fees as well as dispensing fees for products.

Although in many ways my fees are determined by OHIP and the College, these are also based on my knowledge/experience/expertise and the modern equipment and office i use. Those are similar to what Bryan intrinsically offers - his shop is nice and clean, and he does good work so he charges accordingly.

The way I see it, IT is a service centre which also provides parts as a convenience to its clients. If i just wanted the cheapest parts, there would always be someone somewhere who could beat the price. However, sometimes I don't have the time or energy to save $5, so I'd gladly use IT in that case.

My practice is similar in some regards. If people need contacts or glasses they could easily go to Wal-mart or Hakim to save a few $$$. But most of my patients will have me examine their eyes first and be properly measured and fitted. I set my fees high enough so that it is fair to them and myself, and I don't worry if people choose to use Wal-mart afterwards. Interestingly enough however, the vast majority of my patients order their contacts and glasses through my office, b/c they know the prices are still competitive(actually regulated by OHIP and the College), but also they know that it is done right the first time which is peace of mind.

My suggestion is to charge accordingly for the service side whatever you are worth. Don't sweat for profits on parts, just set your prices and people will use you if it is fair b/c they trust you. For people with their own parts, you can also charge a set surcharge similar to restaurants with their "corkage" fee. That seems to make sense.

BTW I did not mind spending a couple hundred extra for my suspension install, b/c I knew Bryan would do it right the first time and I didn't have to lose sleep knowing my car would fall apart afterwards. Could I have saved $$$ elsewhere? of course. But it wasn't worth the potential for problems to me. Now, if he charged me extra b/c it was my own parts, I would have gone somewhere else.

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