If you are a fan of the old TV western Gunsmoke, perhaps you would recognize the saying that one of the grizzled old characters, Festus Hagen, repeated many times on that show;
"I wouldn't slam a door that hard!"
Mann's Bait Co. has been a successful business for many years, and I can assure you that nobody in business survives with a reputation of gouging its customers.
Writing to the company with any concern about their products, whether its price, quality, or anything else is commendable. A very successful client of mine once said that the best customers are the ones that bring complaints back to him, while the worst ones were those that simply left with no comment at all.
Having said that, I agree with Glenn in thinking you went a little overboard with some parts of your letter.
Maybe it was due to anger, or perhaps not having first hand knowledge of what it costs to operate a business these days. Wages for many employees have been stagnant for years, but that doesn't mean employee costs have stayed the same. The cost of employee health care has been going up 10-15% a year for at least a decade or so. "Rubber Worms" are actually made with plastic that is a by-product of petroleum. Have you seen what the price of gasoline has done lately? Of the three basic materials needed to make a worm, plastic, dye, and scent, I'm sure that plastic is by far the most used and more importantly, the most volatile. While there are lots of variables that could be included in a price increase, the simple bottom line is that a company must remain profitable while not having control of many of the costs associated with it's business.
Add several other factors that you may not have thought about. First, when was the last time that the company had a price increase? Its possible that the old price may have been sufficient several years ago when the cost of a barrell of oil cost $40, but not in today's market where that cost is double. Second, many companies set a price that must be good for at least that current year. This means that some padding needs to be put into a price increase to cover a possible jump in costs, ones that they have no control over.
Nobody likes to see the cost of the things they use rise. No business, at least the ones I deal with, wants to raise prices if they don't have to. But if I was going to leave you with one last thought, it would be to ask if you would have been as upset had they just closed their doors, laid off their employees, and forced you to find a new product all together.
BTW, I don't work for, nor am I associated with Mann's Bait Co.. I'm just a simple old accoutant that has worked with companies just like them for the last 30+ years.
