Companies use drip pricing to overcharge consumers • Hacker News Board

Re: Companies use drip pricing to overcharge consumers

#341

Post by happymellon » Wed, Jan 25, 2023, 5:01 AM UTC

spoils19 wrote: post #324

LadyCailin wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taxes change every few months? Anyways, yes, I expect them to reprint them if the price changes as well, which actually is liable to happen somewhat often. If you’re worried about paper waste, they make lcd labels too, which can be reprogrammed on the fly, so you can’t even make the “reprint” argument. It’s really and truly not an unsolved problem.

That doesn't sound very economically conservative or environmentally friendly. I (and many other conservative HN readers) would probably not shop if stores were to do this.

Completely agree.

You should vote out all these idiots who try to change your tax rates every couple of months.

Re: Companies use drip pricing to overcharge consumers

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Post by abawany » Wed, Jan 25, 2023, 5:05 AM UTC

HelixEndeavor wrote: post #196

abawany wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most prepaid vendors afaik seem to offer a tax-included price - two examples are Visible and Mint.

Why are prepaid carriers so much better then traditional ones, it seems? I've been on Metro for years, service is identical to T-Mobile at a fraction of the cost with no hidden fees.

They are not perfect though - roaming tends to not be available and they can get deprioritized more than the post-paid plans, sometimes painfully so; I was once outside an Ikea trying to notify them to bring out my order and the deprioritization was so bad that I had to walk into the store and use its wifi to notify them to bring out the order. Most prepaid companies are now owned by the primary carriers in the US afaict: Metro by T-Mobile, Visible etc. by Verizon, and Cricket by AT&T, for e.g.

Re: Companies use drip pricing to overcharge consumers

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Post by kmoser » Wed, Jan 25, 2023, 5:26 AM UTC

ryandrake wrote: post #203

myself248 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, once a year like clockwork. Call the ISP, play a game of brinksmanship to avoid being taken to the cleaners. Meanwhile my conflict-averse friend is paying $94/mo for less bandwidth than I get for $25. It's psychological discrimination, is what it is.

This didn't work last time I called Comcast. I told them I wasn't happy that my Internet bill went up again by $15 and that if they can't reduce it back to what it was, I wanted them to cancel it. They placed me on hold while I sat there grinning about my awesome negotiation skills. Expected to get sent on to customer retention where I could get a better deal. Then the rep came back on and said "As requested, your in…

They often have special offers for new customers, in which case you could call back the next day and claim to be a person who just moved in to the address of the person who canceled yesterday.

Re: Companies use drip pricing to overcharge consumers

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Post by shortcake27 » Wed, Jan 25, 2023, 5:44 AM UTC

abruzzi wrote: post #206

I haven't encountered anything that egregious but in the last year or so, a number of local resaurants have started charing the CC fee back to you, and in some cases, way more than the CC fee is likely to be (i.e. 5% or 7%). It seem to be associated with some of the fancy new payment processors--evey place I go with an old fashioned CC machine doesn't do this, but the fancy touch screen one seem to have that feature…

In Australia we’ve got it good - businesses can only pass on the fee that they’re charged by the payment processor.

Re: Companies use drip pricing to overcharge consumers

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Post by CraigRo » Wed, Jan 25, 2023, 5:44 AM UTC

crazygringo wrote: post #110

lotsofpulp wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> which seems to have started at Starbucks (edit: at least that's where I first saw it occurring for counter services) In my experience, it existed before in the form of tip jars (in NYC area), but really blew up when tablet point of sale systems like Clover came into the picture. They earn a percent of the transaction, so adding a simple option to increase the amount of the transaction is a no brainer for increasing…

Were tip jars common in NYC before Starbucks popularized them? I don't remember them at all but maybe it depended on the type of place?

No. People would have stolen them.

Re: Companies use drip pricing to overcharge consumers

#346

Post by seanmcdirmid » Wed, Jan 25, 2023, 5:52 AM UTC

chottocharaii wrote: post #237

II2II wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Restaurants must be happy that I am not the type of person who eats out more than once or twice a year. I don't tip unless there is table service. I withhold tips if the quality of the product is bad (sorry servers). Even in social situations. That doesn't mean I don't tip when it is appropriate, but I view it as more of an incentive for good service than to reinforce bad business practices. I'm not sure how I would…

If you live in America you're an asshole if you do this. Tipping is the well-established cultural way for servers to make income. It is -not- something reserved for situations where good service is to be incentivized. Maybe in other countries ... but not the United States.

