Posted On: Friday - August 9th 2024 5:03PM MST
In Topics: Curmudgeonry Economics Inflation Customer Care
Wow! In addition to being a "pop-up" Peak Stupidity Curmudeonry post - not one of our posts that is waiting in the wings - within 5 measly minutes, 3 of our niche topics presented themselves to us. The Zen of Stupidity, it was.
I attempted to get some reasonably healthful food at the hub airport. While avoiding Wendy's, Chick-Fil-A and all that, I came to a place I frequented a number of time ~ 6 years ago, while doing a lot of traveling through there. Mediterranean folks eat well, don't they? I could pretend it's healthful anyway, and it was so tasty. Also, they dished out a lot of grub, while getting me out of there for 8 to 9 bucks, tax included.
1) INFLATION: You know the drill here. It's difficult to avoid the accusations of cherry-picking, though we've never actually done any apples-to-apples comparison of cherry prices;-} We've had plenty of discussion of the BLS inflation "basket of goods" and more, so it's not all just random outrage. Anyway, I notice what I notice. After having enjoyed this food a number of times, I noticed the prices up $2 after a year or so and, probably worse in terms of value, the portions had gone down to 75%, maybe less, of what I'd previously enjoyed.
That was it. It had been nice while it lasted. I just came by after ~ 5 years though. Now, for that same type of meal, one isn't getting out of there for under $19 after tax. Hit me, Money Chimp: 14% average annual inflation taking into account compounding. That's off on the low side, as I didn't take the portion size decrease into account. If the quantity of food is only down by 25% (I doubt that), we get 19%!
2) COMPETENCE: This subject that we've covered for a couple of years now is called a "crisis" of competence often. I don't like that usage, as crisis has a connotation of something being temporary. Nah, it ain't.
I was not going for that $19 meal, but it didn't matter, as the place was out of half the ingredients anyway. This is a big hub airport - they are just throwing away money in rent. Customers in front of me were being told what was missing and then dropping out of the line. There was no point. This was not the fault of the one diverse lady there doing the serving and check-out duties. (Their problem was more that there was no competent old White guy running the place.) I did notice this woman's plastic badge, though. I kid you not, it said "I don't know. I just work here.". That was always supposed to be in fun, was it not? That joke does not work here anymore.
3) CASH IS KING: Well, that was nice for me, at least. I had the place to myself, seeing as how everyone had bailed. I only wanted what they did have, that healthful Mediterranean snack of a small cup of hummus and piece of pita bread, so this lady got to it. She put it on a plate.
That'd be "this many dollars"* was pretty much it, as she just pointed to the card reader without any price stated. I handed her a fiver. "No?" "It's card only." "How much is it, 3 bucks, right? Here you go." (I didn't care where the money went.) No can do. She stood firm, so there's a piece of pita bread and some hummus sitting there, or already in the trash. I've got cans of tuna fish, so ... it's all GOOD. Is it?
How can Peak Stupidity keep up with the news today, as we ran into a Trifecta of Stupidity.
* The movie Idiocracy has hundreds of lines that apply well now.
Comments:
Corrupt
Thursday - August 15th 2024 2:24PM MST
PS
I recently noticed that pints of ice cream are no longer pints… the good news is that it’s ONLY a 12.5% decrease in product… the bad news… what’s next, 12 oz. “Pints”…?
I recently noticed that pints of ice cream are no longer pints… the good news is that it’s ONLY a 12.5% decrease in product… the bad news… what’s next, 12 oz. “Pints”…?
Hail
Saturday - August 10th 2024 7:01PM MST
PS
Good points, M.
Good points, M.
M
Saturday - August 10th 2024 6:18AM MST
PS
A few points:
- the airport is certainly a government entity, or a company formed to run the place via government contract. In either case, the rent is set by the government. What's the chance the rent has doubled from its already high level? They don't want the peasants flying after all.
- the rewards/points systems are intended to lock in their customers. With IT systems that's easier because one can just make the interfaces incompatible and undocumented, but how else would you make it hard to eat somewhere else?
- waiters likely evolved from the desire to cram more tables into a place. It's hard to go to the bar, then bring your stuff back to the table, so you might as well hire people who are used to it. I suspect it's also due to food being harder to not spill; UK pubs (which tend to involve much more drink than food, they drink like fish compared to us) still tend to be served from the bar.
