If there's one thing that always irritates me its those extra charges that businesses put on their invoices to cover costs that should already be part of their pricing.  You know the sort of thing; statement charge, postage and packaging, cheque charge, and so on.

Think about it. If you add up all those charges that they collect from all their customers, you can get quite a healthy sum. And for what benefit to the customer?

Now I am as aware of the arguments offered for these charges as well as anyone.  For my sins I spent thirty something years in accountancy.  I also recognise that there are legitmate cases where these extra charge can be claimed, especially where the cost of delivery from store to customers is high, and the customer has the option of arranging their own pickup. But its those little extras that make me mad.

To me those small items are just part of the cost of running a business.  The business should therefore include these costs in their calculations when prices are set. 

In the case of the statement charge noted above, this was in addition to a healthy commission deduction for the collection of some rentals.  And those cheque charges.  I have seen customers offer a credit card instead, for which the cost to the business is higher and the charges are unable to passed on as an extra. The point here is this:

Each time a business annoys a customer by the addition of silly little extra charges which are for the benefit of the business only and not the customer, they are sending negative messages to customers that could cause them to take their business elsewhere.  It might seem a minor thing to the business, but it can cause a major reaction with customers.

Just think, if a twentyfive cent cheque charge can send a customer elsewhere, how much in future customer lifetime sales value could be lost to the business?