Well, if my wife reads this blog post, she will know what she is getting for Valentine’s Day. I received a flyer in the mail from ProFlowers and I saw what I thought was a unique gift for my wife- a heart shaped Bamboo plant. We are both into bamboo so I thought it would make a nice gift instead of flowers…until I got to checkout on their web page.
In addition to their delivery fee ($9.99), the wanted to charge a FUEL DELIVERY SURCHARGE of $1.93. I know that gas is expensive and we all need to contribute to the gas companies record profits (Re: EXXON). This method is absured.
Charge me what you want for delivery but don’t nickel and dime me for more expensive gas. It is the cost of doing business that we all risk. Some people that have surcharges put it on say it is temporary…how often is it? And if fuel takes a drastic drop, will your business give a “FUEL CREDIT”? I don’t think so.
This surcharged made me look elsewhere on the web for the same thing. I found it at another site for 50% less and no fuel surcharge. Now, what did ProFlowers gain except the loss of a customer?
Hi Barry,
I agree with what you’re saying here. It’s asking to lose my faith in your business in a penny by penny way. I don’t think I’d know if a charge went away because I don’t buy products that include charges, as those. Such charges always seem to me a quick way to make a buck. It’s a LOT harder to rethink a pricing structure and make sure the value proposition works. I don’t know whether the charges disappear because I don’t go back to see whether they did.
Chances are…you are already paying a surcharge but just don’t know it. Isn’t it better to have the charge itemized rather than simply having the shipping or price of the item increased? Charges will be transferred to the customer one way or another…