Ask Lemmy

Society has been cowed on purpose. People dont even bat an eye when the US military kills a school full of young girls. You think they are going to do anything about surge pricing? 😆😅🤣 We are officially fucked as the lowest denominators of society drag us ALL to hell with them.

there was actually way back when it started. Initially it was like. For a cup of coffee?! People were like. Yeah but its real good coffee. See the thing is is that it was coming up during a good economic time and people had enough disposable income to treat themselves to a real good coffee before they started work and they figure if it helped them get through work well that is where all the pay for their food and lodging and everything came from. Again they had enough extra to say. Why not. I suspect we will see some big changes but who knows. I know many people that have stopped with fast food and even eating out is a rarity but somehow only wendys is going under.

I'm not outraged at Starbucks over convenience pricing because I haven't noticed it because I don't go to Starbucks.

I'm outraged because Starbucks is anti-union, anti-consumer, and donates money to an authoritarian regime.

I'm not outraged because I never plan on paying for it. I love buying things in bulk in advance, preparing my own food, much cheaper.

OP is conflating "convenience pricing" (where prices are adjusted through the day to match customer volume) vs the price of convenience.

And then using Starbucks as an example. Which is a terrible example. No one needsto go to Starbucks. We all need groceries.

“Why aren’t people outraged about…” They are, is always the answer when this question is posed here.

There is a dose of "you can make coffee at home" that makes convenience pricing at Starbucks not as big a deal than if a grocery store started that shit.

making me pay more

No, you're choosing to pay more. Make your own coffee at home. Or hell, don't drink coffee. Nobody's making you do that, either.

A slightly better example might be convenience stores in low-income areas where many people don't have access to transportation to the more affordable grocery stores. The fact that you immediately jumped to Starbucks (something many people consider a treat of sorts) as something you're forced to buy out of convenience shows how privileged you are to have this "problem".

I don't like that it's phrased as convenience pricing. They are in the fast casual service industry, everything they do is a convenience to their customer. This is price gouging, plain and simple

So....you are complaining eating out costs more than groceries + cooking yourself?

I am not outraged, but I am aware of prices because I budget. Also, sometimes you just need the nearest Tylenol or caffeine or snack to stay sane. We are all kinda in this meat grinder together so it’s perfectly understandable to me. Anyway, these days I still budget, but sometimes I’ll buy myself a fun drink or whatever on a Friday. But then on Saturday it’s right back to “discounts only”. I think that’s become a source of dopamine.

My favourite convenience pricing is at arenas and movie theaters. Conveniently you aren't supposed to bring in outside food

I do think it’s interesting that people keep going to Starbucks and such, even in a financial squeeze.

You’d think they’d tighten their belts?

My theory is they don’t look at the price too closely when they order. It’s not like gas, where you get reproducible sticker shock every time you fill up the tank and you notice when it changes quite easily.

I only get coffee from tiny local businesses who need to pay massive rents like the rest of us, if my coffee costs a little more so they can keep that business afloat then so be it. Also, they will fill my whole thermos and give me a discount for bringing in my own container.

People make the choice to buy overpriced coffee at places like Starbucks. The excuse "I'm too tired to make my own coffee" is just ridiculous.

I'd be mad about it applying to necessities like groceries.

I don't have a problem with luxury coffee or junk food costing more at busy times of day. Once people know the pattern, it will shorten wait times for people willing to pay, and drive price-sensitive customers to alternatives. It's the same phenomenon as the airport bar charging $20 for a beer, but applied to time instead of place.

Time is money.

It's not like expensive convenience has a monopoly. If you don't want to pay more, do it yourself.

Because if you don't like it, you can just not pay. Being outraged over it makes no sense at all.

If people are too tired and don't have enough time to prepare stuff at home, then that's what they should be outraged about.

I just clock my 35 hours a week with 8+ weeks of paid vacation and have plenty of time left to prepare food at home and make snarky comments to Americans online about how they should book a one-way ticket already.

I genuinely don’t understand what you mean. Are you saying that people should be outraged that coffee shops like Starbacks charge a lot more than if you brew your own coffee?

Why should anyone give a fuck? It’s not like anyone is forced to buy coffee. The alternative is to simply do it yourself so just do it.

If you appreciate the convenience of getting a coffee on the go prepared by someone then yeah, it is going to be more expensive. After all someone has to be paid to do that for you, and maintain the facilities, equipment, etc.