Curing Sick Shops

"We decided we were tired of doing that [audit], and we did a full-blown inquiry into our price process instead," Richards explains. "And we found that we were 30 to 35 percent lower cost than outsourcing. That was maybe four or five years ago, and they haven't bothered us since."

Richards admits he was concerned about the inquiry's outcome when he started the process. He worried he might lose his job.