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Fight Back Against Gender Pricing
FIGHT BACK! BY DAVID HOROWITZ
Fight Back Against Gender Pricing
National surveys show that women pay more than men for a wide
variety of goods and services -- on average, they pay 27 percent more
for dry cleaning and $875 more for a new car. But women are learning
they don't have to pay a premium for goods and services that are not
connected to gender.
In some cases, retailers say there are reasons for
differential gender pricing. Dry cleaning and laundry, for example.
Dry cleaners have told me that women's clothes are generally more
expensive to clean than men's because they require more hand
finishing. Men's shirts can be pressed and folded by machine, whereas
women's blouses don't usually fit those shirt forms and may have more
decorative collars and trim that have to be pressed by hand. The same
with skirts compared to slacks. A skirt my have layers of pleats,
which are more time consuming to finish than a plain garment.
But faced with questions of discriminatory pricing, many
cleaners are changing the way they price their services. Instead of
charging more for women's garments across the board, they are
examining each garment and charging according to what that piece will
cost to clean.
Haircuts are another source of irritation. Why do women's cuts
cost more than men's? The old answer was that women's longer hair took
more time to cut and style than men's shorter hair. Looked around
lately? Women's hair styles are shorter; men's are longer. So that old
argument simply doesn't hold up any longer. One California salon
learned this the hard way when a customer sued because her daughter's
haircut cost two dollars more than her son's.
There is really no excuse for charging a woman more than a man
for a new car or for auto repairs. It happens because women are
perceived as less knowledgeable about cars and more easily taken
advantage of than men. But here again, women are proving they are far
from helpless when dealing with mechanics and sales people.
Here are some guidelines:
Do your homework: If you're buying a new car, read the test
reports in Consumer Reports, The Car Book and other automotive
publications. Find out how various models are rated for price, value,
reliability and customer satisfaction.
price without a lot of runaround. If the salesperson won't give you a
straight answer, go somewhere else. If your car needs work, get more
than one estimate on the repair.
Be prepared to bargain: Most automotive sales and services are
negotiable. Don't be afraid to ask for a better price and to go
elsewhere if you believe you're being ripped- off. If you don't like
bargaining, find a dealership that advertises a bottom line, "no
dicker" sticker price on all its cars.
Be assertive: You don't have to be hostile or confrontational
to stand up for your rights. You're there to do business. Insist on
being treated in a professional, businesslike manner.
Know the law: Several states have laws against gender- based
pricing. Find out if your state is one of those.
File a complaint: If you suspect you've been defrauded or that
the retailer is violating the law, file a complaint with the
appropriate law-enforcement or consumer-protection agency. If you're
going to fight back, you don't have to do it alone. COPYRIGHT 1994
CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.
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