When putting together the words “Traditional” and
“Winter” the first thought goes to Christmas and New Year since these are the
main events of winter and they happen each and every year. Naturally, both
Christmas and New Year come with some expenses and subsequent payments. Every
payment hurts and I believe that payments made for the usual Christmas and New
Year purchases are less painful than are other payments. For Christmas and New Year
people have money allocated for things such as gifts, food, booze (after all it’s
a reason to party) etc. Moreover, Christmas and New Year most often come with
joy and reasons to celebrate or at least party.
There are, however, other payments that are
specific to the winter season and are completely unrelated to the holidays.
These payments include paying (local) taxes, paying the regularization
(balancing) for utilities such as energy, water etc., paying one-year fees for
very necessary services such as sanitation (picking up the garbage) and sewerage.
All these payments are due in the winter months (at least in some countries).
Naturally all these payments have to be made
and everyone is more or less aware of this fact. However, these payments come
with an increased level of pain of paying – the psychological discomfort
experienced when making payments.
Let’s take the example of paying the regularization
(balancing) for utilities bills. In The Netherlands (and in some other
countries) for energy people pay a fix amount each month and at the end of the
year a computation is made in order to see whether the individual paid more or
less than she has actually consumed. Not
surprisingly there are quite some cases in which people consumed more than what
was estimated. When the invoice comes it is a painful one. Energy is something
we don’t see; it’s the electricity that powers my laptop, the heat in the room
(in The Netherlands usually it is quite cold) and the electricity or gas that
makes the cooking stove work. Moreover, when being informed at the end of the
year that you need to pay more for something that you have consumed during the
entire year, there is a feeling of paying for nothing. Those 400 Euros you have
to pay extra include the electricity consumed by the light that you forgot to
switch off in March. It simply feels awkward…
A very important factor involved in the pain of
paying experienced in relation to these “traditional winter payments” is the way
in which the payment is made. Let’s stick to the example with balancing energy
bills. Usually in The Netherlands such bills are paid using the “Direct Debit” method
which means that the amount due to be paid is withdrawn from the bank account
of the client by the company that issued the bill. In essence, the payer does
not have to do anything, except for making sure that there are enough money in
her bank account, which can be quite challenging since a lot of money was spent
on Christmas and New Year.
Now, imagine that this method of payment would
not be available and the only way in which someone could pay this bill would be
to go to one office of the energy company which is half-way across the city in
winter weather and the payment can be made only in cash (bills and coins).
It is obvious that the level of discomfort
associated with the payment is higher in the second case than it is when using
direct debit.
“Traditional Winter Payments” are annoying by
their very nature. However, most people simply accept them as a given
status-quo. Everyone realizes that energy bills have to be paid and that annual
payments for sanitation and sewerage services are mandatory if one wants to
have the benefits of civilization… Minimizing the pain of paying associated with
these payments is a worthy endeavor.
Take a moment and think of how other payments
that are less vital for a civilized standard of living (having energy and sewerage)
influence purchasing behaviour and customer satisfaction. Purchasing behaviour is
influenced by many factors including the price, income etc. What is often
ignored is the level of pain of paying associated with a purchase…
Take a look at My Training Programs on Pain of Paying
And
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