Fake Locksmith

...

According the NY times, the definition for Map Maker is “Google’s crowdsourced online map of the world.” The Map Maker works similarly to Wikipedia. It’s made by millions of contributors. The creditability for Map Maker is hard to determine. People might contribute meaningful contents. But there are also many people that abuse the system. Many local companies also build their own websites, but the data and information from the website are not really trustworthy. For example, a list of Locksmiths in Arizona from website Acxiom is completely ridiculous.

Question 3:

Identify and discuss some elements of consumer behavior that make it possible for these fake locksmiths to charge such high prices for their services:

The first and foremost element is the customers’ urgency. It depends on the circumstances that the fake locksmiths can charge the rate differently. If it’s cold and late outside, the customers would just pay whatever the fake locksmiths requested. They are eager to get into their homes or cars. Other element would be the call centers fooled the customers. The call centers gave customers a really cheap quote, but after the work was done, they got charged a much higher rate. The fake locksmiths explained to customers that the work was more complicated than usual. But because the work was done, so customers were forced to pay them. A similar thing to the call centers is the advertisement on the website. Customers expect to pay only $19 for the service, but afterward it ends up at $200.

The fake locksmiths don’t care about return customers or loyal customers. They pay most attention to one-time customers and try to get as much as money they can from them. This is how they make money. It doesn’t matter what the customers got their prices from the call center or from the website, it matters of the time value. For example, after a customer talked to the call center and agreed on the price, they have to wait roughly about 30-45 minutes (sometimes even more) until the fake locksmith person come. The customers have already spent their time to wait for the fake locksmith, so they expect everything should be done now and they can get into their car or home. This is a good time for the fake locksmith person negotiates for the price depends on how the customers’ reactions. The customers don’t want to wait for another 30-45 minutes to call another locksmith, which they don’t even know how they are going to charge them just like this fake locksmith. So, it seems more likely they are forced to pay the price and then complain later.