好好做个消费者

全世界各式各样的公司和持有不同政见的政府似乎都有这样的一个主要目的:通过鼓励大家进行更多的消费,把世界从经济危机中拯救出来。也许真到了我们大家去考虑一下消费观念和如何更好地去做一个消费者的时候了。我相信,如果我们能做一个更好的消费者,实际上对我们的社会还是有益处的。以下就是我的几条简单准则。

第一,要做一个细心的消费者。这意味着,如果对一件商品的安全性没有检查过,就绝不能买。不要轻易接受导购人员信誓旦旦的保证,也不要相信电视上体育明星满面笑容的广告。我们要看到商品标签上标明该商品符合某种标准,这种标准是被严格设定的,并被某个负责的国家机构监管才成。这条原则适用于所有商品,从衣服、玩具刀、食品,到人命关天的药品。如果大多数消费者都采取这种“别给我说,给我看”的消费态度,商品的生产者就会意识到提高产品的安全标准有多么重要,而且这种改进的成本不能轻易地转嫁到消费者身上。这样一来,如果你的产品不安全,就没有人去买,生产厂商很快就没生意可做。其实,比起全球范围内那些要严格遵守欧盟制定的标准的生产厂商而言,在中国,为购买居家用品的消费者改进产品质量,要容易得多。

第二,要做一个挑剔的消费者。贫穷的时候,我们总是喜欢挑剔。我们所赚到的每一分钱,都耗尽心血,因此,我们要珍惜钱。当我们有了更多的钱可以支配的时候,这种态度应该继续保持下去。要买的东西越贵,我们就越要仔细检查它是否有瑕疵。如果有人对一件T恤的要价是另一件的两倍,我们就需要问问自己:这件T恤真的比另外一件要好两倍?如果仅仅是好一点,那么,我们为什么还要去浪费钱呢?如果所有消费者都持这种态度,那么,所有商品的质量在短时间内都会得到改进。全世界的市场总是在质量和价格之间摇摆。随着消费者判断能力的提高,商品的质量也会得到改进,使其与价格匹配。同时,生产厂家也会竭尽全力改进产品质量,以证明他们生产的商品还是“价有所值”的。为在国内销售的产品改进质量,同时也会增加这些产品在国际市场上的竞争力。

第三,要做一个不好对付的消费者。作为消费者,我们坚持问“为什么?”为什么这件商品没有不同颜色的呢?为什么没有更多尺码的呢?为什么有那么多余的可选功能而不是只有最基本的功能呢?如果有足够多的消费者问这样的问题,这种信息最终还是会传到供应商的耳朵里去的。绝对没任何理由让我们去接受产品生产者设置的这些限制。如果他们真的相信消费者是上帝的话,他们就该做点什么。如果不做,他们的市场份额就会很快流失到另外一个能对消费者的要求做出反应的公司那里。

第四,做一个投诉的消费者。如果有什么东西给搞错了或者达不到你的预期要求,请要投诉。不要向负责导购的姑娘投诉,要见经理才成。如果每个不满意的顾客都能进行投诉,就会有更多的满意顾客出现。在一些国家,包括中国,消费者碰到有问题或达不到标准的商品的时候,往往得不到足够的保护支持。但是,每个顾客都长着一张嘴。因此,他们应该有效地利用自己的嘴巴去争取自己的权利。经理们都不喜欢去面对怒火中烧的顾客。面对这样的顾客,他们会颜面尽失。这并不意味着只是去投诉餐馆里的饭菜质量(通常情况下,一有不满,我们就会这么做),而且要去投诉洗手间里肮脏的设施和漫不经心的服务。如果大家不投诉,这些问题是永远得不到改善的。进行投诉的消费者大军代表着所有的消费者,投诉是我们最好的武器。

第五,做一个留心的消费者。商品在不断地变化,但是市场却没什么不同。昨天的特价商品,变成了今天高价的、过时的、没用的东西。在商品种类不断变化的同时,我们更希望鼓励商品的改良和创新。市场经济取决于创造力,其他事物亦是如此。消费者不愿意去买陈货,他们想要享有新事物带来的愉悦,其他人亦是如此。在商品的定价上应该体现这一点。就拿手机来说吧,并不是所有的消费者都需要他们手机上的每一个功能,但是相反的,如果他们对上个月的一款手机感兴趣的话,他们不希望支付上个月的价格。一点小小的市场调查就可以为我们省一大笔钱。

第六,做一个不为名牌所累的消费者。最近,经济衰退在世界各国蔓延。其中,最显著的特点之一,就是消费者已经清醒地认识到那些名牌实在不值那么多钱。那些之前买东西只看商标选名牌的人,如今在买东西前,已经开始很谨慎地考虑商品的价格,并且把自己的钱花在那些物美价廉的东西上。那些连锁超市生意好并吸引众多顾客的原因,就是向消费者提供了很多使用自己品牌,以及没有什么大品牌的低价商品。曾经,有很多人崇尚买品牌商品,而不愿意去买那些廉价的东西。现在,低价商品占据了他们购物篮中很大的一部分。这不仅仅是一种判断力,还是一股冷风,吹过那些奢侈品牌和昂贵的体育用品区,让卖家认识到,商品的价格需要合理――如果他们想分享市场和在商场中立足的话。名牌商品或许更注重细节,样式更新颖,质量更高一些,但是价格却高的离谱。消费者要逐渐认识到,他们的要求在商品价格制定上,起到非常关键和重要的作用。

