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Hey, it’s me Russ Riba… with another exciting OnHold123 Blogcast. Many of us are scammed or attempted to be scammed on the phone, in your email inbox, by mail… I thought I had seen it all until I was wet and somewhat naked in the shower… and I was scammed!

I proceeded to unwrap a bar of soap by a brand that I had used occasionally for decades. As a matter of fact, the company that produces this particular bar of soap has been making products for over 130 years. I open the package and to my dismay, what used to be a full bar or cake of soap is now a sliced up, cheapened, geometrical atrocity that is robbing money from the pockets of consumers on a global scale. You see, unopened, it takes the shape of a full bar of soap. But once you unwrap the surprise to be seen, you will notice the deeply curved slices cut out out from both the top and the bottom…enough soap is missing to make a full bar of trial size soap. And let’s not forget the amount of soap that was strategically removed to stamp in the name of the brand. The letters are deep enough to serve as a water reservoir for a quick drink following your shower! But I don’t recommend that.

I have no idea how much it costs to manufacture a bar of soap. But lets just say it costs 20 cents per bar. Lets slice out 10% of the product and save 2 cents per bar. For every million bars sold, 20 thousand dollars is saved…correct me if my math is wrong. On top of that, let’s charge more due to inflation. Look, I understand the economics, but when you change the geometrical shape of the soap and market it as a way to better grasp it, you are insulting the intelligence of the consumer. We are not that stupid… but I guess you need to save money for your corporate soap jet so you wont be late for the next National Sudsy Soap Summit where soap moguls can trade secrets on how to market a bar of soap the size of an M&M.

Regardless of your industry, give your customers more for their money… not less. You’ll gain their trust, gain more customers, and not lose the one’s that you have earned for the past 130 years. That’s a lot of soap. And to all the 130 year old’s standing naked in the shower holding your new, easy-to -grip bar of soap… you’re not mistaken… you’re not senile… it is smaller than it used to be.