Is it worth paying more?

Well yeah, if you get good value, but is that a real value or a perceived value?

Given the opportunity, spending a little more can really make it better, the quality of some things can be determined by what you spend and where you buy it from.

This all came about a few years ago when my wife and I went on a holiday and used some available frequent flyer points to get nice business class tickets. My wife used to travel a lot and she is a princess so getting the upgrade for some extra luxury is a must. We got to the airport on the day and I naturally dragged myself toward the long(ish) queue at the check-in desk like all the other sheep. My darling wife then tapped me on the shoulder and reminded me of our

upgrade and that the person waiting for us at the empty desk was for ‘us’ to get quick and personalised service. I seriously don’t mind ‘slumming’ it, but the reality is that if you spend a good portion of your holidays getting there and back the trip should be a good part of the fun, and in this case we made it so.

The check-in was grand and I was treated with some respect and service, boarding the plane was so easy too, straight in the front, load your bags and stretch out with that all important extra leg space and straight into being served some refreshments. I seriously wouldn’t have minded being one of the regular sheep but this did make a difference and was instantly enjoying the holiday. We had a change-over half way through our trip and guess what, no lost luggage on arrival, the bags came out early and we where on our way to our resort for our holiday.

I feel the need to write about this because of a reaction I got to a simple recommendation, as I suggested somebody should enjoy this experience on their holiday. “Why would I waste money by doing that” is a common and obvious answer many people will give you in response. I have learnt to close my mouth now, some would prefer to spend a third of their holiday getting their travel provided on the cheap and starting a good adventure in long queues, hungry and squished into tiny seats, I know which I will choose from now on and I will keep the preferred option a secret. I hope they enjoy spending there time in cheap accommodation, with cheap faulty luggage that will break on departure and go missing in transit. Just please don’t start complaining about all the crap you got on your cheap holiday on Monday.

So was this real value or just perceived? It really didn’t cost the airline much to provide it, it did cost us something to obtain it, but here it is some 3 years later and I am still talking about it.

OK, I have some other examples. Shirts and clothing. If you pay more you get value. I know a bit about this, thread counts, or the material density, the way the linen and cloth is cut is all very important and when you pay more for clothing these are and should be better. Look for it, the quality is good and when it’s washed it wont go all wonky. A couple of years ago here there was a bit of a fashion thing happening with diagonal lined shirts, I didn’t mind it, I had one or two, but yeah, they were cheap and I got what I paid for. This was regular material cut diagonally, not printed or woven diagonally, so they barely lasted one wash before the buttons no longer aligned with the button holes. The reason I am going on about shirts is that unlike the material itself, it seems no matter how much you pay, the buttons refuse to stay on. I don’t know if all buttons are sewn on to all shirts in the one place in the world, but the machine that does it ensures that a few will unravel and fall off not long after buying and wearing it.

Also, I have recently realised that Scotch and good drinks are another thing you can and should be willing to pay for. Quality is not perceived, it’s real here and I guess it takes longer for the manufacturers to store it but it comes out better. If you want to knock yourself out on bourbon go right ahead and look for the bargain, but I am talking about experiencing the difference in quality, taste, flavour and feel.

The one major area I am finding that contradicts this is the raised quality of more expensive electrical items. It’s not there, it doesn’t exist. Of course you can’t do much about it when buying an xbox, there is one manufacturer and that’s it, you can get the diamond encrusted version but it makes it no better internally, there is still the same chance it will fail, crash, smoke or die as the rest of them. From the cheaper Wii to the top of the line PS3, audio systems, iPod’s, TV’s or Toasters, they all basically come from the same manufacturing plant and have a variety of badges slapped on them to deliver a perceived difference in quality.

Don’t go near cars, it’s like no matter what you spend something will be bad, these are really a hybrid of pieces from different suppliers, engines, radios etc and anything might be better or worse that the last piece.

I think overall the perceived value is the important part, you can get great service with an average product and be really happy with it, and happy to spend the extra money. Lowsy service with a good product will leave you with a disappointment. Perhaps the point is that you can only get real value with good service and that can come at a price.

If there is anything you can get from reading this then;

• You will get what you pay for buying the cheapest
• You will enjoy it for longer paying a bit more
• Going all the way to top shelf makes you a wanker

Def: Wanker

1. A person or individual that thinks they are great and popular when they are often misguided people. Often with too much time on their hands willing to show off for other peoples amusement, usually in a crowd, often without real friends (Facebook associations do not count as friends).
2. A person (always male) who masturbates too much
3. Both of the above, see Corey Delaney