What’s up with places like amusement parks and especially concert venues charging truly exorbitant prices for food and beverages? I’ve been at concert venues where a 16 oz bottle of water costs 4 or 5 bucks! Just because they have a monopoly within their confines, they think they have their own little country where they can charge whatever ridiculous price they want. “Only $8 for a cup of Budweiser? Where do I sign up?”
Also, in these places, customer service is nonexistent. It’s as if they’re trying to make the experience as unpleasant as possible. At one venue, they were seling bottled water for $4 and Sobe’s for $7. They were out of water, so everyone was standing around waiting for like 15 minutes while someone got more. In the meantime, the employee just stood there with a dumb look on her face. Now, in the customer service oriented businesses where I’ve worked, all the managers and such I know would have done something like sell the Sobes for the price of the water because of the inconvenience, in this situation. It’s not like they’re losing money selling the Sobes for $4. At another place, they insisted on pouring all the beverages into plastic cups. Now, they allow you to bring in your own empty plastic bottles or factory sealed bottles, but they wouldn’t give you the plastic bottle that you bought a drink in. WTF?
OTOH, I guess this is actually a good thing. Since I usually have the foresight to bring my own water bottle, I avoid wasting my money, so I guess that the money the venues brings in from beverage sales lowers ticket prices for me. But I’ve heard that for some concerts (like a recent Ozzfest at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center), they ban any kind of water bottle at all. So you either have to fill up on water at the fountain (which doesn’t help much because you don’t have water during the show, when you are dancing and really need it), pay idiot prices, or die of thirst. Luckily, all the shows I go to allow water bottles, but I feel sorry for those that don’t. It just really burns me!
It’s called a “tourist trap”, I believe. And you’re right… it IS like you’re off in some foreign land, controlled by a fascist dictatorship (on the other hand, a very thrilling - in the case of the better amusement parks - fascist dictatorship). Can we do anything about it? Well, you can kindly ask the management to consider lowering their prices… and include a petition of ten thousand people who’d agree. Scare the shit out of 'em.
It would help if at 2 week events, like Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, if the space for vendors wasn’t so over priced. They have to charge such exhorbitant rates to cover the cost of their space and make a profit. It pisses me off too, but I do understand in those cases.
What I really loathe are places like Great America where it is all in house, and they charge such insane prices.
In Virginia Beach I remember reading an article about price gouging at marinas for OpSail. This is a real quote from one of the marina owners: “It’s not gouging. We’re just trying to make as much money as possible.” Oh, well thanks for clearing that up then.
Oh, and another thing. At the Great Escape, an amusement park near my home, there is exactly one good water fountain in the whole park. The rest are little dribbling fountains located in giant plastic animal mouths about three feet from the ground, so anyone older than 12 years old has to hunch over uncomfortably to drink from it. I just hope no one gets dehydrated in that place.
You will never see a better example of unfettered capitalism vs. captive monopoly than at a Phish concert.
Outside the show, people set up shop in the parking lot to sell everything imaginable. Some do it professionally, others just to make money for the tour. The beer selection is the best you’ll ever see, and the vast majority go for $2 or less a bottle, or $3 for some of the more esoteric choices. There were probably no fewer than 50 people selling $2 Newcastles. (I did what I could to support them. )
Inside the venue? You could get a 20 oz. Coors Light for $7.
Ever noticed the difference b/w the in-the-park & outside-the-park prices of peanuts @ a baseball game? Frankly, 'm surprised they allow you to bring food in.
Hey, at least ECW doesn’t gouge. I went to an ECW show here in Queens, NY, and after the show they were selling stuff like shirts, caps, and tapes, each selling for about $15. I found a great 6-hr imported tape of the best of Japanese women wrestling for $10. Beer was about $2. Soda about $1.75. pretty reasonable.
They can’t afford to. If word got out that they sold Small Sodas for six bucks, they’d go under. As it is, they need to attract as many fans as possible.
If you don’t want to be gouged at a sports event, my advice to you is go to the minors. I’ve had season tickets for AAA Baseball and AHL Hockey, and I enjoy that experience much more than the Major Leagues or NHL. Lower level minor leagues are an even better deal. If you want be treated like a fan and not a cash machine, watch the big leagues on TV and go to the minors for your live action.
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