Our Competitor’s Fees Have Gone Up – Here’s Why

Gilmore Services is a family-owned company and we do business the "old-fashioned way". A lot of businesses say that, but we do it. Here’s what we mean by old-fashioned:

• We don’t make promises we can’t keep
• We offer personalized service and don’t hide behind our website
• We don’t tack on sneaky surprise surcharges onto your bill

That last point is one that’s been in the news recently in 2019. One of the large national shredding companies recently added a new surcharge that can increase its’ clients bills by 12% or more.That is in addition to existing surcharges and ancillary charges. Here’s what you need to know about it.

The Recycling Recovery Surcharge

Surcharges are surprise charges in many cases. If you’ve ever rented a car or a hotel room, you know how quickly they can add up. It’s how a room you think you’re paying $200 a night for, ends up costing you more than $500 for a weekend.

We were surprised recently to read a story about one of the national shredding companies stating that they’d be charging their clients a “recycling recovery surcharge” for their services.

What does that mean? In short, it means that there are some increased costs associated with document destruction that the company is passing on to its clients. Their press release said that the new surcharge would “help offset the ongoing headwinds created by the declining recycled paper prices.”

Every business incurs expenses and sometimes those expenses are passed on to their clients. That’s not new. But frankly, we’re tired of hearing about national companies that sign you up for a 5-year contract and then add multiple surcharges that increase your cost by as much as 25% a month.

If you’re currently under contract with a big national document destruction company, take a few minutes to review your invoice. The chances are good that you’re being charged far more than the amount in you originally agreed on – and it’s because of surcharges and ancillary fees.

Our issue – as you may have guessed – is that we think surcharges are often just a way for companies to increase their prices while still offering clients a low initial price that sounds appealing. They entice businesses to sign up for their services while not revealing the full monthly and annual cost of the contract.

Why Gilmore Services is Different

Gilmore Services isn’t a big national shredding companies that has to answer to shareholders. We can’t operate on the same economies of scale as they do. But that’s not the only way we differ.

We pride ourselves on doing business the way my father and grandfather did since we were founded back in 1955. The family still runs the business today and we still stick to what my father taught my brother and I.

That means that if you call our offices, we’ll have an account manager come see you. We’ll sit down with you, face-to-face, and explain what we do, how we do it, and how much it costs. We won’t add any hidden or surprise surcharges to your bill. 

Our shredding and document management customers aren’t just numbers to us. They’re valued clients and we appreciate each one. In fact, we consider them to be part of the Gilmore Services family. We get to know our clients on a personal level. In other words, we care about you as much as we care about doing our jobs. 

When you entrust your valuable documents and data to us, we take the responsibility seriously. As our tag line says, we do it all for you!

Conclusion

The big national shredding companies might be okay with adding surprise surcharges to their bills, but that’s not the way we do business at Gilmore Services. We think there’s something to be said for honesty and transparency – and that’s how we’ve been doing business since 1955.

Ready to give Gilmore Services a try? Click here to read more about our document shredding services now!