第七,做一个在各方面都有消费观念的消费者。我们并不只是在商店和饭店消费的消费者。当我们把孩子送到学校上学时,我们是消费者:孩子们接受的教育,就是我们所买的商品,因此也要有市场化的质量。当我们去医院治病时,我们也是消费者:我们在医院接受的治疗,医生和护士的态度,都是我们所买的商品,也要有市场化的质量――这适用于任何相似的环境。如果我们在生活中任何方面都考虑到以上的因素,那么,不仅消费将会变成一件快乐的事,而且我们的社会,不管在什么地方,都会变得更好,更人性化。

如果我们要做消费者,就让我们努力做一个好的消费者,在我们的社会里快乐地消费。

Be a Good Consumer

Companies of all kinds all over the world and governments of every political hue seem to have one main purpose in mind: to rescue the world from the economic crisis by encouraging all of us to consume more. Perhaps the time has come then for us to consider the idea of consumption and how we can be better consumers. It is my belief that by being better consumers we can actually have a beneficial effect on our own society. Here are my simple rules.

Be a careful consumer. This means we never ever buy any article without checking to see if it is safe for use. We don’t blindly accept the sales assistant’s reassurances or the smile on the face of a sports star on TV. We want to see a label saying that this article meets a certain standard and that this standard has been carefully set and monitored by some responsible national agency. This applies to everything clothes, toys, food and above all medicine. If the majority of consumers adopt this “don’t tell me, show me” attitude, then the producers would realise how essential it is to improve their safety standards and how the cost of this cannot simply be passed on to the customers. It would be a question of if it’s not safe nobody is going to buy it and you will go out of business very quickly. Improving goods for home consumers would make it far easier for producers world-wide to meet the strict standards which are set by, for example, the European Union.

Be a choosy consumer. When we are poor we are always picky. Every penny has cost us a lot of sweat so we want value for money. This is the attitude we should maintain as we find we have a little more to spend. The more expensive an item is the more carefully we should examine it for faults. If somebody wants twice the price for this T-shirt that he does for the other one, we have always to ask ourselves, “Is it really twice as good?” If it’s only a little better, then why waste our money? If all consumers adopted this attitude, the quality of all goods would inevitably improve in a short space of time. Marketing all over the world is always a balance between quality and price. As consumers become more sophisticated the quality has to improve to keep the price the same and has to improve dramatically to justify higher prices. Improving the quality of products for domestic consumption improves competitiveness in global markets even more.

Be an awkward consumer. As consumers we should always be asking “why?” Why can’t we get this in different colours? Why can’t we get a better range of sizes? Why does this have to be an optional extra and not part of the basic package? If enough consumers ask such questions the message will eventually filter back to the suppliers. There is no reason why we should accept the producers’ limitations. If they really believe that the customer is God, then they will do something about it. If they don’t their market share will speedily pass to a more responsive firm.

Be a complaining consumer. If something is wrong or gives less satisfaction than you expected complain, don’t complain to the salesgirl; ask to see the manager. If every dissatisfied customer complained, there would be far more satisfied customers. In some countries, including China, there is insufficient protection for consumers against goods that are faulty or below standard, but every consumer has a tongue and they should use it effectively. Managers do not like to be confronted by an irate customer and their embarrassment will pass up the line. This doesn’t just mean complaining about the quality of your food in a restaurant (though we should always do that if we are unhappy) but also objecting to dirty toilet facilities or sloppy service. These things will never improve if people don’t complain. The consumer army is at war on behalf of all consumers, and complaining is our best weapon.

Be an attentive consumer. Things are always changing and the market-place is no different. Yesterday’s bargain becomes today’s over-priced out-of-date white elephant. By staying alert to changes in supply we encourage improvement and innovation. A market economy depends on creativity as much as anything else. Consumers don’t want to buy old stock; they want to enjoy the benefits of research and development as much as anyone else. The prices charged should reflect this. Let’s take mobile phones as an example. Not all customers want every conceivable feature in their phone, but conversely if they are satisfied with last month’s model they don’t expect still to pay last month’s price. A little market research can save us a great deal of money.

Be a consumer who doesn’t shop by brands. One of the most striking features of the recent economic recession in many countries is that consumers have woken up to the fact that frequently famous brands are poor value for money. Shoppers who previously only looked at the name on the label are now considering the cost very carefully and are spending their money on low-cost decent-quality basic goods instead. The supermarket chains which are benefiting most and attracting the highest number of customers are those which have a large selection of own-brand or no-brand goods at basement prices. At one time many customers were too high-minded to but such goods but now they are the main items in their shopping baskets. This is not only common sense but has let a cold breeze of reality blow through the luxury and sporting goods sectors where the sellers now realise that prices need to be a good deal less crazy if they are not only to share the market but to stay in business at all. Famous brands may still be n some respects better, more innovative, higher quality but the price differential is outrageous and consumers are gradually realising that their demand is a crucial factor in the setting of these prices.

Be a consumer in everything you do. We are not just consumers when we are in a shop or restaurant buying things. We are consumers when we send our children to school: the education they are receiving is a commodity for which we are paying; it should be of marketable quality. We are consumers when we go to the hospital; the medical care we receive and the attention we get from the doctors and nurses is a commodity for which we are paying; it should be of marketable quality. All the rules above apply to these and similar situations. If as consumers we try to apply then in all areas of our life, there is great hope that not only will our consumption be a happier thing but that our society, wherever it may be, will be a better and more humane society.

If we are to be consumers let’s all try hard to be good consumers and make our consumer society one in which it is a pleasure for us all to live.