“SURGE PRICING,” “DYNAMIC PRICING,” ETC.

(And whether they all perhaps are just different terms for, well, “GOUGING”)

I don’t know about you, but I think this one might be well worth a shout down. Just imagine being a businessperson and suddenly being able to decide at what time(s) of day (or night) that you would choose to charge for a price for your product or service?

First, I completely understand the “wish” for this to occur, but what makes no sense whatsoever is how it all fits into a lawful and fair process for those who PAY YOU for your product or service.

Let’s take ***a closer look*** … @ some PRICE SURGES!!

Case Study: The Donut

Peering in from the customer side of things, I would think that a customer who buys a donut at 5 a.m. (before the morning rush) would expect that, with surge pricing, he or she should obtain the BEST price for the donut purchased. This, not only because said donut is certainly “fresher” at 5 a.m., but also because LESS people are competing to purchase the donut at the time. A different argument could say that the customer should pay MORE because it was just made and will taste best at this hour.

So, where does that leave us? Should the donut be MORE expensive at 5 a.m.? Or, should it be MORE expensive around 7 a.m. when the traffic numbers are much higher? At any rate, trying to even give intelligent answers to these questions seems like a recipe for disaster and it looks like the only places these matters will end up in are the courts!

RELEVANT LINKS

UBER 🚗

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/03/business/dynamic-surge-pricing-nightcap/index.html

Wendy’s 🍔

https://apnews.com/article/wendys-surge-pricing-tanner-burger-dynamic-9417bc235bbcd13d82966d04a6ba42bd

Jet Blue’s Latest: ✈️

https://viewfromthewing.com/desperate-jetblue-ups-ante-with-new-record-high-dynamic-pricing-for-checked-bags/

PROFILE

Anthony Newcombe is a 4-time entrepreneur, published author & narrator, and full-stack web developer. He can be reached directly via our CONTACT PAGE.

Support Small Businesses

A Closer Look …

with Anthony Newcombe

Q: WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES?

A: 3 WORDS: BUY, BUY, BUY!

It's GAME TIME!! — https://writeplus.biz/shop/

PROFILE

Anthony Newcombe is a 4-time entrepreneur, published author & narrator, and full-stack web developer. He can be reached directly for appearances via our CONTACT PAGE.

AND ONE … FINAL … NOTE

For those who may not need any additional apparel in their wardrobe, please feel free to scan the QR Code below to donate to one of our favorite causes! That works too! Many thanks for being so amazing!

NFL Playoffs

Football -Records-Competition-Super Bowl Bound

A Closer Look …

with Anthony Newcombe

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2021 (#HNY)!

We can finally pat ourselves on the back after taking more than a few big ones in the teeth throughout much of 2020. However, I promise not to mention the “C” word (“Covid”) again today. It will be the only time that word will have escaped mention in my A Closer Look… entries since last spring some time. Let’s get to one of the few “survivors in sports” from last year – the entire NFL. Most owners, coaches, players and others emerged with delays and confusion, but no actual cancellations and a full season’s completed regular schedule. Wow! That’s a mouthful!

Topic: NFL Playoffs

Category: Sports

Issue: Where is the upper brass of the league taking this thing?

As you can imagine, this is hardly the first time I’ve had a conversation about playoff eligibility, league alignment, and whether (or not) teams should even be allowed to appear in the playoffs with a losing record. I would like to get this on the record prior to this weekend’s bonanza of games meant to keep us all on our couches for its entirety. Q: During a lockdown, where the heck else are we going to go? Uh, is that Doordash?!

Anyway, I’d like to begin by arguing I believe the addition of a seventh spot in each conference is an okay thing. However, what I disagree with is when it is combined with the “divisional championship” system from the good old days. That’s when it becomes somewhat of a mess. We are literally going to bid adieu to some teams with 10-6 records – while enabling the NFC East winner to host a game while not even sniffing a winning record. No offense, but what did they do to deserve that?! To use the “S” word, it kind of “SUCKS!” And speaking of the NFC East (no offense Texas) but, the Dallas Cowboys should have been moved outta there a long time ago. We can’t have partial nostalgia and the rest disruption. Right?!

