[fireandrain]

Well said, Celeste.

Obviously someone felt like he was being personally attacked. I think its reasonable to conduct intelligent, level-headed dialogue about regional circumstances that affect pricing. I, for one, have benefited greatly from past TGS discussions on the topic.

Yes, "times are tough" with respect to the American economy as a whole. As...a whole. The fact is times are not equally tough in all markets. For instance, in my market, the only cut-backs my clients are making is deciding to vacation in Europe this year instead of trekking in Africa. These clients are working in industries that have been getting rich in these lean times. I have two clients who are pharmaceutical CFO'S, another dozen that are corporate lawyers, and a new one just yesterday, that is a professional football player. I guess what Im getting at is what many folks have said in the past.

Where your positioned in the market has EVERYTHING to do with pricing.

If I offered to lower my price to one of my clients who was on the fence about a prospective project, I'm certain that I would never hear from him again. Certain of it. Thats just my market. Okay, perhaps Charlie was pushing it a bit to call such practices "sleazy", but I think he was trying to make a point. A valuable one, in my opinion. Im certain that the clients in my market would interpret such a pricing technique as pretty unprofessional and indicative that I may have been fishing for "the most I could get" when I originally quoted their project.

In the infamous and soon to be patented words of Rod, "just my .02."