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Beyond value for money: lessons from a broken-down car
Economic transactions like purchases are often treated as exchanges: you pay someone money and get goods or services in return. But is the only thing that matters that the benefit outweighs the cost — that you get value for money?
I drive an old car. That is to say, for the last four weeks, I didn’t drive anything at all: the car had developed a fault, and was off the road during that time. At the end of that period, the fault was identified and repaired, and my car was mobile again. Yes, it had taken a long time, and the repair was pricey, but I got what I needed in the end. All’s well that ends well?
A journey through unnecessary uncertainty
Not quite. If, when the car was towed into the dealership, I had been told that the whole process would take nearly a month, I might have huffed and puffed and rolled my eyes, but I would have had something that had been all too scarce for most of those four weeks: information. This is an underestimated aspect of interaction — commercial or other. Information allows us to make decisions and choices — even if it is not absolutely uncertain. It has instrumental value. In addition…