A few points:
- the airport is certainly a government entity, or a company formed to run the place via government contract. In either case, the rent is set by the government. What's the chance the rent has doubled from its already high level? They don't want the peasants flying after all.
- the rewards/points systems are intended to lock in their customers. With IT systems that's easier because one can just make the interfaces incompatible and undocumented, but how else would you make it hard to eat somewhere else?
- waiters likely evolved from the desire to cram more tables into a place. It's hard to go to the bar, then bring your stuff back to the table, so you might as well hire people who are used to it. I suspect it's also due to food being harder to not spill; UK pubs (which tend to involve much more drink than food, they drink like fish compared to us) still tend to be served from the bar.
Hail
Saturday - August 10th 2024 6:05AM MST
PS
Interesting to hear, Mr. Alarmist, about the decline of "waiters" being a multi-national phenomenon.
The entire restaurant-model in which a "waitstaff" dominates the experience is a strange remnant of some other era. In many cases, certainly anything on the more casual side, there is no much of any need for waiters. The custom persists with, often, little benefit. And if they are so inefficient, there really is not much of a point in having them. But mental-models tend to get locked in.
Interesting to hear, Mr. Alarmist, about the decline of "waiters" being a multi-national phenomenon.
The entire restaurant-model in which a "waitstaff" dominates the experience is a strange remnant of some other era. In many cases, certainly anything on the more casual side, there is no much of any need for waiters. The custom persists with, often, little benefit. And if they are so inefficient, there really is not much of a point in having them. But mental-models tend to get locked in.
The Alarmist
Saturday - August 10th 2024 3:49AM MST
PS
p.s. Everyone around us paid by card. We left cash in the tray, and the server didn’t complain.
p.s. Everyone around us paid by card. We left cash in the tray, and the server didn’t complain.
The Alarmist
Saturday - August 10th 2024 3:45AM MST
PS
We don’t go out much, but we went to a nice little bistro the next town over. The food was tasty, albeit in meager portions. We didn’t eat anything other than the main course (steak & frites) and drinks (Cokes), and paid €70 for the privilege. What really annoyed me was the time wasted: 5 minutes to be seated, 10 to give the drink order, 10 for the drinks to arrive, another 20 for food order to be taken, 20 more for food to arrive 20 to eat, 10 to get server’s attention to ask for check, 15 minutes for check to arrive, and a final 10 minutes for the server to collect the money. My European wife was the one to note the overall times, as this was perhaps the most egregious example of declning French competency even she had ever seen.
We don’t go out much, but we went to a nice little bistro the next town over. The food was tasty, albeit in meager portions. We didn’t eat anything other than the main course (steak & frites) and drinks (Cokes), and paid €70 for the privilege. What really annoyed me was the time wasted: 5 minutes to be seated, 10 to give the drink order, 10 for the drinks to arrive, another 20 for food order to be taken, 20 more for food to arrive 20 to eat, 10 to get server’s attention to ask for check, 15 minutes for check to arrive, and a final 10 minutes for the server to collect the money. My European wife was the one to note the overall times, as this was perhaps the most egregious example of declning French competency even she had ever seen.
Moderator
Friday - August 9th 2024 10:01PM MST
PS: That is probably more than the market price due to its airport location, but I'm comparing the very same location. (Maybe airport rent has gone way up?)
A year or 2 ago I would have said your Wendys's and such have gone up around that 50% in 10 years, but as of late, I'd say nearly double over, say 15 years. One used to get out of there with their "meal" for right near 5 bucks, maybe a tad over, and now it's around $10.
Yes, maybe some of these restaurant goers are "gamified" and enjoy keeping up with their points and/or "status". That's just not for me. I don't have the patience to keep up with any "rewards" clubs. The emails become spam quickly.
Well, as Adam Smith will probably tell us, cook your own less expensive and healthier stuff. I gotta agree.
A year or 2 ago I would have said your Wendys's and such have gone up around that 50% in 10 years, but as of late, I'd say nearly double over, say 15 years. One used to get out of there with their "meal" for right near 5 bucks, maybe a tad over, and now it's around $10.
Yes, maybe some of these restaurant goers are "gamified" and enjoy keeping up with their points and/or "status". That's just not for me. I don't have the patience to keep up with any "rewards" clubs. The emails become spam quickly.
