
Well, he certainly has my admiration, gets a few votes well deserved from me and my family as he is a minor elected public official, and has earned the upmost respect for integrity.
So not everyone is greedy.
Integrity can triumph in the end.
Alan Owseichik
Greenfield, Ma
As electrical contractors, we are often asked for service estimates to "rewire the whole house" or "upgrade the breaker panel" or "ground all of the receptacles in the house." All of these are very costly, and have generally been recommended by a friend or a general (non-electrical) inspector. In most cases, these are unnecessary, and we do not hesitate telling the potential customer not to throw out his money. We have had more than one customer become a repeat customer, knowing that we are not padding our pockets at their expense.
Patricia at Fine Electric Co.
Richmond, VA
My old friend and his wife were in town for a short visit. They were in the process of moving his mother, who was incapable of living alone due other illness. This good son had arranged for sitters and housekeepers to care for his mother while she recovered from her last hospital stay, but it was apparent she could no longer live alone and she needed to be close to family. We went out to dinner. I had always liked his mother's house, and told him I would like to buy it. The next day, I met them at the house, and we agreed on a price and shook hands on it. I had taken a real estate contract along. I told him I would be happy to complete the contract and give it to him. He said, "No, a handshake is good enough for me". Three weeks later, we sat down at the closing of the real estate transaction, same house, same price. He had two or three offers on the house after we shook hands that morning. I'm told a verbal agreement is worthless, but a handshake used to be the method of choice for selling property. That was 1999, not that far back. If you are honest, a handshake and your word are priceless.......not worthless.
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