But it's still gone [OT] Re: [FT] Robot workers

***
Sometimes it's because of unfortunate quantity break points. When I sold
plastics, a Marine air base used to buy one part from us every few months,
about $100.50 a shot including a set up charge of $100. We explained to them
that they should buy a bunch at once rather than pay the set up charge each
time, but they weren't authorized, so they bought, say, 5 individually at $505
rather than in a group at $102.50. That was the Marine Corps; the Navy did the
same sort of thing, though.
***

Ah, the blessed warm fuzzies of that word: authorized.

Ergo, Admiral Hopper's aphorism on the preference to asking forgiveness over
seeking permission.

Natch, more than a few of us here probably assume your department DID make up
a dozen or so the first time, and charged the set up fee anyway. It would also
be some kind of commentary on human nature if, amongst the rest of us, there
are those that think 'Why didn't they?'

> --- devans@uneb.edu wrote:
...
> Ah, the blessed warm fuzzies of that word:
Suppose they did and there was never another order? Do you think the military
customer would reimburse them for that expense? No! So if they take the
business risk of making more on the hope that they would get further orders
and they would make a bigger profit why should they be forced to surrender
that profit? It's up to the customer to plan ahead.

> Sometimes it's because of unfortunate quantity break points. When I

> Natch, more than a few of us here probably assume your department DID

Of course.   I explained "You can pay a set up once, or every time."
They