CHEAP

The Downside to Cost Containment

5 pages

Cost-containment is an accounting solution for a sales problem. As sales increase in volume, expenses decline in relative importance.

By Any Other Name

Musician Frank Wakefield once told me about a neighbor who was so cheap that he’d take his kids’ glasses away when they weren’t looking at anything.

Although meant as a joke, the story serves to illustrate a growing trend in business called cost-containment – a primary focus on the reduction of the necessary expenses of operating a business. Having begun as a trend, cost containment is now approaching the status of a religion. Regardless of its lofty and sophisticated title, however, a growing number of customers see cost-containment for what it is: Being cheap.