Wealthy People More at Risk of Getting Ripped Off?

Earlier today I read an article on BNET.com that describes how wealthy customers are more likely to be charged higher rates than customers who seem to be in the same income bracket as the people performing the service.

This is not something we have ever researched, but my own experiences support the findings in Kimberly Weisul’s article, “This is Broken Customer Service”.

Recently, the exhaust system on my car started to make worrisome noises so I took it to the dealership – a dealership I had been loyal to since 1994. Through multiple vehicles, I had remained true to the marque... and to the dealer. Even when we moved, I continued to make the 1 hour drive to have my car serviced at the place I trusted. Note the past tense.

Their verdict: The entire exhaust system needed to be replaced. The part alone was $1500. I explained that I did not want to put that kind of money into a car I was planning to replace in the spring and asked if they could do a simple repair.

The answer: NO – there was no way to repair the problem. The fee to render this verdict was discounted to $50 because I was a long-time customer.

Although warned that the car was unsafe to drive and that the entire exhaust could go any minute, I decided to postpone the repair in favour of a new car search. Well they were right; six weeks later the “worrisome” noise progressed to “horrible” and the smell of exhaust filled my car.

This time I went to a local garage that had been recommended by a neighbour. The first person told me that it would likely cost about $400 to repair, but that he would have the owner call me with a final estimate.

When the mechanic drove me home, I had him pull up in front of the triplex up the street, rather than dropping me off in front of my home. On the way home, I also “let drop” that I was in the process of looking for a job. The result of my “experiment”: A $175 repair.

A couple of months ago, I had another experience of being quoted a lower amount than a friend for the same service. The only difference was not deliberate on this occasion: I had gone in wearing old sweats and an even older ski jacket.

These two anecdotes are by no means conclusive, but they tend to make me agree with Ms. Weisul’s assertion that these types of actions represent customer service that’s indeed in need of repair!