Well, as Adam Smith will probably tell us, cook your own less expensive and healthier stuff. I gotta agree.
Hail
Friday - August 9th 2024 5:34PM MST
PS
There is one additional reason for price-rises in the 2020s in these places that is not related to the phenomenon understood as inflation, and that is: "Rewards points." Membership-systems at restaurants stores etc.
A few years ago I suddenly realized how these systems are subtly and insidiously immoral. Not (solely) because they harvest data from you and so on, but just on dollars-and-cents:
The "points" and "rewards" systems are unfair because in effect when a company starts such a system (and almost they all have them now), they have to phase-in an across-the-board price rise of, say, 15%. They use these higher revenues to then 'gamify' their members: lots of specials and deals, here and there, get blasted to "app" users to get them hooked and coming in.
The net value of those freebies and steep-discounts blasted at rewards-system members, thru their smartphone-apps, balance out to the normal market-price. The list-price, however, is +15%. The difference gets handed out to app users. Complete nonparticipators in the "app" will pay the inflated list-price but don't even get the freebies blasted at members. Cash-using people (for any or all reasons), people who are only passing through, foreign tourists, nonsmartphone-users, and others, all lose.
It actually is an immoral system. It also imposes a significant cost on the consumer even if he DOES participate fully in the "rewards" system, because it's so much more stress and time imposed on him to manage it all. These systems should be curtailed or banned, IMO.
There is one additional reason for price-rises in the 2020s in these places that is not related to the phenomenon understood as inflation, and that is: "Rewards points." Membership-systems at restaurants stores etc.
A few years ago I suddenly realized how these systems are subtly and insidiously immoral. Not (solely) because they harvest data from you and so on, but just on dollars-and-cents:
The "points" and "rewards" systems are unfair because in effect when a company starts such a system (and almost they all have them now), they have to phase-in an across-the-board price rise of, say, 15%. They use these higher revenues to then 'gamify' their members: lots of specials and deals, here and there, get blasted to "app" users to get them hooked and coming in.
The net value of those freebies and steep-discounts blasted at rewards-system members, thru their smartphone-apps, balance out to the normal market-price. The list-price, however, is +15%. The difference gets handed out to app users. Complete nonparticipators in the "app" will pay the inflated list-price but don't even get the freebies blasted at members. Cash-using people (for any or all reasons), people who are only passing through, foreign tourists, nonsmartphone-users, and others, all lose.
It actually is an immoral system. It also imposes a significant cost on the consumer even if he DOES participate fully in the "rewards" system, because it's so much more stress and time imposed on him to manage it all. These systems should be curtailed or banned, IMO.
Hail
Friday - August 9th 2024 5:29PM MST
PS
So the price of a "meal outside," at least in this case, has more than doubled since what you remember in the 2010s (easily so, adjusting for portion-size and ingredient-quality). That's a bit higher than my usual experience, which is closer to +50%.
The biggest caveat with your story is that it is an airport. Therefore it is not truly a market-price you are seeing, but a price subject to a number of distortions. (I still recall some years ago flying to a destination where there was heavy rain in the forecast and seeking to buy a cheap umbrella at the departure airport. None were being sold in that terminal--I think it was Detroit--for under $30---even rinky-dink ones; I didn't buy one). As you know a lot about airports and such, maybe you know more what some of those hidden distortions may be than the rest of us.
So the price of a "meal outside," at least in this case, has more than doubled since what you remember in the 2010s (easily so, adjusting for portion-size and ingredient-quality). That's a bit higher than my usual experience, which is closer to +50%.
The biggest caveat with your story is that it is an airport. Therefore it is not truly a market-price you are seeing, but a price subject to a number of distortions. (I still recall some years ago flying to a destination where there was heavy rain in the forecast and seeking to buy a cheap umbrella at the departure airport. None were being sold in that terminal--I think it was Detroit--for under $30---even rinky-dink ones; I didn't buy one). As you know a lot about airports and such, maybe you know more what some of those hidden distortions may be than the rest of us.
They try their best to hide it.
Speaking of things that come in pints, one big craft beer joint - I mean with a 4 page menu of bears - would call them pints when they very obviously weren't. You'd get 14 ounces of beer at most, maybe only 12 oz. The waitress wasn't interested in any kind of talk about calibration of the glasses.