Quality Matters

Look for Greater Value
Value is a function of the price you pay, and the quality (or quantity) you receive. Therefore, there are two ways to get greater value from a service provider:

1) Pay less when choosing among similar services, or
2) Get more services or better services (higher quality) for the price you pay

While the choice between higher quality or paying less is personal and can be affected by many factors, usually in a matter as important as buying a home, consumers opt for the higher quality.
Regardless of your preference, it is critical to understand and be comfortable with the value you are getting for your real estate commission dollar. It doesn’t make sense to hire a highly-paid service professional, for example, if you can’t be sure about quality. Look for not just the promises being made - but some proof of the service professional’s accountability to keep those promises.

Some ways to gain comfort about accountability include:
-Demand a written service guarantee
-Insist on a detailed explanation of the services you will receive
-Have the service provider explain how their service process ensures that you get what you pay for
-Ask if the service provider or their company has a system for customer follow-up and feedback after closing
-Request to see evidence of how they have satisfied past customers (this is far more credible if compiled by a third party offering every client the opportunity to respond)
-Check to see if the service provider is Quality Service Certified®

Actually, for most consumers it’s really all about value.

And value is the relationship of quality and price. Your old math teacher would describe it as V= Q/P. Value (V) grows by increasing Quality (Q), reducing Price (P) or some combination of the two.

Where quality is uncertain or not important then price (lower price) becomes the more certain means of value and the preferred choice.

Interestingly, the research is pretty clear that in matters of greatest importance consumers actually have a bias toward higher quality versus lowest price. Quality versus price preferences depend upon individual circumstances, a consumer’s understanding of the elements of quality, one’s past experience and the importance of the particular product or service.

Quality versus price… most of us want choices and want to understand the differences and implications of those choices!