BBC NEWS | Business | 'Product sabotage' helps consumers
BBC NEWS | Business | 'Product sabotage' helps consumers
Why would a company deliberately hide its best product? Starbucks does. Why would a company deliberately damage its best product? Many hi-tech companies do that, and even my favourite local restaurant does. It doesn't sound like a winning formula, but it's at the heart of the way many companies do business. Take the secret cappuccino, which you can buy in two of the leading coffee chains, Starbucks and Coffee Republic. The sales assistants know what the drink is and they have a little button on their cash tills to ring it up. It's cheaper than the other drinks on offer, but it doesn't appear on the menu. Starbucks claims that's because they don't have room on the menu board. Coffee Republic doesn't even have that excuse: there's a blank space with no price where this drink should be listed. It's called the "short cappuccino", and it's smaller, cheaper and better than the smallest size on the menu, the "tall".In light of Rev. Cholak's post here, read this interesting post from the BBC. I think I'll hold off on his suggested drink. How will I treat myself? A freshly brewed cup from fresh roasted beans, freshly ground... all from a local vendor, please. Read More