You know, I’m old enough to remember when the Seattle Seahawks played in the AFC West. So, for NFL “purists” who choose to argue that Dallas, Philly, the football Giants, and yes, the newly titled Washington Football Team should remain in close divisional proximity, I say, POPPYCOCK! If the league is going to make radical changes to its playoff schedule – and, I hear game #17 is coming soon to your football platter, we should also become comfortable with other logical changes likewise.

Since I know you’re holding your breath for my suggestions (kidding), I recommend something like: BLOW UP the divisions completely and instead have each conference award 8 (yes, 8! Or, 9!) playoff spots to the best records in each conference. That gives half the teams in the league the opportunity to play in the postseason. And it sets the table for plenty of revenue raising options for the upper brass in NYC and elsewhere. Let’s face it, I would be embarrassed to hang a divisional championship banner in my mancave on the heels of a 5-11 season (or 7-9). Wouldn’t YOU?! C’MON MAN!

Oh, and one other thing: let’s give the top two teams BYES again! I think it’s shameful to overlook a 14-2 or 13-3 team just because the #1 team is 15-1. Again, it’s great to incentivize the lower half of playoff contention, but let’s not cheat the consistent, rightful earners of the best records in the game while we do it, okay?!

It’s not much, but it’s a start. Let’s keep the ball rolling with some debate…

Tell me what YOU think?

A.N.

PROFILE

Anthony Newcombe is a 4-time entrepreneur, published author & narrator, and full-stack web developer. He can be reached for appearances via our CONTACT PAGE.

ENTREPRENEUR

A Closer Look

with Anthony Newcombe

Topic: The most important characteristics of an entrepreneur

Area: The impact of parents’ words on their children

en·tre·pre·neur /ˌäntrəprəˈnər,ˌäntrəprəˈno͝o(ə)r/

noun: entrepreneur; plural noun: entrepreneurs

a person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.

(credit: Oxford Languages)

Entrepreneur (my definition) – An entrepreneur represents many key elements wrapped into one. First and foremost, he or she must be a born leader, a person who yearns to be the most responsible party in any business decision to be made.

Characteristics of an entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is creative, highly intelligent, and motivated to succeed at a level greater than the typical wage earner. He or she understands that decision – or indecision – could mean the difference between a great idea becoming a great product, service, or organization – or just simply one of many “brainstormed ideas” that go nowhere.

Understanding …

An entrepreneur understands that he or she needs a roadmap to success. By creating a comprehensive plan of attack, the entrepreneur will now be able to take educated and informed risks because all options have been weighed prior to committing one way or another. Once all the possible angles have been carefully thought out, he or she will have shifted the odds of success as much as possible in his or her favor and will know that the time has come to seize an opportunity.

EDUCATION, BUSINESS, AND PSYCHOLOGY

A CLOSER LOOK …

with Anthony Newcombe

***Let’s take a closer look … @ EDUCATION, BUSINESS, AND PSYCHOLOGY!***

Area(s): Education, Business, Psychology

Topic: Reliance on remote technology for school, work, and emotional well-being …

Issue: Are we putting so much emphasis on virtual technology that we may find ourselves paralyzed when it’s time to ‘come back into the real world?’ Let’s get something straight from the outset. I have no special insights or secrets for what the heck we are expected to do from 2021 onward. However, like nearly all of you out there, I find myself thinking, discussing, and, occasionally, well, fretting about the repercussions of this new world we’ve had to carve out for ourselves in order to move forward however quickly or slowly we perceive we are.

ZOOM/ GOTOMEETING/ TIKTOK

The most recurrent thought is about this Zoom/ GoToMeeting/ TikTok ‘stuff.’ Whether we’re trying to get through a lecture, business meeting, family call, or, creating the next (wink, wink) viral video sensation (we’re all at some point toying with our 15 minutes of fame, right?) – we should also wonder what exactly all of this means. We instead seem to mindlessly download, log in and share every nook and cranny of our lives with – well, who knows who?! In other words, are we potentially exposing ourselves to future legal matters (IP/ property theft, civil liability, etc.) while making use of this technology?

A Closer Look

with Anthony Newcombe

Topic: Reopening vs. Testing (Covid-19)

Issue: Is it better to risk an economic collapse using a more deliberate approach in reopening America (with a broader national testing program), or, try to get us ‘back to normal’ as quickly as possible and risk another spike in infections and deaths?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/09/trump-reopening-america-coronavirus

What do YOU think?