What I don’t get is tipping for take out. Like, no server was involved, just someone handing you a box at the restaurant, and you are still expected to tip 20% (Or is it 25% now?).

Re: Companies use drip pricing to overcharge consumers

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Post by seanmcdirmid » Wed, Jan 25, 2023, 5:54 AM UTC

hadlock wrote: post #231

II2II wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Restaurants must be happy that I am not the type of person who eats out more than once or twice a year. I don't tip unless there is table service. I withhold tips if the quality of the product is bad (sorry servers). Even in social situations. That doesn't mean I don't tip when it is appropriate, but I view it as more of an incentive for good service than to reinforce bad business practices. I'm not sure how I would…

Servers make $2.14 an hour in Texas, they're fully dependent on tips. They often/always have zero control over the kitchen or management's ability to do staffing. Keep this in mind when you eat in that state.

In WA (and I think CA) they are required to make state/local min wage ($15/hour) before tips are considered.

Re: Companies use drip pricing to overcharge consumers

#348

Post by seanmcdirmid » Wed, Jan 25, 2023, 5:59 AM UTC

voakbasda wrote: post #20

Boost Mobile did this recently when my wife and I switched cell carriers. They advertised a $30/month/line plan (after a 3-month introductory period at an even lower price), but we are now paying closer to $45. This has pissed me off enough that I want to look for another carrier, but this seems to be SOP for this industry. Telcos behave like nothing less than a criminal cartel, so I was hardly surprised by this play…

I really appreciate T-mobile’s transparent pricing even if their coverage is more iffy. Not all carriers act the same.

Re: Companies use drip pricing to overcharge consumers

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Post by mhdhn » Wed, Jan 25, 2023, 6:14 AM UTC

illumin8 wrote: post #271

crazygringo wrote: post #84

Note that drip pricing for restaurants (e.g. 10-20% non-tip surcharge) is illegal in many jurisdictions (if not "conspicuously advertised" before eating), but some restaurants try to do it anyways (claiming the policy is "conspicuously advertised" on the last page of the menu, or a tiny sign behind the bar). Sometimes you can just refuse to pay it and they'll back down because they want a repeat customer more. Someti…

One thing I've noticed recently on 2 restaurant trips in the last couple weeks: The automatic tip calculations are wrong in the server/restaurant's favor. Most of us typically check the 20% option and don't double-check the math, but in the past these calculations were always done pre-tax. If your food came to $100 and you tipped 20%, the total would be $120 + sales tax. Now, the last 2 times I've eaten out the autom…

Seen it all over, always assumed it was mistakes in software design or product management by the restaurant software developers.

Re: Companies use drip pricing to overcharge consumers

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Post by flandish » Wed, Jan 25, 2023, 6:33 AM UTC

willywanker wrote: post #335

flandish wrote: post #320

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Part of the exploitation process, imho inherent to capitalism, involved a migration from your “tip to good service” to “opportunity to save” (money) by the owners. I am, admittedly, a leftist and incredibly untrusting of anything where workers are not an equal part of the ownership in a business, so I know I jump too conclusion/assumption quicker than I prob should. But, I think there is no doubt that there is a lot…

It has nothing to do with 'capitalism', in case you think the alternative is socialism where everything will be perfect (you'll be lucky to get any service at all when salary is not tied to customer satisfaction, as Russians used to their country's culture found to their pleasant surprise when they crowded up at the first McDonald's just before the USSR broke up). And nothing prevents 'workers' from pooling their res…

The alternative to capitalism is not socialism, but I understand where you are coming from.

I believe the kind of character(capital owner) utilizing the current system is going to be best tuned to exploit; a process made easiest (in regards to US service industries) by our “tipping culture.”

> And nothing prevents 'workers' from pooling their resources

You are “technically” correct but really so very wrong in practice. That same exploitation driven by capitalism makes it so hard to “pull yourself up by bootstraps” even in a group, if you’re always (by design) one paycheck away from homelessness. (Also a caste kept alive by design.)

> The US needs to get rid of the idea that it is the customer's responsibility to pay servers' wages over and above what they're already paying for the food.

I completely agree!