It’s very expensive!
That’s the common phrase we have heard, over & over again in our last couple of years of inspection service.
As we continue our journey, we will innovate, make it more process driven, ensure we don’t miss the obvious, use more tools & technology, yet make it look simple to home buyers and leave that seal of assurance. But simple is not cheap!!
Common phrases we always have heard, “it’s very expensive”, or why should we pay “so much” for inspection, though each of us have paid through our nose, lung, kidney for signing up for our dream homes.
Let these 2 popular stories demonstrate why the experts need to be paid right for their services and how the power of knowledge is important.
Story 1
A giant ship’s engine failed. The ship’s owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure out how to fix the engine.
Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.
Two of the ship’s owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed!
A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars.
“What?!” the owners exclaimed. “He hardly did anything!”
So they wrote the old man a note saying, “Please send us an itemized bill.”
The man sent a bill that read:
Tapping with a hammer………………….. $ 2.00
Knowing where to tap…………………….. $ 9,998.00
Story 2
Pablo Picasso, the painter, was dining at a restaurant in New York City. A fan introduced herself to him and gushed at how thrilled she was to meet the great artist, and how she loved his work. Encouraged by his polite acceptance, the fan begged, “Oh, Mr. Picasso, would you draw me a sketch?”
Picasso grabbed some paper and, with a pen, promptly sketched the waiters passing parfaits. As the woman reached for the sketch, Picasso said, “Madame, that will be $10,000.”
Shocked, she replied, “But that only took you five minutes!”
“No, Madame,” replied Picasso. “It took me 50 years.”
Learnings from these stories:
1) Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort makes all the difference!
2) Picasso priced his service to its value, not to the cost of manufacture. Picasso did not price his service based on the cost of the paper plus the cost of ink plus some hourly wage…
Same is the case @HomeInspeKtor. If value is understood, price doesn’t seem HIgh