Has capitalism really gone too far this time?
A while ago BMW was copping a bit of flack for introducing a subscription service for some of the premium features in some models.
If you wanted to ‘unlock’ features like heated-seats, then you had to pay a monthly subscription.
The heating mechanism was there, all set and ready to go. You just couldn’t turn it on unless you were paying the monthly fee.
At the time it was greeted with howls of protest and ridicule. People saw it as a cheap way to bleed customers for extra cash.
But in case you haven’t been noticing, that’s just sorta how capitalism works.
But it might have been the thin end of the wedge.
Because where else can we needlessly gauge customers in the arm-hole?
How about pubs?
Pubs in the UK are about to trial “surge pricing”. Borrowing from the ride-sharing model, you will now pay more for a pint when the pub’s a bit busy.
A pint of beer might cost more during peak hours at some pubs owned by Britain’s largest pub company, which has in recent weeks adopted surge pricing.
About 800 of the 4000 pubs owned by the company, Stonegate Group, are either using “dynamic pricing,” in which prices rise at times of increased demand, or may use it in the future to help cope with higher costs for staffing and licensing requirements, Maureen Heffernan, a spokesperson for Stonegate, said this week.
Ms Heffernan said that the timing of surge pricing, in which a pint of beer would cost about 20 pence (40 cents) more, would vary by pub, but that generally prices would be higher on weekends and evenings.
Customers are obviously not impressed:
Tom Stainer, the chief executive of Campaign for Real Ale, which represents pub-goers in Britain, called the new pricing policy an “unhappy hour surge” and said it would not help bring consumers back to pubs after the pandemic dented business.
He said that pubs had historically offered communities an affordable place to gather and socialise, but that drinks had become increasingly unaffordable.
“Pubs are places where you are expected to walk in and know what you’re going to be paying for a pint, regardless of the time of day,” Mr Stainer said. “If we saw this idea spreading, I can’t see that as being something that is really going to encourage people to support their local pubs.”
Yeah but hang on. First of all, why is there an organisation representing pub-goers in the UK? Why is there no Australian Beer-drinkers Union?
(They were disbanded in the 1980s because they were too militant.)
Second, how many people have any idea how much a beer actually costs? I don’t. I wave my phone at a card reader and something goes ping. I have literally zero idea of how much money I’m handing over.
But still, the vibe is definitely off. It just feels wrong.
And surge pricing in general has been going out of favour recently:
Some companies appear to be listening to complaints from customers. AMC Entertainment, the world’s largest theatre chain, in July abandoned plans to charge more for movie seats depending on their location, which it rolled out as a test in March in New York, Illinois and Kansas.
Lyft, the ride-hailing company, might also be moving away from surge pricing. Its chief executive, David Risher, said last month during the company’s earnings call that surge pricing had meant that the company had missed out on riders who did not want to pay higher prices.
“It’s particularly bad because riders hate it with a fiery passion,” Mr Risher said. “And so we’re really trying to get rid of it.”
But what is offensive, soon becomes normal, and soon becomes treated like another piece of the furniture.
If pubs got together and pushed it, I can’t see Aussies getting too worked up about it.
Especially without the militant beer-drinkers union to stir the pot.
Surge pricing coming for Aussie pubs within the decade. My prediction.
JG.
V says
“I wave my phone at a card reader and something goes ping. I have literally zero idea of how much money I’m handing over.” – I guess, this is the central phrase of the whole article.