The other day, my wife and I went shopping for bikes. We knew we wanted "Comfort Bikes," had a price range in mind, but didn't know much else....


Neighbors had purchased from a local bike shop, and so we went there first. The shop carried a few different brands in the comfort category, and we asked the owner questions about different model options. A few times we heard him say "you don't really need that for your purpose," and we liked that approach.
On to a second bike shop, recommended by other neighbors. This one did not carry the same brands. I found something I liked. In an effort to close the sale, the owner volunteered that he would give us a nice discount for buying two bikes and would throw in kickstands. He also offered lifetime free service (I didn't think about this until later, but he probably makes that offer only to buyers in their 60s, figuring he won't have to fulfill it for too many years). We told him we weren't buying right away, and he cheerfully gave us his card and a catalog for the brand we preferred.
We start moving past the register counter out the door. I call my wife back. "Look, Consumer Reports." It's opened to the report on bikes and we scan to find the "comfort" category. The brand we have chosen is rated third; Schwinn first.
I walk back to the owner and ask about it. "Oh," says, "Consumer Reports isn't like it used to be. Schwinn just paid them to get that rating." I take that with a grain of salt. I don't subscribe to the publication, but as both a consumer and marketing guy who did some spec work for them years ago, I have great respect for the institution's integrity.
Onto the next bike shop. This one carries the same brands as the first. We ask about a discount for two bikes and he's quite willing. Then my wife asks the fatal question, "How come you don't carry Schwinn when it's rated #1 by Consumer Reports?"
"Well," says this second-generation store owner, "anybody can pay for a good rating these days. Schwinn quality isn't that good .... they mostly make their bikes for Wal-Mart and Target."
We leave, return to the first shop, ask for a discount and buy our bikes there. We ask the owner after the transaction about Schwinn.
"Good bike, of course. We don't carry it because the big stores discount it so heavily. It doesn't make sense for us."
Truth at last.
So why did the other two owners lie? Why did they besmirch one of the more reputable organizations in our country? Why did the one owner leave the issue of Consumer Reports open, then deny its authority? Maybe because after the big lies - .... WMD, Katrina responsibility, etc. - .... told to hundreds of millions of Americans, they figure these little lies don't count.
They do. Or maybe it's the decades and more of little lies about products, whether those lies were advertiser or seller-generated, that permitted the big lies.
Is nothing sacred? Here's a profane thought: suppose we as marketers stop lying. What happens?