There are two food stalls in two different coffee shops near where I live. One has been there for years. A man runs it with his two maids. They open it at ten thirty in the morning and it pretty much stays open until at least eight pm.
When I was working full time for a few months, I used to stop by on the way home to buy one vegetable, one tofu and one meat dish for dinner. Depending on what I choose and how much I take, it would cost me between eight to fourteen dollars two years ago. There were days I would work late, my son Michael would have to run out and buy food for the rest of the family. He chose to buy from a new stall. Food was definitely tastier from this new place. At the peak of its popularity, food would be served at four fifteen and it would be sold out by six pm.
This is a good two years after the advent of the "new" stall. On days I do not cook, I still buy from the original stall. I notice that the "new" stall does not sell out quite so early now, because of its pricing policy.
For most Chinese food stalls, they would give slight discount to regular customers. This includes my original stall. But the owner of the "new" stall is different. He gives discounts to new customers. Once a person regularly purchases food from him, he charges a higher price. For a customer who is buying his own food, it might not be much: just fifty cents or a dollar more for each meal. However, a home maker buying food for a family of six might find paying four dollars more than the normal amount daily to be stiff. I presume some home makers who initially bought from him now either choose to buy elsewhere or decide to cook more often.
No comments:
Post a Comment