Is this profiteering

chiefdogwalker

Took my car for a service today and the garage (main dealership) are trying to charge £5 extra for staff and customer PPE. It’s not a fortune but just doesn’t seem right,

gettingtheresometime

One way of looking at it is that they are being honest by saying what the extra charge is for rather than just increasing the prices.
(As a side note I've just booked a hair appt and the prices have dramatically increased but whether that's because of the need for PPE or demand I don't know)

poppy12345

Hairdressers are doing exactly the same. It's just a little extra that i really don't mind paying for something that needs to be done. Did they let you know about the charge before you took your car there?

LilElvis

They're not profiteering - they're passing on additional costs in a transparent way. My hairdresser will charge me £1.50 if I don't have my own face mask. My Mum was charged an additional £5 by her dentist to reflect the increased level of ppe required. Their costs have increased and they are passing on part/ all of that cost to the customer - totally normal and what businesses do when costs rise.

sharpe106

Who did you expect to pay for it? You pay for a service, the cost of providing the service has gone up so they pass it on to the customer.

gettingtheresometime

poppy12345 said:

Hairdressers are doing exactly the same. It's just a little extra that i really don't mind paying for something that needs to be done. 

In my case  the increase was more than a little ...so much so I'm looking for a new hairdresser even though I've  been going there for more than a decade.

poppy12345

gettingtheresometime said:

poppy12345 said:

Hairdressers are doing exactly the same. It's just a little extra that i really don't mind paying for something that needs to be done. 

In my case  the increase was more than a little ...so much so I'm looking for a new hairdresser even though I've  been going there for more than a decade.

Mine are charging £2 for mask and apron. £1 if you bring your own mask. Tbh i would have paid £5, been going there for years and wouldn't go anywhere else. Also you must have happy with the hairdresser to have gone there for that length of time. Looking for a new one is never that easy, when i moved years ago it took me over a year to find another i was happy with.

LilElvis

gettingtheresometime said:

poppy12345 said:

Hairdressers are doing exactly the same. It's just a little extra that i really don't mind paying for something that needs to be done. 

In my case  the increase was more than a little ...so much so I'm looking for a new hairdresser even though I've  been going there for more than a decade.

My husband's barber of more than 20 years decided weeks ago that it would be uneconomical for him to continue trading. Husband is going to get a huge shock when he finds how much the other local barbers charge. My hairdresser has increased her charges, but I don't think 5% is too unreasonable

bradders1983

I am struggling to see how it is profiteering when a) they are using the extra money to buy PPE and b) the number of people per hour this industry is going to be able to "serve" is going to go down as a result of all the extra cleaning. Same with dentists, hairdressers etc.  If anything they are going to be making LESS money.

hb2

I've just booked an appointment with my hairdresser and haven't even asked how much extra they will charge. I am happy with their work and trust that any increased cost will be reasonable based on the cost of PPE and the fact that they will be able to see fewer people (due to increased cleaning between customers). The same will be true when my car is MOTd.

Grumpy_chap

A garage will need PPE of a type they will not have used before.  I don't see how a fiver is profiteering, especially when you see the costs of PPE on the High Street right now.