Pay what something is really worth and pay for it once

This applies to everything — workers you hire, or things you buy.

I always see companies trying to shave here and there by hiring super cheap employees (or in my case, freelancers), not realizing that it costs more in the end than just hiring one person who does the job well.

What I find that companies hate, is giving all that money to ONE person, even if he can do the job.

IT JUST ENDS UP COSTING MORE MONEY, FOLKS

A typical situation looks like in a lot of companies I work at:

Company puts out a hiring notice, and gets a range of resumes from people who seem like they can ALL do the job with their eyes closed, for $40,000 – $130,000 a year.

Company balks at paying $130,000 for ONE person a year.

“Who the eff do they think they are!?”

[insert angry grimace and balking motions]

So Company hires Employee A for $40,000, thinking they’ll do the job and scored a deal at such a low wage!

Employee A, after 6 months, can’t seem to get all the work done (read: doesn’t know jack squat)

Employee B gets hired for $50,000 to help out Employee A. Poor guy, must be swamped with everything and needs someone to help out more.

Company pats itself on the back thinking they are STILL paying less than for that fancypants employee, and thinks it resolved the issue.

In the background, as more problems build up from Employee A and Employee B, working in a harmonious manner to essentially screw up everything in the company, Company realizes in a year or two, that it needs a third employee to help sort out the mess.

(Employee A at work with the Fixer played by Dilbert, and the Boss) Via Dilbert. Best comic ever.

$50,000 later for Employee C, Company is paying $140,000 for 3 people x 3 times the company benefits for each person and still can’t get the job done.

Except now they are in a hot mess, and realize they can’t fix it with who they have, so guess what?

They end up hiring a Fixer at $130/hour to do the job.

A year and $260,000 out of later (in addition to the $140,000 they paid for the other 3 yahoos), the job is done in a year and The Fixer leaves, knowing full well those 3 employees will screw up the system again, and he’s back to take more money.

They could have saved themselves all that trouble and just hired ONE person for $130,000 instead of hiring 3 for what is essentially more money (in benefits), and a Fixer for $260,000.

I’LL BET IT HAPPENS TO YOU TOO

How many times have you bought substitutes of things because you didn’t want to pay the price for the real thing?

For commodities like salt, it makes no sense. Salt is salt, whether it is in a sexy outfit or in a plain cardboard box (although I’d read the Ingredients to make sure it’s 100% salt and not silica added).

For things like electronics, I’ve been burned by buying one-too-many-cheap-electronics *cough*PCs*cough*, before realizing that other products, although expensive, won’t conk out on you even 3 years later and counting.

You end up paying more for something in the end, because you didn’t want to save up to buy the quality product you really wanted.

And if you didn’t learn your lesson the first 3 times around, you will end up buying more and more cheap substitutes before you cave and buy the real thing.

THE PROBLEM IS ALWAYS THINKING YOU’RE SMARTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE

The problem is always thinking you’re smarter than everyone else.

Like those asshats who cut in front of a long line of cars waiting to turn or enter a freeway, they think they’re smarter than everyone else.

“Why the hell should I wait behind 30 cars when I can just drive alongside, force my way into the front of the line and cause accidents or screw up the flow of traffic?

Pshaw!

I’m from MONTREAL*, BITCHES!!!!”

*No seriously, driving in Toronto versus Montreal is another world. I also learned how to drive in Montreal, so I know firsthand how it works.

And companies think:

“Why the hell should I pay [insert amount of money] for ONE person to do the job, when I can take 3 people and get 3 times the work for the same price!

One person doesn’t deserve all that money, even if they can do the job!”

Via Dilbert. Best comic ever. Have I ever mentioned that ad nauseum? 🙂

…except it never really ends up like that, and it’s an utter waste of money and time.

Plus it causes more problems that become ingrained so far into the company it’d take a bigger and bigger budget to get out of that mess that started with being cheap.

And you and I think:

“Why the hell should I pay _______ for a single product? GAWRGH.

$100 is a LOT of money, when I can buy a similar item for $20.”

…6 substitutes later, $120 out of pocket, you realize you just have to bloody fork over that $100 and be done with it.

Why not just search for the item on sale, consider it very carefully, and be done with it as a SINGLE purchase?