Some of you subscribers to the Hartford Business Journal have complained to me that since all you really want to read is the superb Cohen column, you should be charged a discounted rate.
While I understand your concern, and can fully understand your preference for reading material, a by-the-article subscription system just wouldn’t work.
Because I am who I am, the paper gives me a bottle of rum, a quill pen, ink, a research associate, and a fresh vase of petunias on my desk.
The rest of the writers get jealous, demanding typewriters and stuff. That’s called overhead. You really have to pay for the whole package.
A similar complaint has been around for quite a while now about cable television, for which you pay for a package of stuff. You can sort of choose your package, but you can’t cherry-pick CNN, the Weather Channel, and that really interesting channel that brings you the meetings of the Connecticut Siting Council, where they discuss cell phone towers.
Price Parity
The CEO of a restaurant chain that owned some all-you-can-eat buffet joints told me that while the price was sort of right for the pounds of meatloaf and string beans, the senior citizens complained that they shouldn’t be charged as much as, say, the truck drivers, who came in and ate 14 pounds of food, while the little-old-ladies were still picking at their lonely piece of turkey breast.
A long-standing request from many casual golfers — especially in these tough economic times — is to play and pay for fewer than 18, or even nine holes. They would like a deeply discounted opportunity to limber up and be able to say that they “played golf.”
Actually, the PGA Village course in Port St. Lucie, Fla., just announced that it would let folks pay per-hole — an experiment aimed primarily at parents playing with little kids.
The possibilities are endless if entrepreneurs are in the mood. For instance, local KFC joints are discounting up a storm right now, with offers such as 12 “Original Recipe Strips” for $9.99. But, what if you could mosey on in to the Colonel and negotiate for six Original Recipe Strips for $5.15?
Property-casualty insurers in Hartford have begun to offer discounted homeowners’ coverage to recession-battered customers. You get the insurance at a 40 percent discount, but they’re only covered for losses that occur on days that start with a “T.”
End Package Price
The Hartford Public Library is offering deep discounts for its annual birthday celebration of the late Wallace Stevens, the unjustifiably famous Hartford poet. If you’re willing to stay only for the readings of the Stevens poems that rhyme and make sense, the ticket is half-price — but you don’t get to stay very long.
Some organizations are very resistant to change. I asked the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection & Insurance Co. if I could order up some boiler insurance, without the inspection, at a discount. They didn’t think that was a good idea.
The folks under the most pressure to disassemble the package price and compromise a bit are the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team officials, who are well aware that many fans would buy discounted tickets to see only the first half of the game, since the gals tend to have run up scores by halftime of about 83 to 10. The second half loses a bit of its nervous excitement.
By the way, I will mention your concerns to the publisher of the Business Journal. She may decide to rent me out for private parties — but you’ll still have to subscribe. Full price.
Laurence D. Cohen is a freelance writer.
