I feel like a lot of stuff as been conflated for which I have subtly different views on. The idea that the market solves all issues is blatantly untrue - almost no one on this forum justifies the sales tactics in retail of the timeshare industry as "well, the buyer made an informed decision and if they didn't like it, they wouldn't have bought it". Yet we want to apply that logic we reject there to other big resourced companies forcing changes some see as lying to customers like the now spreading digital payment fee. Remember this started with a fee for taking a check I think, or a bank draft IIRC.
I also agree with AJCts411 that most people in reality tend to hate al la carte purchases, or else cable bundles and unlimited minutes would never have caught on IMO. Flate rate of all sorts would not be a selling point, yet it is. It's basically insurance against unexpected huge bills.
In no place am I arguing that customers don't in the end have to pay for costs. I'm not really against businesses setting their prices where they think the market will bear. What I am against is the creeping Airline or car purchase model:
I see a sign outside saying $3 for a soda. When I walk in and get that soda, I don't then think it's fair for me to have to wait in line and then reject the purchase at the last minute (and probably annoy other customers, drive the employees mad, etc) because of all the a la carte fees they can think to add.
Oh, it's summer so there's the AirCon fee. $0.05. You went the restroom, $1 fee. You browsed the store, $0.50 store maintenance fee, You opened 3 coolers comparing sodas, 3x $0.25 cooling fee. And $0.02 Cash payment fee, or the $0.09 credit card fee, or a $0.05 check fee, and a $0.10 time checking out fee. $0.50 parking lot maintenance fee, etc etc. Sure, all of these are true, and the costs vary based on if I rode a bike or drove an F250, paid cash, check, or card, how fast I am at finding what I want, if I use a bathroom or not, etc. I just think these, and ideally tax, should be the up front cost of buying the drink. Of course, then you're beating out the "more honest" store across the way selling the soda for $4 that just includes all the costs of doing business.
And I think this is coming sans legislation. Because we used to have pay for restrooms. And we already see the fees creeping - ever ordered from GrubHub? There's the prices (that are inflated), there's a delivery fee, and a service fee, and a driver fee, and an expected tip. It all makes me wonder how in the aughts pizza places could ever afford to deliver a pizza for just a tip to the driver. Oh, and the justifications are pretty weak - delivery fee because somehow handing a pizza to a driver costs the restaurant extra vs handing to a customer picking it up themselves. The service fee for making an app (which to me seems like it's a service to the restaurant - again with the insane idea that they want to encourage phone orders because it "saves them money"). The driver fee to pay the drivers (shouldn't the company pay employees?). And the same tip we always had.
And the tip culture is also insane - we have another thread on that, but I really resent being expected to tip for the person to hand me a pick up order.