Let us know …

A few quick tips for Better Business Travel

Courtesy of: http://anjet.net

Question: How many times have we stumbled off to an early morning business trip – only to realize we are completely unorganized? Oftentimes, we take a fairly simple process and complicate it by committing the kinds of oversights that we would never tolerate in the office. Below are a few examples that might sound familiar to us all:

The 5-minute shave, shower and shuffle
The 4-minute pack ‘n’ push-off
The 3-minute coffee – oatmeal – dash (of course, with chin crumbs in tow)

And we aren’t talking about an emergency business trip booked at 2-3 a.m. the morning of, but rather one typically planned 2-3 weeks ahead!

So, where does that leave us? For starters, let’s make this easier by taking a page out of the old book of common sense:

A BOOK REVIEW

by Ray Dalio

Principles – by Ray Dalio (retired Bridgewater Hedge Fund founder & CEO)

publ. 2017, 592 pp.

For book info, click our FB link

What I learned from this book

I learned that when someone as successful as Ray Dalio tells the reader that he already has “all he or she needs in life” – with good health, good relationships (family, especially) and integrity in the workplace – it may time to listen to him and stop feeling like life is always wresting everything away.

What I liked about this book

I liked most the candidness of most everything the author shared. Whether it was his early ‘mistakes’ – like getting fired for punching an early career boss – mistakes and oversights he made as CEO, or the struggles of fatherhood and his interpretation of the work-life balance. Mr. Dalio was much more “down to earth” than most of the big CEO autobiographers we have become accustomed to on Wall Street.

What I disliked about this book

The only thing I thought I disliked about the book in the beginning was the graphs the author used. They – at first sight – seemed too simplistic. However, eventually, the author fully explained their origins in the way that the graphs worked for him and his firm. It made much more sense as to how and why they became one of the features of the book. In fact, one of the points that Ray Dalio drives home to his reader is that he prefers to get his message across in the simplest way possible. He doesn’t seek to dazzle his audience with his message – just that they get what he means and moves on to the next point.

Whom would I recommend to read this book

This book is a great read for any “aspiring or current businessperson” who wants an unfiltered, forthright and thorough examination of what it takes to do the right thing in business. Whether in the middle of the fierce Wall Street jungle – or, in the tamer confines of 123 Main Street.

Any thoughts?

-A.N.

PROFILE

Anthony Newcombe is a 4-time entrepreneur, published author & narrator, and full-stack web developer. He can be reached for appearances via our CONTACT PAGE.

**NOW: The 24-hour Customer

The 24-hour customer

by Adrian Ott pub. 2010, 179 pps.

Sneak Peek: For book info, click FB link

What I learned from this book

I learned that all that we, as e-commerce entrepreneurs, have even less time than we originally feared to capture enough attention to get from “browser to customer.” I also learned that very few online marketplaces even have a chance to compete with the “big boys.” We are fighting for the brief attention a very small pool of potential customers who have an endless ability to dump us and head to a close competitor should we not live up to their expectations.

What I liked about this book

I liked the way the author recapped each chapter to provide a brief overview of what we should have gotten out of the previous lesson. This enables the reader to go back and revisit any areas that he/ she might not have fully comprehended and/ or areas requiring a deeper dive for customization purposes.

What I disliked about this book

The only thing I disliked about the book was the tiny graph size and font. Even with my reading glasses, I couldn’t make some of the print out – so I ended up skipping ahead because my magnifying glass was nowhere to be found. In other words, I missed out on some of the areas I wanted to digest further. I just couldn’t see it!

Whom would I recommend to read this book

This book is a great read for anyone of any age who is (or wants) to obtain a customer base. The real lesson is in e-commerce, but I believe it would be equally helpful to those who have face-to-face customer relationships they are trying to build on.

Any thoughts?

-A.N.

The 24-hour Customer by Adrian Ott

For addtional info, visit our FB page http://facebook.com/writeplus1

pub. 2010, ~180 pgs.

Snapshot: A successful Silicon Valley CEO shares strategies to business executives in how to attract and build relationships in this modern age of time-starved and very fickle customers.