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"NHS discount"

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I certainly feel as if it's expected by a lot of people that contact us. It's the first thing they ask (either on the phone, website or email). I have the same reaction to anyone whose first question is "What discount can you give me?". It gets my back up. Maybe because we designed the product, it's to a certain extent a little too personal.

We have total discretion to do whatever we want. I've sent people free items on their order because they seemed polite and genuinely interested. I've also had a cancer patient be one of the nastiest clients ever and try to use it as an emotional bargaining chip.

Our blanket rule is we don't discount. I thought the point about end of line offer is a very valid one, however I worry that if we did that we'd get loads of requests for discounts on stuff we just won't discount along the lines of "you discounted that, why not this", and that would take up a lot of our staff's time.

We'll carry on with the giveaways on Instagram and little bits and pieces there for people.

I used to work for a company that interacted a lot with NHS staff, so went to the RCN conference a few times. Never seen so many people keen to grab pointless freebies (lanyards in particular!).
 
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What I’ve found in the past is that people who ask for a bit of discount don’t like it up ‘em when I ask if they’d actually like to pay a bit more for the item than it’s stated price.

Works every time!
 
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Guy Incognito said:
Had a huge surge in people asking for this recently. We - politely - tell them that we don't do that, our prices are our prices and from a business point of view we can't go offering a discount to potentially 1.2 million people.

Are we being harsh?
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In my view, no.
In my better half's view, also no. I asked for her view when she called earlier this afternoon for a chat during a break from her ward duties.
 
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Come on - of course you can ‘if’ you wanted offer something to the NHS even if you made up something especially at the moment, it would actually be more beneficial to you overall in regards to a wider audience and your brand perception.

There is more to good business practice than being heartless, ruthless and purely profit focused.

Loosen up and give something back especially as from your posts on here you apprantly have more than most.
 
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Good points. As I've said, we do NHS specific giveaways at the moment on our Instagram. I feel more comfortable doing this then discounting.
 
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The idea of giving NHS nurses who work in Covid 19 wards is a heart warming idea.

But how do you differentiate those from the vast majority who come in, do a days work either on a completely different ward or even sitting behind a desk.

My doctors surgery has never been so quiet and some of the staff have been furloughed. Do they as NHS staff qualify as well?

Undoubtedly some nurses do risk their health but so do care home workers and many more.

If you want to give NHS discount then that’s admirable but be prepared to be taken advantage of.
 
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James Johnson said:
There is more to good business practice than being heartless, ruthless and purely profit focused.

Loosen up and give something back especially as from your posts on here you apprantly have more than most.
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Wow! Not for one second would I describe he OP as the above for declining to discount his goods. It's his business model and I am sure he has good reason for this. As discussed in this thread, showing discounts for certain sectors can have adverse affects. Student only discounts are often 10% across a wide range of goods and services and clearly show to others they have plenty of profit to sell cheaper if they please. The Blue Light tends to be a bit more discreet so hides this away a little.
 
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Guy Incognito said:
Had a huge surge in people asking for this recently. We - politely - tell them that we don't do that, our prices are our prices and from a business point of view we can't go offering a discount to potentially 1.2 million people.

Are we being harsh?
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Harsh no but that isn't the point. With a workforce of 1.2m you have a captive market for your products if you join one of the NHS discount schemes. You may give away 10% from your standard pricing but you should more than make up for that with increased volumes
 
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Nurses are expected to treat Covid-19 patients without adequate PPE, putting their lives at risk.

Would you be prepared to do that?

Over 100 front line workers have died due to being infected in the past month.
 
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atmosbob said:
"No, it's up to you. However, it would be nice (and not bad for advertising either) to offer a discount at this time, as we're living in unprecedented times and they're doing amazing work.

Alison Moore - Easify UK Stock Control Software"

How many NHS nurses need a discount on stock control software?
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Alison didn't say they're offering a discount themselves, just that it's a good thing to do but more importantly that it's up to the business owner.

Obviously it depends on each individual business and its current situation which is why a blanket response suggesting any business owner not offering a discount is some kind of evil monster is daft.
 
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I didn't mean to start something so contentious! It's very interesting to read the variety of responses. Thanks to everyone.

There would of course be administrative costs with a set discount (we'd either need to add something on the website, or do some post sale verification of sorts). I'm assuming those would be relatively substantial.

We've given away over £2,000 of product to NHS staff recently so I think that will be the route to carry along.

Of course, there is also the argument that the business is already paying significant amounts of tax, NI etc
 
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Guy Incognito said:
We've given away over £2,000 of product to NHS staff recently so I think that will be the route to carry along.
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But that's irrelevant because if you don't offer a discount to NHS staff that must mean you don't like nurses or the NHS. Loosen up and offer a discount!!
 
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MY OFFICE IN CHINA said:
Evil monster?

That's a daft quote!
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There seems to a bit of a trend for companies to offer discounts, have thank you posters in the window and so on. Is it because they are really caring or is it just a bandwagon to jump upon.

The number of local estate agents, for example, with windows adorned with 'thank you' posters is something I find quite hypocritical.
 
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FWIW I wouldn't offer a carte blanche discount either, especially if it means compromising your business model. I get the whole thing about rewarding front line workers, but how do you differentiate between types of NHS workers? Should the admin worker qualify for the same discount as the intensive care nurse? Probably not but a carte blanche discount scheme would allow that.

If it were me, I would think about setting aside a fixed sum each month with which you can do something special for your local trust. That could be replanting a garden, equipping a coffee room, anything really that benefits their working environment in a direct manner. If you were so inclined, you could get the local rag involved and put some marketing spin on it.

For me, it's not about the money you give away, it's about not compromising your own business model.

