A: Polygraph examiners are highly trained professionals, most with college degrees, who provide a very specialized service. This service requires the examiner to purchase expensive equipment and pursue continuing education in order to maintain a high degree of proficiency. The process of asking "just one question" could take hours, due to the diagnostic process involved, so a single exam often takes an examiner an entire working day (including travel). In most cases, the polygraph is performed because there simply is no other reasonable way to get the desired information, such as when no evidence exists one way or the other, or when it is simply a "he-said-she-said" situation. For example, in a fidelity case a person might spend thousands of dollars on surveillance while the same information could be obtained for a fraction of the price with polygraph, resulting in thousands of dollars saved. The fees charged for polygraph testing are reasonable when considering the cost of training and equipment, degree of specialization and worldwide need for this unusual service.