Dien Rice
January 7, 2002, 03:46 PM
My brother James told me an interesting story, about an interesting cafe he was in....
A few days ago, my brother and his girlfriend went to a cafe to have a piece of cake. They ordered and ate a slice of tasty orange and poppyseed cake....
When it came time to pay, they went to the cash register. They were ready to ask how much to pay, when the girl behind the cash register asked first, "How much?"
James and Julie were a bit surprised (they were about to ask that question).... So they said, "We had a slice of orange and poppyseed cake."
Then the girl behind the cash register explained. "Here, you set your own price. You pay what you feel you want to pay. So how much do you want to pay?"
This surprised them even more! Eventually, they paid what they estimated it would cost in other cafes....
I thought this was a very interesting experimental cafe! Pay what you feel!
Personally, maybe I'm a bit skeptical, I think it will be hard for the cafe to survive this way (it's too easy for others to exploit), and they may have to change to a more conventional system.... BUT, it seems like an interesting experiment! James told me where this cafe was, and I'm going to check it out some time in the next few days myself....
In case you're wondering, it had a "hippy"-type clientele....
I just thought I'd share with you this interesting business model!
(If you're in Melbourne, Australia, email me and I'll tell you where this cafe is, in case you want to check it out yourself.... It's in St. Kilda, an area with a lot of unusual stores....)
I found this very interesting. If you keep your eyes open, there are all sorts of very interesting business "experiments" happening all around you on a small scale.... Business doesn't HAVE to be "conventional", and it's good to keep your eyes open and learn from others.... :)
- Dien Rice
A few days ago, my brother and his girlfriend went to a cafe to have a piece of cake. They ordered and ate a slice of tasty orange and poppyseed cake....
When it came time to pay, they went to the cash register. They were ready to ask how much to pay, when the girl behind the cash register asked first, "How much?"
James and Julie were a bit surprised (they were about to ask that question).... So they said, "We had a slice of orange and poppyseed cake."
Then the girl behind the cash register explained. "Here, you set your own price. You pay what you feel you want to pay. So how much do you want to pay?"
This surprised them even more! Eventually, they paid what they estimated it would cost in other cafes....
I thought this was a very interesting experimental cafe! Pay what you feel!
Personally, maybe I'm a bit skeptical, I think it will be hard for the cafe to survive this way (it's too easy for others to exploit), and they may have to change to a more conventional system.... BUT, it seems like an interesting experiment! James told me where this cafe was, and I'm going to check it out some time in the next few days myself....
In case you're wondering, it had a "hippy"-type clientele....
I just thought I'd share with you this interesting business model!
(If you're in Melbourne, Australia, email me and I'll tell you where this cafe is, in case you want to check it out yourself.... It's in St. Kilda, an area with a lot of unusual stores....)
I found this very interesting. If you keep your eyes open, there are all sorts of very interesting business "experiments" happening all around you on a small scale.... Business doesn't HAVE to be "conventional", and it's good to keep your eyes open and learn from others.... :)
- Dien Rice