Mister B
 
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Mister B said:
I get the whole thing about rewarding front line workers, but how do you differentiate between types of NHS workers? Should the admin worker qualify for the same discount as the intensive care nurse? Probably not but a carte blanche discount scheme would allow that.
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I don't think that you do "get the whole thing" as it really has nothing to do with rewarding front line workers but it's a way of getting a potential 1.2m customers just as those offering discounts to police are only after 126,000 police customers or the 146,000 in the armed forces
 
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I know that the surgeon a few doors down from me doesn't need a discount but he does appreciate the feedback of the Thursday clap.

What he would much prefer is for the hospital trust to provide a lot more of those little things that help morale.
 
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Ian J said:
I don't think that you do "get the whole thing" as it really has nothing to do with rewarding front line workers but it's a way of getting a potential 1.2m customers just as those offering discounts to police are only after 126,000 police customers or the 146,000 in the armed forces
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The thread is not about whether it makes good business sense. It's about whether a business owner is being "harsh" (i.e. whether it's right or wrong) to not offer a discount to NHS staff.

In the context of COVID-19 the question is definitely about rewarding front line workers and in particular whether it's morally acceptable for a business owner not to do this in the form of a discount at the point of purchase (despite there being numerous other ways to practice philanthropy).
 
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arnydnxluk said:
The thread is not about whether it makes good business sense. It's about whether a business owner is being "harsh" (i.e. whether it's right or wrong) to not offer a discount to NHS staff.
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Apologies for mentioning business in the General Business Forum on UK Business Forums
 
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Ian J said:
Apologies for mentioning business in the General Business Forum on UK Business Forums
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Feel free to post, it's just not directly relevant to the question being discussed. It's a valid reason to offer an NHS discount but shouldn't be confused with the question of whether it's "harsh" for someone to decide not to offer an NHS discount. More importantly, it's clear from @Mister B 's post that he does "get the whole thing" but chooses to place his philanthropic efforts elsewhere. An NHS discount does not make sense for every business so I'm not sure how you can possibly come to the conclusion that offering an NHS discount means a possible 1.2m extra customers for someone else's business? No doubt Mister B knows his own business better than you do. If Mister B is selling helicopters does an NHS discount mean 1.2 million extra customers?
 
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arnydnxluk said:
Feel free to post, it's just not directly relevant to the question being discussed. It's a valid reason to offer an NHS discount but shouldn't be confused with the question of whether it's "harsh" for someone to decide not to offer an NHS discount. More importantly, it's clear from @Mister B 's post that he does "get the whole thing" but chooses to place his philanthropic efforts elsewhere. An NHS discount does not make sense for every business so I'm not sure how you can possibly come to the conclusion that offering an NHS discount means a possible 1.2m extra customers for someone else's business? No doubt Mister B knows his own business better than you do. If Mister B is selling helicopters does an NHS discount mean 1.2 million extra customers?
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Are you Cobby in disguise?
 
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2020Lawyer2020 said:
1.4 million of them and actually in the UK they are hugely lucky - they have wages coming in, they have jobs. It is the new 1+m unemployed and those who fall through all the cracks with no furlough, no self employed money, no universal credit who are much more deserving.
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I agree that people who have lost their jobs are struggling. It is a sad time for all and many are struggling financially. I am not quite sure who you are referring to as not being eligible for being furlonged, for receiving self employment or universal credit...which group are they?

I wouldn't call frontline NHS workers lucky. They are risking their lives for us every day and sadly over 200 have died. Quite a few NHS workers are having to pay for second rents as they can't live at home as they are putting their families at risk so are struggling financially too.
 
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Ian J said:
Someone who loves arguing and if he can't find someone on the forum to argue with probably goes home and argues with himself in the mirror
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Well I'm not "Cobby" and I'm really sorry he's bothered you enough to bring him up here. You must surely expect more than one person to disagree with you in the world? It would seem you're the one who's derailed the thread from the debate because you fancy an argument - perhaps you are in fact Cobby? Will the real Cobby please stand up!

I rarely bother with this sort of thread but happen to have posted in two recently. I should have unsubscribed from this thread after making my first post but found some comments to be quite ignorant, particularly the one comparing those not offering a discount to not "liking" nurses or the NHS in general, and the one about those not offering a discount needing to "loosen up". There are numerous ways to show appreciation for the NHS, for example the OP has done social media giveaways but I guess that's not satisfactory for some!

Anyway, when a thread becomes meta it's definitely time unsubscribe. I suggest you do the same if you have nothing constructive to add to the debate.
 
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No, luckily I don't have to read any messages from customers anymore but back when I did I'd tell them some reason as to why we can't discount and if they didn't drop it they'd go on block. As soon as they ask for a discount you know the chances of them being a customer who would leave you bad reviews all over the internet is 5x higher.
 
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dan19900 said:
No, luckily I don't have to read any messages from customers anymore but back when I did I'd tell them some reason as to why we can't discount and if they didn't drop it they'd go on block. As soon as they ask for a discount you know the chances of them being a customer who would leave you bad reviews all over the internet is 5x higher.
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That's a whole different subject...

Clients having a go because deliveries take a day longer than usual and blame us (always using the "my contract is with you, not the delivery company" phrase), and then want some money off.

Of course I realise that technically they are correct and the business picks the courier, but we've fulfilled our end of the bargain by getting to the courier. Unfortunately, especially at the moment, things can be delayed by a day or so due to extenuating circumstances. We can't claim anything from the courier, yet the client wants some money off.

The overwhelming majority are fabulous, but there are some absolute weapons grade morons out there. Don't want their business, not worth the hassle.
 
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