I know I said I'd come back when I discovered an atom of constructiveness in me but I've discovered that I can be pessimistic to the point where it gets boring so I decided to drop by earlier. Besides I have a conspiracy theory to tell: The whole of the commercial world is out to cheat us with these two little numbers: 99. [Except for the IBA canteen, which doesn't even bother to put the 99 and jumps straight from Rs 20 to Rs 60.] I know about psychological pricing and how it's intended to coax (to use an euphism for fool) the customer into buying the product, so then why do I still fall for it?? Anyway, in order to save other little unsuspecting customers from falling prey to the 99-rupee-monster I've come up with a list of places where it can be found and thus avoided:
1. Gunsmoke: This is one of it's most trickiest dens. You won't see the monster creep up on you till you're safely ensonced in it's razor sharp jaws. This is how two typical visits to Gunsmoke would go:
Visit #1: (BC=befuddled customer)
Menu card: Burgers--> Rs 399
BC1: Oh wow, the burger only costs Rs 300!
BC2: You mean 400.
BC1: Oh, 300, 400, what's the diff?
Visit #2:
Menu Card: Burgers-->Rs 499
BC1: Didn't it cost 300 last time?
BC2: You mean 400.
BC1: Oh right. Wow, inflation doesn't affect this place does it?
2. Dunkin Donuts: They've recently plastered the monster on billboards all over Karachi which makes it even harder for the average befuddled customer to avoid them. So BC happily saunters into the store with a hundred bucks and thinks: "Two donuts for Rs 90! A dream come true." And when they walk out they're still blinking about how they don't have ten rupees left over the way they calculated.
So please, dear average befuddled customer, don't be fooled by the number of nines in a price tag. It by no means suggests that the object to be bought is cheap. Beware of the gunsmoke-tactic where a bundle of tax is added to the 399 and be even more wary of the Devious-Dunkin-Donut-Tactic where it's ninety nine, just like it says, but if you go in with a hundred rupees they will cough politely and say "We owe you a rupee, but we don't have change" and your hundred rupees will disappear in thier cash register. Imagine how much profit they could earn if they kept one rupee from each customer who fell prey to the 99-rupee-monster.
Stay tuned for more sightings, and in the meantime, watch your pockets!
