Two things about drink prices come to my mind, at
least one of which has been mentioned.
1. People go to bars for atmoshpere as well as booze,
so perhaps price can vary without affecting the
purchase decision too much.
2. Think of bars as falling into three classes:
trendy, dive, and regular.  Within each class, prices
tend to be competitive.  People understand this.  In
my own experience, I recall being quite concerned with
drink prices soon after turning 21, but over time I
(unconconsiously) used Baye's rule to determine that
drink prices are pretty much the same within bar
class.  I no longer ask for prices at bars.  It's not
because I have more income, I don't, it's because I
know that drink prices do not vary much, and that
conclusion has largely held true--thus strengthening
that 'belief.'  

The application of Baye's rule in #2 also explains the
woman's outrage: the $13 price for a drink was
probably completely out of whack with her experince. 
What it does make me wonder is why people can be so
concerned about shopping around for the lowest
gasoline prices.  Perchance #1 comes into play here? 
Gas purchasers are purchasing gas only, without the atmosphere?

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Send FREE Valentine eCards with Yahoo! Greetings!
http://greetings.yahoo.com

Reply via email to