Surge pricing is spreading to bowling alleys, restaurants, gyms, and more

[Farkinell]

I’ve just had a quick look and here in London a family of 4 for 3 games is £85. Bowling isn’t anywhere near as big here than in the US, where I’d imagine there’s more lanes so more competition. $200+ is insane, let alone the surge priced quote!

I thought 10 pin bowling in NZ wasn't cheap .
My city has one - not sure cost of lanes - kind of what you want - if just 2 people as game can be quick.

Anyway a family of 4 is US$35 for 1 game - so probably $70
game anytime is $13.5/person - think subsequent games 50% off ( could be wrong )
after 7pm Sun to Thurs 3 games $13 - so probably now best one to just take my son.

Think shoes are free

Opposite of surge pricing is going to big sold out sports game - and someone's friends can't make - they just give them away for free- seen it reasonably often - most ticket holders here in NZ just want face value - maybe different at concerts - definitely scalpers online

 

[hwertz]

Three points...
1) If places start doing this, there'd better be a way to check online what the current price is. I would not be pleased to show up somewhere and find out they've doubled the prices!

2) Grocery stores? So, a few years ago when there were gasoline shortages (in the northeast) and some gas stations jacked up their prices before they ran out of fuel, in the face of lines of people waiting to buy gas and no deliveries expected for a while. This was considered price gouging and naughty. But doing the same thing with an electronic sign and an algorithm is fine? (To be honest, I'm a libertarian so I'd argue both are "free market". But I suspect grocery store surge pricing could be illegal in some states; and I can see the argument why, people who already have a tight budget are going to be screwed big time if they show up at the store and find out prices have "surged".)

3) I would hope this could cut both ways -- I've read about stores discounting items as they near expiration, so they can sell them rather than throw them out. I've never seen this locally, the grocery and conveniences stores seem to have no problems letting the few items that they don't sell all of just expire and get thrown out. I would hope if they had electronic pricing they could dynamically price down items to sell them rather than throw them out.

 

[passwordistaco]

If every item on the menu is "market price", I'm standing up and walking right the **** out of the restaurant.

 

[Dyson Parkes]

In terms of restaurants, though, this surge pricing actually makes sense. If they can entice people to come in at odd hours to receive cheaper meals it could be a win-win.

Yes and no. If I work weird shifts, and only have certain times available to go out, why am I being penalised for it?
An ER nurse, for example. A maintenance worker, who keeps strange hours to help keep from interfering with other peoples regular workflow. A police officer, a firefighter... the list goes on.
Surge says "people go out now" and hikes prices. It's not good business, it's outright predatory.

 

[Draconian]

It costs $420 to go bowling?

 

[hwertz]

It costs $420 to go bowling?

I was a bit surprised by that pricing too, even without the surge pricing it's $50/hour for a lane? Damn.

 

[hwertz]

In terms of restaurants, though, this surge pricing actually makes sense. If they can entice people to come in at odd hours to receive cheaper meals it could be a win-win.

Yes and no. If I work weird shifts, and only have certain times available to go out, why am I being penalised for it?
An ER nurse, for example. A maintenance worker, who keeps strange hours to help keep from interfering with other peoples regular workflow. A police officer, a firefighter... the list goes on.
Surge says "people go out now" and hikes prices. It's not good business, it's outright predatory.

Well, you wouldn't be the one being penalized, you'd be working odd shifts and so get the lower prices.

That said...I agree with you. A restaurant *could* turn this into a positive if they let it cut both ways -- base price, "surge pricing" when it's very busy and "early bird special" (or "late night special") pricing of some sort when it's not busy at all. Unfortunately I don't see this happening, I'm sure they'll just jack up prices during those surge times and not give a penny of discount during especially slow times.

Locally, food establishments all just close during those hours instead. Seriously, I worked 3rd shift a few years back... I don't know what people do here any more that work overnight -- it went from having probably a half dozen or more actual restaurants, and ALL the fast food places, staying open over night -- to now 1 McDonalds and I think that's it, even the other McDonalds and Taco Bell closes overnight.

 

[Srksi]

400$ for 2 hours of bowling?? He should better buy ps5 instead!

 

[Greggs]

We do have a great equalizer and that is the internet. Groceries have become so expensive at my local grocery store that services like Hello Fresh are actually CHEAPER than shopping in the store.

Tried to go to Hello Fresh to check these cheap prices to have my food FedExed directly to me with all the prep already done, but to even see the price I not only had to give my (spam) email address but then create an account. F that. Safe to say they're not trying to compete on price. Don't know if you have an interest in the company or just believe what some "influencer" told you about what a great "value" it is, but it's wrong. Hello Fresh may be convenient but you pay extra. It's not cheaper. I can't tell you how much because apparently the price is confidential until you see your credit card statement.

 

[yRaz]

Tried to go to Hello Fresh to check these cheap prices to have my food FedExed directly to me with all the prep already done, but to even see the price I not only had to give my (spam) email address but then create an account. F that. Safe to say they're not trying to compete on price. Don't know if you have an interest in the company or just believe what some "influencer" told you about what a great "value" it is, but it's wrong. Hello Fresh may be convenient but you pay extra. It's not cheaper. I can't tell you how much because apparently the price is confidential until you see your credit card statement.

In my area, I live literally in the city of Pittsburgh, the prices on hello fresh are cheaper than any grocery store within 30 minutes of my house. If you want to include gas and travel time to the cheaper grocery stores in my surrounding area then hello fresh is still cheaper. I understand that this is basically a tax I pay to live in the city as everything is expensive in the city, but specific to my area, Hello Fresh and other meal delivery services are still cheaper than actually buying from local grocery. The big name in Pittsburgh is Giant Eagle which is known for being really expensive. If I don't want to shop there I have a whole foods or a walmart super center. The whole foods is about as expensive. The whole foods is about the same price as Giant eagle and I just hate shopping for groceries at Wal mart. From the low quality of basically everything to the self check outs or waiting in line. Wal Mart groceries aren't even cheaper than the Giant Eagle or Whole Foods.

I know my situation is not universal but if you drive around in town you see all kinds of meal delivery boxes on peoples doors. In my area they are cheaper by a not insignificant margin. I believe a lot of this is that local groceries stores have absurd rents to pay for floor space and the cost is passed onto the consumers in the form of grocery prices.

 

[Bobbydpue]

It makes sense for the company. With the relentless elimination of consumer choice in brick-and-mortar retail, the surviving outfits in each market are just going to put the screws to their customers ever harder. Wal-mart actually lobbied Washington for measures that *increased* their own cost of doing business during COVID because they knew that only themselves and a few other big outfits could absorb those costs. Smaller competitors were driven under exactly as planned.

If people never stopped shopping locally Walmart would never have been successful. Buying cheaper goods it more important to some people than choice.

 

[captaincranky]

People today have 0 self control. I watch my generation spend billions on sports gambling, spiral into debt to buy cars, buy WAY too much house, the latest iphones, ece all while their retirement accounts sit empty

Americans, in large part, have simply lost the ability to distinguish want from need. They've deluded themselves into believing buying their coffee a Starbucks gives them class. (While annoying everyone else in line, by yammering on their new iPhone). Do you see the dichotomy there?.

 

[Athlonite]

Surge Pricing aka Profiteering