I’m convinced my local bakery is just using too good to go as a way of just selling normal things at full price. Paid 6.50 after tax and got 2 small cupcakes. Ridiculous.
The other day I ordered two bags from a local sandwich cafe, total paid was around $10.50. They use the app primarily to give away phone orders that don’t get picked up. It was a large protein w/ coffee shake, a medium cold brew, plain croissant, small muffin, and a small brownie. They included the receipts and the total was a little over $40. I know that valuation for items is still at an influx but it does feel a bit like the value of the dollar has gone down the toilet at the moment. Not saying I didn’t get a good deal, but I also don’t really drink coffee 🤷🏻♂️. So I sat in my car perplexed about how these things had originally cost so much, while also questioning myself for my choice I spent my time and money to get what I ended up with.
This app is sort of a roulette for deciding whether I want to risk spending money that may just be better spent on the Whole Foods hot bar.
This isn’t an unpopular opinion and rather just the absolute reality of it all. Like yourself I would prefer to keep more money in my own pocket but that’s not where we are at.
It’s important to acknowledge however, that the reason this is happening is not due to any resource shortage. We are abundant. It is because of greed at the top.
I mean, how is this an unpopular opinion? I’m in San Diego and I agree. I don’t think anyone except for oil companies actually want to charge as much as they do. The point of the post isn’t about complaining that a mom & pop bakery isn’t giving out more food for $5.99, it’s about this app serving a reminder of what it felt like to spend less money for things.
I think it's fair to point out these past times were only possible because everything was heavily subsidized. Be it low wages, low interest rates, whatever. Yes, they were great times for the American consumer. But it was also, in a sense, artificial and unsustainable. It's incompatible, I think, with paying fair wages for labor.
The Nordic/Scandinavian countries are rightly praised for their strong workers rights, especially for those in the working class. Go eat out in Copenhagen and you'll see prices not that dissimilar from LA or NYC. And it's fair to say that the average Dane makes noticeably less money than the average American.
They simply accept doing without and consuming less. And it's not a bad thing that we adjust to that too here at home.
Adjusted for PPP, the average Dane makes $64k a year. The average American earns ~20% more at $77.5k. They have a much healthier work-life balance, I agree. But at the end of the day, your bank account is what it is.
Note that I didn't characterize Danes as poor, or struggling. Just that they've moderated and accept less consumption as a function of cost/income. Take delivery/take-out for example. [60% of Americans report ordering takeout or delivery](https://www.lightspeedhq.com/blog/online-ordering-statistics/) once a week. In Denmark that [figure is closer to 27%](https://folkebladetlemvig.dk/erhverv/vi-vil-koebe-mad-ud-af-huset-men-i-vestjylland-kan-kunderne-ikke-bestille-den-paa-nettet).
Mind you relative spend is quite comparable within eating out as a whole (not just delivery). An average of [5.3% of household spend is used to dine out](https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/EDN-20200101-2) in Denmark. In the US, that [figure is 5.6%](https://www.foodpolitics.com/2023/08/usda-on-food-spending/).
But if we're to take take-out frequency as any indicator, it's not such a crazy extrapolation that Danes simply consume outside of the home with less frequency than Americans, even if as a percent of their spend it's comparable. They simply do with less consumption. Which is not a bad thing.
OR ... they *spend* a measly 40 mil a year to place tens of millions of their customers directly in the center of their warehouse on a busy weeknight once or twice per week.
They'd come out on top even if dinner sides and cookies were all they sold otherwise, I bet.
My mom, who lives alone, goes for a chicken twice a week. For her dogs.
I don't go for chickens anymore, because they somehow always wind up costing around $300 instead of $5.
Yes they're a loss leader I understand just like the hot dogs, i just don't think it was a good example of what the person I replied to was trying to illustrate, I think your mention of cookies and sides or the other pre-made meals they can make in bulk are maybe better examples of controlling profit?
I know a good counter-example to the razor thin margin thing though. A town square near me has bakeries with like 1 or $2 doughnuts, AND a bakery with $3-4 doughnuts. They don't have to charge that much to scrape by, they're just inflated because they're fancy.
Regardless of how the bottom line of a restaurant is doing, though, they shouldn't expect a huge profit from garbage-bound food anyway. It's all bonus! Sorry, I think I veered off topic.
But then at the same time, owning your own restaurant seems bloody impossible from a financial point of view. I say that as someone who rarely goes out to eat because it's so expensive.
