The price that creeps
A matched price isn't a kept price. I learned that as a rep, one invoice at a time.
A month after I matched a customer's price, it had crept back up.
I was a rep for one of the Big 3 at the time. This account cared about one item more than anything else on their order. The price they wanted was inside the range I was allowed to give, so I matched it. They were happy.
Then it moved. I never knew exactly why. Maybe a system update. Maybe an across-the-board increase that rolled over my override. Whatever the cause, the fix was the same: I'd catch it, set it back, and move on. The price they wanted was always available. It just didn't stay put on its own.
So I watched it. Every month, every invoice, for that one item.
In that account, the matched price didn't hold unless I kept checking it.
That was one item, for one office, with a rep watching it. A practice buys far more than one item, and nobody can watch every line by hand.
It's also why switching reps can look like savings. Sometimes the new price is a real deal. Sometimes it's a price that drifted, brought back down. Either way, the question is the same: does it hold?
What this means for your practice
- Check the price on the invoice, not the quote.
- Pick the few items you care about most and compare them on every invoice for a few months. If one moves, ask why.
- A reset can feel like a discount. Whoever your rep is, check that the price held.