We pay for various assets and services now and then. In all these cases, we assume and trust that we are charged reasonably. No doubt many of the business people charge reasonably as they know we would find out about the real cost eventually. Nevetheless, some are extremely greedy and charge us ridiculously high prices.

However, in the service industry such as for private hospitals, motor mechanics, hotel services, etc the chances of being overcharged are higher. The reason being that in the service industry, manpower cost is the primary cost.

Each and every manpower cost varies depending on the level of study required, expertise, experience, the demand for such individuals and the manpower hours involved.

If we look at the motor mechanic, the cost for the same repair work varies from one workshop to the other. Cheaper costs do not mean a lower quality work and a higher cost does not mean a better quality work. It looks like a gamble for us to strike it right.

Quite often we come across one defect leading to several other defects, all, of course, according to the mechanic. Whether this is genuine or a hoax and how much it will cost to repair only the mechanic knows as we know very little about motor repair.

Quite often, we notice the motor mechanic feeling uneasy if we are around when he carries out repair work on our vehicle. He would normally ask us to go for a drink at the nearby coffee shop. This is to ensure that the actual time taken to repair the vehicle is not known to us. Besides that, the genuine repair work done to our vehicle would also remain unknown.

Another service-based institution is the private hospital. Of late, several private hospitals have been established with huge investment capital and a good mixture of medical officers, specialists and other medical professionals. This shows Malaysia has advanced and that Malaysians can afford to pay for their medical expenses even if it costs more.

However, I am quite at a loss as to how these hospitals’ fee are computed. Of course, the government authority would have set certain guidelines. However, there are some grey areas in the cost of operation and for this they say it normally varies between one patient and another. Furthermore, the cost of a certain operation too could also vary between patients.

There are also other service industries ie, hotels and professional services where their charges, too, cannot be materially substantiated.

In cases of this sort, we are but at the mercy of the service provider to charge us a reasonable fee.