Ethics - selecting the lender by his rate

Consumers don't know how to seek a home loan, so they often go about it in exactly the wrong way.  Calling a half dozen lenders, spreadsheet at hand, and asking the most important questions: "What's your best rate and lowest fee?"  So, what's wrong with this?  The consumer is most likely to select the lender who's the biggest (and best) LIAR.  Any experienced, ethical, and knowledgeable loan officer knows to only work at a company that's got competitive loans.  But, they also need a knowledgeable support staff that's of adequate size to support loan volumes.  And they know that there must be adequate profit to support the operations and still provide good loan terms.