Because it snowed last night
in [Motorcycles]
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From: Chuck Rhode on 11 Apr 2010 09:16 On Sun, 11 Apr 2010 03:31:00 +0000, don (Calgary) wrote: > Are the prices for those items high? Maybe. If they are too high, people > will stop buying them, or some entrepreneur will set up in the market > offering a more reasonable alternative. .... so you'd like to start a phone company. Where would you begin? -- ... Be Seeing You, ... Chuck Rhode, Sheboygan, WI, USA ... Weather: http://LacusVeris.com/WX ... 45° — Wind WSW 6 mph
From: Road Glidin' Don on 11 Apr 2010 09:54 On Apr 10, 6:33 am, Doug Payne <dwpa...(a)uwaterloo.ca> wrote: > Snowed here yesterday as well. On my first day of retirement. Jeez. So I > did what any self-respecting cold-blooded Canadian would do, I went for > a nice long ride. Congrats on the retirement, Doug. Now I'm regretting having signed up for the "Freedom 85" Plan...
From: Robert Bolton on 11 Apr 2010 12:14 On Sun, 11 Apr 2010 08:47:37 -0400, Doug Payne <dwpayne(a)uwaterloo.ca> wrote: >On 11/04/2010 3:35 AM, Robert Bolton wrote: >> On Sat, 10 Apr 2010 08:33:28 -0400, Doug Payne<dwpayne(a)uwaterloo.ca> >> wrote: >> >>> Snowed here yesterday as well. On my first day of retirement. Jeez. So I >>> did what any self-respecting cold-blooded Canadian would do, I went for >>> a nice long ride. >> >> Congrats on the retirement. Some people love their work, but I'm not >> one of them I'm sorry to say. > >Thanks! I do now. I did for many years, but not the last 3 or so. So I >got out. Same here, but I'm beginning that last 3 to 4 years. I could tighten my belt and retire now but recent retirement changes mean my retirement will increase anywhere from 28% to 41% in the next 3 to 4 years. I'm working instead on making one last attempt to return quality to our office product along with finding a better attitude. Life is good for me, really. I just need to remind myself more often. Robert
From: tomorrow on 11 Apr 2010 14:44 On Apr 10, 11:10 pm, Chuck Rhode <CRh...(a)LacusVeris.com> wrote: > On Sat, 10 Apr 2010 05:29:33 -0700, tomor...(a)erols.com wrote: > > Let's review. Don wasn't happy with his internet service, so he called > > a competitor to see if it would be worth his time and effort to switch. > > It was, so he did. Then the competitor failed to meet its stated > > obligation, so Don called his original service provider and complained > > about the service he was getting. In an effort to salvage the business > > relationship, the original provider offered price breaks > > 2/3 discount! > > > and service upgrades to Don, > > 4x speed! > > > which were blandishment enough to cause him to risk > > staying with the original provider to see if he could be happy, thus > > giving them a second chance at retaining his business. > > They had been ripping him off all along! > > > And in your analysis, somehow this is all bad; it's encouraging > > companies to cheat and chisel their customers, it's actually UNETHICAL > > of Don, and it's even "what's wrong with America?" > > Uh-huh! > > > I disagree. I don't see that Don or either company did anything wrong, > > other than the shortfalls in service demonstrated by both companies that > > he dealt with. In point of fact, it sounds like a normal free market > > transaction to me. > > Uh-huh! > > > While I can appreciate that it would be easier for the consumer to > > compare prices if all companies offered the exact same rate to all > > customers at all times, published those rates, and never had specials or > > limited offerings or marketing drives, that's not really something we > > can expect in a non-command economy. > > ... and your point would be what? I don't think that you missed my point at all, Chuck.
From: tomorrow on 11 Apr 2010 14:47
On Apr 10, 11:31 pm, "don (Calgary)" <hd.f...(a)telus.net> wrote: > On Sat, 10 Apr 2010 21:51:29 -0500, Chuck Rhode > > <CRh...(a)LacusVeris.com> wrote: > >On Sat, 10 Apr 2010 15:45:35 +0000, don (Calgary) wrote: > > >> We all have the same opportunities. I don't have a problem with a > >> lack of transparency related to the pricing policies of private > >> companies. They have no obligation to charge the same fee to every > >> customer. > > >Well, there you go then! > > >US Federal law disagrees ... or used to. Firms engaged in interstate > >commerce can discriminate but have a legal burden to show how any > >discrimination makes sense in terms of their costs. > > Easy enough to do, but even that is too much meddling in the free > market system for me. > > > > >You would do well in the US health-care system. Here a clinic will > >not (cannot) give you a straight answer about how much a flu shot > >costs because it depends.... > > I have never had to shop around for flu shots. I have never had a flu > shot and if I chose to have one they are funded through the tax system > in Alberta. No additional cost to the recipient. > > >I don't know about you, but I HATE > >shopping for flu shots, land line phone service, cellphone service, > >internet service, and cable TV. Largely this is because price/value > >comparison between providers is so G.. d....d opaque. > > It's a part of everyday life. Not a big deal to me. > > I wouldn't care to have a market where all the providers offered > exactly the same product for exactly the same price. Often it is the > variation in the packages a provider might offer that dictates the > difference in price. Personally I prefer to have those options. I'd > like to have more. > > >That is, I believe, THE reason why prices for these things are so > >high: People are disinclined to switch because they don't know what > >they'll get even when they know what they've had. > > Are the prices for those items high? Maybe. If they are too high, > people will stop buying them, or some entrepreneur will set up in the > market offering a more reasonable alternative. No Don, you don't get it. It's just like car prices that used to be so high in the U.S., with everyone paying different prices for their cars (and motorcycles), and no one knowing what the right price was, until the government stepped in and set the prices so that everyone now pays the same, competitive, low price for the same car (or motorcycle). Everything is much better now. |