The other day I received an offer from Menard's showing all of the wonderful things I could get "For Free" just by coming in the store. Now, admittedly, these were all items you paid for and then after submitting paperwork you would receive a rebate, but that isn't the issue. I will accept that full rebates equal "free." But, and here comes the skeptic, I just don't believe that free always means free. You see, I know that someone somewhere did the math for Menard's and calculated the percentage of people who will purchase those items yet never return the rebate paperwork. Additionally, they've crunched numbers to determine how many extra people this advertising will drive to the store and how much extra those people will spend. They probably even think they know how many new ideas those people will get and then need to come back to the store to satisfy those "needs". Free. Sure it is.
These things are not free, they are included. Built somewhere into the overhead of the organization and in the way that they come to market, the cost of the items given away is offset by perfectly good money we have already given them, even if we have no intention to do so.
The most perfect example is the box of facial tissues on the bedside stand in the hospital. I dare you to look through the itemized bill the hospital will give you (on request, mind you) and find the line item that calls out the amount charged for this box of tissues. It won't be there. But in between the lines that you can read, buried in a higher price for something else or some type of overhead, the cost of that box of tissues is buried. But in just as real a way as if they charged you for it, the hospital is getting the money out of you for this item.
So my family now jokes about this. It is not free ... it's included. This has become a kind of a rallying cry for us and it is amazing how many times this has come into play. You are in a restaurant that offers free refills. No, they have really just figured how many refills they think the average person will drink and added that to the cost. You get a free buffet at the casino - do I even need to explain? I know there are thousands of people who fight the crowds on Black Friday to get deals and free stuff. I sit at home and buy what I need online and let them deliver it to my door. And yes, I can hardly wait for the drones to start delivering. I know that I will be paying for that, but really, how cool.
We always need to remember that our nation was truly built on a profit model concept. It's what makes capitalism work. Things just don't happen without there being a profit in it, somewhere, or somehow. Or, if they do, it isn't for long. Short of true philanthropy, there has to be a profit to keep things going.
Now I know this may make me sound like a cynic; actually, I believe it makes me a realist. You always need to think about all of the things that you are actually really paying for and behave accordingly. If the place where you are having dinner has free refills on soft drinks, make sure that you have many more refills than you believe the average person could drink, or drink water at no additional cost. If you go to the "All You Can Eat Buffet," make sure that you do. If a dealer of any kind offers to throw something in you really don't need, ask them for the price without the extra and make sure they know you understand that you would have been paying for that extra something before.
The last thing I want to leave you with today are those things that are truly free. The smile from a spouse or a child when you do something nice for them; the tear that comes to the eye of a friend when you honestly show you are interested in what is happening with them. The heartfelt thank you that comes from someone with an armload of groceries that you hold the door open for. These are things that are truly free and given freely. It happens every day, but so often they go past us without as much as a passing thought. I would tell you to stop and think about them. We live in a world filled with truly nice people and sometimes we need to just slow down and listen to find this out.
Don't look for the next freebie - it is really included; look for the next selfless act that someone does for you, and recognize the true value in it.
There, I am done for the day.
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