The Conference Coach™

Carolyn Bradfield

Airplane travel has a lot of drawbacks.  I’m winging my way to Houston on Southwest Airlines, one of the best and most efficient carriers in the industry, reading a USA Today article on hidden airline fees.   The article states that the Government Accountability Office reported that the extra fees airlines charge are not fully disclosed to passengers making it difficult to compare the total cost of the flight.

On their morning news program, CNN also reported that in the last two years since it became a trend to charge these extra fees, the airline industry has collected a staggering $8 billion from baggage fees, preferred seat fees, and likely the hidden fees referred to in the USA article.  This has become such a lucrative practice that it has been reported that some carriers are considering fees for using the overhead luggage compartments.

The GAO is pressuring airlines to be clearer and thorough in their disclosure of these fees so passengers can understand the true cost of a flight.  I think I’m going to write the GAO and request that they engage in the same analysis of the conference calling industry.

Larger competitors try to wow companies with very low per minute rates, touting their ability to save tremendous amounts of money.  In fact, many of these rates seem to be approaching what it cost a company to make a minute of conferencing.  However, when you add back the fees, then take the total cost divided by the number of conferencing minutes, you find that the effective rate per minute to be quite high.

The effective rate per minute of a minute of conferencing begins to rise when the following conditions are in place:
•    There are minimum call charges
•    Usage patterns are such that there are some shorter calls that don’t reach the minimum call charge.
•    Participants call in and initiate a call only to have it cancelled and rescheduled for another time.
•    The average monthly usage is low and invoice fees, surcharges and minimums account for a larger portion of the bill.

Go back to the airline analogy.  Think about a family of four flying from Atlanta to Orlando.  Each person checks a bag both ways.  That adds $200 to the cost of the trip.  Then there are other fees and surcharges that tack on another 20%.  What looked to be $150 a passenger round trip ended up being $230 by the time all the fees were tacked on.

I’m not a huge fan of government oversight, but GAO bring it on in my industry.  Copper Conferencing charges one fee – the Universal Services Fee required by the Federal government.  To the rest of my peers, it’s time for full disclosure so that business customers can compare an apple to an apple.    Maybe it’s better to drop your fees and raise your rates.  It’s OK to make a reasonable profit if you are reasonable about being up front about it.

Carolyn Bradfield is the CEO of Copper Conferencing, a provider of easy-to-use audio conferencing and web conferencing communication tools. Copper also provides wrap-around services including online account, invoice and recording management. You can try Copper’s great web and audio conferencing services — no obligation. Just sign up now.