Yesterday I fell foul of dodgy smallprint. It didn’t cost me much, but I learned from the mistake. More importantly however, I’ve written a letter to the company concerned, in the hope that they will correct their dishonest ways. Now, here at the Church of Scientology we have a lot of administrative policies and principles written by L. Ron Hubbard, which are not just applicable to a Church of Scientology but to most any organisation you could think of.
When I am conned into an unethical scheme by misleading smallprint or offers that seem too good to be true, and are, I think of the purpose of a business. The purpose of a business must include some form of service, either the provision of an intangible service such as financial advice or marketing, or the serving of goods, as in retail or wholesale. Service must be the watchword. And the final product must be exchangeable and must be exchanged with the customer.
So then there’s these four conditions of exchange that Hubbard writes of:
- First consider a group which takes in money but does not deliver anything in exchange. This is called rip-off. It is the “exchange” condition of robbers, tax men, governments and other criminal elements.
- Second is the condition of partial exchange. The group takes in orders or money for goods and then delivers part of it or a corrupted version of what was ordered. This is called short-changing or “running into debt” in that more and more is owed, in service or goods, by the group.
- The third condition is the exchange known, legally and in business practice, as “fair exchange.” One takes in orders and money and delivers exactly what has been ordered. Most successful businesses and activities work on the basis of “fair exchange.”
- Ghe fourth condition of exchange is not common but could be called exchange in abundance. Here one does not give two for one or free service but gives something more valuable than money was received for. Example: The group has diamonds for sale; an average diamond is ordered; the group delivers a blue-white diamond above average. Also it delivers it promptly and with courtesy.
—L. Ron Hubbard, September 1982
So there you have it. Strive for exchange condition four and you’ll reap the rewards in terms of continued custom, goodwill and positive repute for your business, organisation or activity.
And read the small print if you’re a customer, especially where trials and offers are concerned.