There’s a cafe near my house which I like to frequent. It has excellent food and a nice atmosphere, though it is a bit spendy.
Recently, a banner was put up outside the cafe which stated that students and faculty of the nearby university would receive a 20% discount on meals.
I thought nothing of it until the next time I considered going there for lunch. Then I started to think “wait a minute, not being a student or faculty of said university, I’m being asked to subsidize those who are. So now I feel as if I’ll be paying a penalty to eat there.”
I understand that the cafe is actively trying to increase their business, and I’d like to see them prosper. But I also think they would be better served by offering a somewhat smaller discount to everyone. Otherwise it’s like the thought process is “yes, you’re a regular customer, but we’re going to charge you more anyway.”
To me this kind of like the senior discount at a lot of restaurants; I used to work at Friday’s, and we had senior discounts on nonalcholic beverages…some places go a lot further, with a whole “senior menu.” Now, granted, the senior menu at Denny’s, etc., is for smaller portions, so that makes sense, but what about the coffee at Friday’s? C’mon, it’s the same size cup.
I do see your point; it does seem unfair to make everybody else pay more, simply because they’re not in the “preferred customer base,” but this kind of thing goes on everywhere…ladies night at bars, military discounts, cop-in-uniform discounts, etc., etc.
If I were you, and this really bothered you, you’ve got nothing to lose by contacting the manager, as Violet mentioned. I live in San Antonio, with five military bases, and the bar/restaurant I work at does not offer a military discount…but my boss will give you one anyway if you ask for it with an active military ID. Just b/c he doesn’t want to deal with saying “No.” (This seems counterproductive to me, and extremely unfair–penalizing those who don’t have the nerve to ask by making them pay for full price, while rewarding those who do–but shrug it ain’t my call.)
The senior discount thing I understand, as the recipient has thoeretically made decades of contribution to society in general, and may be forced to live on a small fixed income due to the limitations conceivably imposed by aging.
Please note that this isn’t a huge deal to me in any way, I just wondered if others saw my thoughts on the matter as being irrational.
I feel a little bit differently about this, but maybe because I’m a student.
I like to think, perhaps naively, that giving some (students, seniors, whomever) a discount doesn’t penalize the rest. Rather, the restaurant (or whichever establishment) chooses to make less profit on those meals in favor of selling them at all. I doubt the restaurant would take a cut (i.e., sell the meals for less than their market values), so you don’t need to subsidize any loss, I suspect the restaurant just isn’t netting as much as it might otherwise.
I have no problem with senior discounts, because I understand they don’t have a lot to live on. (It doesn’t matter to me whether they, hypothetically, have contributed to society in previous decades.) I support student discounts for the same reason – they don’t have a lot to live on. And, hypothetically, they will contribute to society in future decades.
StephenG, I agree totally with your post. The faculty discount is a bit more confusing, though. Could be that the restaurant in question is trying to compete with on-campus facilities which are usually cheaper (crappier food too, but that’s a different thread).
I used to think it was wrong to give discounts to seniors, when I was younger and my parents were getting a discount. I now qualify and do not really need the discount to be able to live (neither did my parents). My wife and I both take advantage of any senior discount offered with no apologies. I guess that now I feel I’ve earned it. Either that or I’d be a damned fool not to take advantage of it.
Often, I will only go to a certain cafe or whatever because there is a student discount.
It’s an economic strategy called price discrimination, where you charge as much as a person will pay. People with full time jobs generally have more disposable money than students, who usually have part time jobs.
Therefore, students will not pay as much for a meal (or whatever). If there is no discount, they won’t go there because it costs too much. As long as the place is making some money on your meal, it’s better than if you are not there at all. (Whereas, you already go to the restaurant, why would they give you a discount?) Catering for a different market.
You’re not subsidising their meal. The prices for everyone else haven’t gone up have they? It’s just giving more people the opportunity to have a meal out.
Besides, maybe you were a student once. Did you enjoy student discounts? The students now will graduate and pay full price. It’s all circular.
snort Where did you get that idea? Businesses aren’t charities, they don’t offer discounts so that more people can “afford” their wares. Seniors, contrary to your beliefs, have more disposable income than any other demographic group. The senior discounts are devised so as to entice those seniors to spend some of those megabucks in their store instead of their competitor down the street.
If discounts were given for charitable reasons, you would be seeing single parent discounts.
The discounts are offered to those connected to the university becuase they want to entince those bucks.
Well, if you are irrational, I am, too. I don’t like seeing discounts that I can’t use. Senior discounts are ok with me, probably just because I am used to them. But otherwise, they seem unfair to me. On the other hand, I love coupons, specials, etc. which do seem fair because anyone can benefit, as long as they are willing to clip the coupon, buy the discount book, join the grocery club, whatever. I probably wouldn’t go so far as to abandon a favorite restaurant, but I wouldn’t particularly like it if someone offered a deal I couldn’t benefit from, and it might make me more likely to try other places.
Where did I get that idea? Extensive personal experience. I know many older people, family and friends, who don’t have a lot to live on. Who exist off of their meagre income from Social Security. In fact, the first link I found for disposable income by age confirms this: http://www.esribis.com/onlinereports/downloads/dispinc.pdf Their source is the 2000 US Census.
No, businesses aren’t charities – they’re out to make a profit. And they’ll make more of a profit by selling a product at a lower price (than their usual price) but which is still higher than their original cost than they will by not selling the product, at their original price, because the potential buyer couldn’t afford the higher price. Sure, it’s an enticement … so that clients (students, seniors, whoever) will eat at their restaurant – instead of choosing the still cheaper option of eating at home.
(Didn’t see that before!)