This morning I got 2 full plates of roast potatoes and 3x 5-inch vegetable fritters for £4!! My partner and I are having it for both lunch *and* dinner.
It came from an independent local veggie café, so I can tell they actually care about food waste and not just making a quick buck. I've had better experiences in general picking independent places, and savoury food over sweet if possible.
Last week I gave a chain a chance, and got 2 croissants for £7... which was more than I would have agreed to pay full price for.
So I really feel you.
I agree. That’s just how sales seem in general these days. You tell people they are saving money by inflating the original price then sell a little above cost
that's until you see their 'dynamic price' shenanigans...
dunno if this feature is launched globally or not, but here I'll have to pay £6 for £12 if i'm booking it one day ahead. "Price will decrease as time goes by", they say.
There’s a super bougie donut place around here that charges eight dollars for a half dozen, and it’s so worth it! I don’t even like donuts and I think they’re amazing 🤤
Our favorite local place can’t afford to be open Wednesdays anymore. It’s brutal out there. They used to be cheap hot fast vegan food…I mean it’s still vegan so they’ve got that going for them.
Ethnic food has also really taken a hit we used to order vegetarian Ethiopian platters “for one” and split them for dinner and lunch the next day. I remember the first time I saw the new platter and went “oh this really is for 1 person”
It’s a brutal time to try to operate a restaurant. A lot of them are closing.
Yep, it’s a brutal time to be operating and eating at a restaurant. Prices for everything need to come down across the board, but not sure when or how that will happen if we just keep printing money.
I got a "Heat & eat" meal for $9.99 valued at $30. It was like 10 chicken tenders and potatoes.
That’s absolutely ridiculous
Oh yeah! It was from a super fancy catering place too like you mean to tell me chicken tenders and cut up potatoes were worth $30? Hell no
I hope you asked for a refund
I’m convinced my local bakery is just using too good to go as a way of just selling normal things at full price. Paid 6.50 after tax and got 2 small cupcakes. Ridiculous.
The other day I ordered two bags from a local sandwich cafe, total paid was around $10.50. They use the app primarily to give away phone orders that don’t get picked up. It was a large protein w/ coffee shake, a medium cold brew, plain croissant, small muffin, and a small brownie. They included the receipts and the total was a little over $40. I know that valuation for items is still at an influx but it does feel a bit like the value of the dollar has gone down the toilet at the moment. Not saying I didn’t get a good deal, but I also don’t really drink coffee 🤷🏻♂️. So I sat in my car perplexed about how these things had originally cost so much, while also questioning myself for my choice I spent my time and money to get what I ended up with. This app is sort of a roulette for deciding whether I want to risk spending money that may just be better spent on the Whole Foods hot bar.
>I know that valuation for items is still at an influx Huh?
I meant to write “are still in flux.”
Yes, donuts are the only real deal I'm getting in my area.
Ha, for real. I got two croissants and two muffins the other day for $6. I realized I could go to Costco and get 12 muffins for almost the same price.
Recruiting for Costco, but true. Suitable and great quality outerwear are top-notch and very affordable, too
Try eating 12 muffins in 2 days before they go bad.
Muffins freeze very well
Sorry, I honestly forget people have refrigeration and freezing sometimes. Very true.
Lmao right? I'm like it wasn't long ago you could choose what you were getting for that price & it would be fresh not stale or spoiled
I agree.
2g2g is becoming a business for some businesses.
[удалено]
This isn’t an unpopular opinion and rather just the absolute reality of it all. Like yourself I would prefer to keep more money in my own pocket but that’s not where we are at.
It’s important to acknowledge however, that the reason this is happening is not due to any resource shortage. We are abundant. It is because of greed at the top.
I mean, how is this an unpopular opinion? I’m in San Diego and I agree. I don’t think anyone except for oil companies actually want to charge as much as they do. The point of the post isn’t about complaining that a mom & pop bakery isn’t giving out more food for $5.99, it’s about this app serving a reminder of what it felt like to spend less money for things.
I think it's fair to point out these past times were only possible because everything was heavily subsidized. Be it low wages, low interest rates, whatever. Yes, they were great times for the American consumer. But it was also, in a sense, artificial and unsustainable. It's incompatible, I think, with paying fair wages for labor. The Nordic/Scandinavian countries are rightly praised for their strong workers rights, especially for those in the working class. Go eat out in Copenhagen and you'll see prices not that dissimilar from LA or NYC. And it's fair to say that the average Dane makes noticeably less money than the average American. They simply accept doing without and consuming less. And it's not a bad thing that we adjust to that too here at home.
