drscott | Sharp dealing and prosperous cheats

I'm getting a little stressed out. Our flooring company is trying to pad their bill now that the install is scheduled to start tomorrow. The arrangement had been somewhat vague, and we paid them half the estimate based on personal knowledge of the salesman, who then resigned and told us to "be careful." Now the company owner wants $1,000 extra to remove the old carpet, another $1,000 to remove and reuse the old baseboard, etc. This is why I hate dealing with anyone unknown.

This phenomenon, BTW, is very common in any industry where the frequency of purchase is low and the value of transactions are high, and it's exacerbated if the product is complex and hard to compare with similar offerings (not a commodity, in other words.) The seller has a huge information advantage and is tempted to cheat, because the normal restraint of damage to reputation only slowly or never catches up to the benefits of cheating. Other transaction types where this is common: real estate, car sales, medicine, marriage (just kidding about marriage!) It also points out that what keeps fairness in the vast majority of our daily transactions is not legal enforcement or government oversight, but the ongoing nature of our relationships.