ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT
Portable Sanitation Association International News
BIWEEKLY EDITION JANUARY 20, 2021
Page 15
What to Do about Competitors Who Don't Play Nice…continued from page 2
Just because you can do something in business doesn't mean
you should do it, as the saying goes.
Laws against monopolization are generally violated only if
Company X tries to maintain or acquire a monopoly through
"unreasonable methods." For the courts, a key factor in
determining what is unreasonable is whether the practice
has a "legitimate business justification" beyond harming the
competition. Over the years, courts have written a variety of
opinions regarding the line between legitimate justification
and harm to another's business. This means there is really no
easy way to define the difference. It is often in the eye of the
beholder—that is, the judge on the case.
Sometimes we hear the bargain basement prices Company X might be
charging are coupled with other "bad behavior" such as sales reps from
Company X going onto a customer's job sites and misleading the customer
by saying your company is disposing illegally or going out of business in
an effort to sign the customer. When this sort of thing happens, you have a
couple of options:
• Contact your attorney. While laws vary from state to state, most have
some statute covering unfair business practices that addresses acts
of fraud, misrepresentation, or oppressive and unethical practices
committed by businesses against consumers or other businesses.
• If "Company X" is a PSAI member, consider filing a Code of
Excellence complaint. All PSAI member companies must commit to
following the general precepts of our Industry Code of Excellence. Click
here to learn options for addressing your concerns.
Pricing
Members, event attendees, and social media posters
are often interested in pricing. Sometimes they want to
know things like, "What is the average monthly rental for
a construction unit?" and sometimes they want to know,
"Is it legal for my competitor to charge whatever they are
charging?" These are both legitimate questions.
Collusion, whether the point is to raise or lower prices or to
affect the competitive environment, is illegal. But you don't
have to operate in the dark. It is almost always permissible
to obtain competitor pricing through public methods. For
example, if the competitor publishes their prices on their website or a "mystery shopper" calls the competitor for
a bid, you are likely not violating the law.
Tempting though it is to have a "friendly talk" with a competitor about the damage low-ball pricing will do to
your market, is almost always unwise to talk about pricing among competitors. Whether intended or not, this can
signal that companies are colluding (in a way that affects customer prices) or otherwise harming the competitive
environment. In the past year, several chicken processing companies have learned this the hard way.
Continued on page 16
CODE OF
EXCELLENCE
Approved May 2015
Better worksites. Better weekends. Better world.
