> But I'm also in a business where we don't. And the reason we don't is because hardware is involved, and so prices can vary by 2 to 3 orders of magnitude.
> In other words it takes time to gather up your requirements, which include hardware, software and crucially install and support services. From this we can generate a quote.
IOW, if the customer were afforded just a little bit of price discovery the business would tank.
Lots of companies have interactive websites where I can input all my requirements and it outputs exactly how much I'm going to pay, with no human in the loop involved.
> In other words it takes time to gather up your requirements, which include hardware, software and crucially install and support services. From this we can generate a quote.
IOW, if the customer were afforded just a little bit of price discovery the business would tank.
Lots of companies have interactive websites where I can input all my requirements and it outputs exactly how much I'm going to pay, with no human in the loop involved.