Are we pricing ourselves into madness?
I recently travelled between Ireland and the US from Shannon Airport. I had an early morning flight and once I arrived at the airport, checked in my bags and headed to the café for a quick bite to eat before going through security. Now, I have had bad experiences in this café in the past. Some of you may remember, that on a previous occasion for lunch there, I wasn’t allowed to choose my vegetables for my lunch from the selection available because THEY decided for you! This time round, I thought I’d play it safe and had a super-health breakfast: One mini innocent smoothie, one Actimel and a small bowl of fruit.
The cost of this? €5?, €6? Or even €7?. Not even close. The total for this tiny breakfast was €12.50! (that’s close to $18!)
STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING RIGHT NOW TO CONSIDER THIS!!! Ireland is going through it’s biggest economic downturn in decades due to over-inflated prices, greed and a lost knowledge of the difference between cost and value and here we are in Shannon Airport, the first stop for thousands of tourists coming in to Ireland for the first time and this is the robbery they are subjected to. Tourist numbers in 2008 experienced their first decline in years with many claiming Ireland was overpriced. Is it any wonder?
Shannon Airport and whoever it is runs the café there needs to get serious. They need to wake up and realise that having the monopoly over food service in an airport is not a license to rob people. With most customers passing through the airport only once in a while, no doubt the café thinks they can get away without the repeat business. Well I say that they can’t. Sharp practices like this need to be stamped out once and for all.
If Ireland and the rest of the world is going to climb its way out of this recession, they need to start being competitive and pricing in a manner that stimulates spending and growth, not stifles it. Increasing your prices is NOT the way out of a recession.
I'm Barry Chandler and I'm The Bar Blogger. I've been involved in the bar and hospitality industry for 16 years. From Bartender to Bar Manager and from Food & Beverage Controller to Small Business Owner, I have worked with more than 500 bars in the last five years to help them streamline their costs and run a more profitable business and more than 800 bars and clubs use my Management Toolkit which can be accessed at ManageYourBar.com.
Thank you very much for this wonderful post.
Hi there,
http://www.thebarblogger.com – da best. Keep it going!
Thank you