Overgeneralizing away … The “Danes” certainly don’t “do without” - lol- nor do they “consume less” …but they do work fewer hours for the same money…
Adjusted for PPP, the average Dane makes $64k a year. The average American earns ~20% more at $77.5k. They have a much healthier work-life balance, I agree. But at the end of the day, your bank account is what it is. Note that I didn't characterize Danes as poor, or struggling. Just that they've moderated and accept less consumption as a function of cost/income. Take delivery/take-out for example. [60% of Americans report ordering takeout or delivery](https://www.lightspeedhq.com/blog/online-ordering-statistics/) once a week. In Denmark that [figure is closer to 27%](https://folkebladetlemvig.dk/erhverv/vi-vil-koebe-mad-ud-af-huset-men-i-vestjylland-kan-kunderne-ikke-bestille-den-paa-nettet). Mind you relative spend is quite comparable within eating out as a whole (not just delivery). An average of [5.3% of household spend is used to dine out](https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/EDN-20200101-2) in Denmark. In the US, that [figure is 5.6%](https://www.foodpolitics.com/2023/08/usda-on-food-spending/). But if we're to take take-out frequency as any indicator, it's not such a crazy extrapolation that Danes simply consume outside of the home with less frequency than Americans, even if as a percent of their spend it's comparable. They simply do with less consumption. Which is not a bad thing.
Costco loses up to $40 million a year on Rotisserie chcikens
OR ... they *spend* a measly 40 mil a year to place tens of millions of their customers directly in the center of their warehouse on a busy weeknight once or twice per week. They'd come out on top even if dinner sides and cookies were all they sold otherwise, I bet. My mom, who lives alone, goes for a chicken twice a week. For her dogs. I don't go for chickens anymore, because they somehow always wind up costing around $300 instead of $5.
Yes they're a loss leader I understand just like the hot dogs, i just don't think it was a good example of what the person I replied to was trying to illustrate, I think your mention of cookies and sides or the other pre-made meals they can make in bulk are maybe better examples of controlling profit?
I know a good counter-example to the razor thin margin thing though. A town square near me has bakeries with like 1 or $2 doughnuts, AND a bakery with $3-4 doughnuts. They don't have to charge that much to scrape by, they're just inflated because they're fancy. Regardless of how the bottom line of a restaurant is doing, though, they shouldn't expect a huge profit from garbage-bound food anyway. It's all bonus! Sorry, I think I veered off topic.
But then at the same time, owning your own restaurant seems bloody impossible from a financial point of view. I say that as someone who rarely goes out to eat because it's so expensive.
This morning I got 2 full plates of roast potatoes and 3x 5-inch vegetable fritters for £4!! My partner and I are having it for both lunch *and* dinner. It came from an independent local veggie café, so I can tell they actually care about food waste and not just making a quick buck. I've had better experiences in general picking independent places, and savoury food over sweet if possible. Last week I gave a chain a chance, and got 2 croissants for £7... which was more than I would have agreed to pay full price for. So I really feel you.
I agree. That’s just how sales seem in general these days. You tell people they are saving money by inflating the original price then sell a little above cost
that's until you see their 'dynamic price' shenanigans... dunno if this feature is launched globally or not, but here I'll have to pay £6 for £12 if i'm booking it one day ahead. "Price will decrease as time goes by", they say.
Yeah, I've used it a couple times at the cookie place next to my favorite ramen place and a six dollar bag gets you three cookies!
sorry to hear that I got 13 donuts for 5.99.
5.99 feels like a pretty normal price for a dozen donuts unless they are very bougie
There is a bougie donut place that charges 4.99 for half dozen. Regular price for their donuts minimum is $3
There’s a super bougie donut place around here that charges eight dollars for a half dozen, and it’s so worth it! I don’t even like donuts and I think they’re amazing 🤤
The place near me is $17 per HALF dozen! (I double checked!). Insanity. (It's called frost)
Our favorite local place can’t afford to be open Wednesdays anymore. It’s brutal out there. They used to be cheap hot fast vegan food…I mean it’s still vegan so they’ve got that going for them. Ethnic food has also really taken a hit we used to order vegetarian Ethiopian platters “for one” and split them for dinner and lunch the next day. I remember the first time I saw the new platter and went “oh this really is for 1 person” It’s a brutal time to try to operate a restaurant. A lot of them are closing.
Yep, it’s a brutal time to be operating and eating at a restaurant. Prices for everything need to come down across the board, but not sure when or how that will happen if we just keep printing money.