Playing the Numbers (PN)
Painting by the Numbers (PBN)

PN: Counting on heavy consumer traffic to ferret out undiscerning customers by offering them low value while taking a high profit. For example, using blanket advertising that saturates media such as papers, phone books, radio and television. A predictable number of the people who respond to the ads will be "marks." These are person who are naive, elderly, inexperienced and sometimes greedy. The response easily to verbal persuasion, pseudo logic and the appearance of people and the business place. These people can be spotted by doing the math. If the small businesses advertising is forty thousand dollars a year, and it is the local electrical contractor, the forty thousand dollars must be made up in the prices charged. Since electricians charge between sixty dollars and one hundred and fifty an hour there is little profit in straight by the hour billing to make up for the advertising. The money comes from a variety of manipulations and devious practices. It is difficult to tell the difference between a legitimate business and a shady one. If the work is of value, and the service overall is good, it is a legitimate business. If the work is shoddy, over budget, poorly executed and aesthetically unpleasing this is the mark of unethical business practices (radical optimization). A good business does not need to spend immense amounts of money on advertising. What is key to a small businesses health is word of mouth referrals. The fact so many businesses survive and flourish this way says something about their business.

Painting by the Numbers (PBN): Not knowing exactly how to do a task but copying the behaviors of others in the profession. In the construction industry there are many tradesmen who are painting by the numbers. For years they have watched other craftsmen do their job. This works fine for a while but when a complicated problem arises the PBN employee begins to improvise a solution that may be a dangerous construction practice or a practice prone to failure later on. An example of PBN can be seen in the construction practices of general contractors who do all the specialty work themselves instead of subcontracting out the work. Here, one might find them trying to save money by wiring a house themselves. It looks simple to the general contractor but more complex than it might seem. Since the general does not know how to calculate the size of wires to be placed in the walls they tend to pick the larger sizes of wires. This crowds junction boxes where the switches are beyond their intended use. Since they do not know the mathematics of matching wire sizes to cubic inches of space in a junction box they degrade the wiring job. Since they cannot calculate money is unnecessarily wasted in the wiring of a house. When working on remodeling job they may have their technique down until it comes to interfacing old wiring to new wiring systems. Since they do not have a comprehensive grasp of wiring they do not understand the need for using the many small parts and fitting that are required to safely wire a house. The value of their work, thus, tends to be less than the value of work an electrical contractor would provide professional work,in addition to safely wiring the house. While the general contractor may advertise themselves as the best in town, the fact is that their lack of experience and knowledge produces a product of diluted value. The homeowner is expecting a fully professional job but they do not get it.

Constructive Taking
Pressure Tactics
Deception
Poor Service