Marketplace®
Many customers get away with deep discounts on account of the
recession. But some long-standing business clients are using the
downturn as an excuse to twist arms for a deal. Ashley Milne-Tyte
reports.
Steve Chiotakis: Yeah, we know some businesses
have done a good bit of cutting in this recession -- cutting of
fees. Law firms, ad agencies, even therapists are doing it. But
there seems to be another side to all this discounting. Those who
are doing the discounting say their clients are getting a wee-bit
out of line. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports.
Ashley Milne-Tyte: Everyone's negotiating fees
these days. But Marc Brownstein of marketing agency the Brownstein
Group says negotiating is one thing, demanding is another. He
recently heard from a lawyer friend:
Marc Brownstein: He said that clients have been
dictating fees to them. So if a lawyer has a certain billable hour,
the client is saying "no, this is what we're going to pay for this
service."
He says marketing firms have also experienced a sudden rash of
what he calls bad behavior from clients: e-mails have a cranky
tone, some clients don't pay invoices until they're chased. Some
even want firms to break ethical boundaries. Brownstein says one
client wanted his agency to fudge some numbers.
Brownstein: It seems that this recession, the
longer it goes, is unveiling the dark side of perfectly civilized
and likeable professionals.
Brownstein says his company refused, of course. He understands
companies are under enormous pressure to conserve cash. But he says
being antagonistic or pushy can gnaw away at relationships that
took a lot of time, effort and money to build.