My slice of the cake

During the middle of a small building project, the builder informed me that his price, submitted by written quotation, signed by all parties, had to escalate by some 14%!

But we had an agreement I argued….yes, but he was faced with some exorbitant and unplanned increases to his input cost, including but not restricted to fuel; cement and the price of the roof tiles. Forgive me if you are already aware of this but one usually makes a few progress payments, or draw’s as they are called during such a building project. I had just made such a draw, we were approximately seventy percent through the project and were now faced with either accepting this increase or he would walk off-site.

Sue him, I hear you say, appoint another builder and sue the original one for any additional costs. Your suggestion would be quite correct save that my home would be an absolute mess while we found and appointed the new builder, that the costs for such recovery would include attorneys; quantity surveyors and a lot of time and trauma and that we have no idea of the personal financial circumstances of the builder, making the likelihood of payment, in the event of success in the court, vary slim.

You guessed it, pay up and smile, it was the only solution, there is no doubt that the builder concerned knew this and capitalised on it. As consumers, we seem to face this daily…a cold drink in one shop at R4.00, why is it R7.50 in another. A pair of shoes, 30% more expensive in a national chain than the same shoe, available in a small outdoor store next door….a sixty percent price increase for a toffee at your favourite golf club half-way house tea room.

We can all sit back and criticise Eskom…laugh at the caricatures depicting politicians who have enjoyed the fraudulent fruits of their positions at the expense of those who voted them into office. Are you not perhaps a little guilty yourself, is inflation not a new justifiable excuse to unreasonably increase the mark up or profit that you make in your normal business transaction.

Consumerism, defined as activities that protect or defend the rights of consumers, appears almost non existent in South Africa, very few consumer bodies seem to exist or are unfortunately extremely quite.

What should we do when faced with situations we do not believe have a credible justification…..what I would suggest as a minimum is to vote with your feet, if the restaurant is over charging you for a cheap wine, or it’s not served correctly or the waiter not adequately trained….it’s simple, don’t go back there…if the cashier does not greet you, is sullen and rude…don’t go back, we have many options available to us…not coming back is every businesses worst fear…I firmly suggest we all learn to practice this discipline.

The next step, write a letter, if you are able, to the owner, alternatively to the head office of the service provider, keep it short, sweet. To the point and try and use the staff members name, a date and time where applicable. No, it won’t immediately solve the problem but of we all played our part….each little bit will help.

To conclude the process, subject to the occurrence being of interest to the extended community, what about a letter to the editor for publication in your local news paper.