The Precious Hot Chocolate Delight

Years ago, when I just moved to Bandung, a friend of mine took me to a place in Jl. Lombok, named Blend. It was a nice place just right at the corner of the street. They got cozy sofas where you could sink your body while playing Uno or congklak. Since then, the place was one of my favorite places.

But actually what I liked the most was a dessert dish named Hot Chocolate Delight. I don't have the picture, but it was more or less like this.

Well, minus the ice cream and that sick-looking strawberry on top. But it was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S. I remember that the first time I bought, it costed me Rp 21000, which is pretty expensive for my standard at that time. I kept coming back several time, not often because I didn't have that much money, until one day I went to the place and I found that they have new design for their menu. But that was not just it, they also raised the prices.

My precious Hot Chocolate Delight was then Rp 25000. Sh*t!, I thought at that time. But I still could help myself from bought it, regardless. Then I came several times after that.

One day, I went there and they gave me a menu with new design. Oh, I had bad feeling when the waitress handed me the menu. And my feeling was right. Again, they raised the prices, though they also added some new dishes which tasted great. Hot Chocolate Delight then costed me Rp 28000. I silently cursed the manager or whoever made the brilliant decision to rise the price but still paid for it. And I still came several times after that.

I really really loved the dish. I still do, actually. But one day (after several more "new design on the menu"), I reached my limit. I think it was when the price was Rp 35000. On that day, I went in the place, looked at the menu, found that they once again increased the price, and I walked out. I didn't even bother to choose other menu. I was so pissed I thought how arrogant this restaurant they keep increasing their prices and expect that they won't lose any customer. Well, you just lost one!

So, the price went from Rp 21000 to Rp 35000 in 2 years. Okay, it was only Rp 14000, what's the big deal? Hey, it was 67% growth.

It might not only about the money, at that time I felt like someone had to show them that it was not that good (though when I think about it now, it might be that good). Maybe I was just fed up with the presumption.

I never come back to the place. Last time I passed at it, it was already closed permanently. I don't know the reason, though.

**

I do understand that price increase is inevitable, for any kind of product or service. In the end, every business always wants a greater profit. However, money is a sensitive issue and to know where is the customers's limit is one tough job to do. People will not complain when you sell your product too cheap. But they will absolutely complain or even worse leave when you sell too expensive. The big home work is to find somewhere safe in the middle where people will not complain and you get good money.

I truly don't know the reason behind my hot chocolate delight's price increase but as a customer I had bad thought that the seller was just going too greedy and wanted to get as much profit as possible by rising the price. And at that time I thought I don't want to be used like that.

I don't know if I had guessed it right or not, but it doesn't matter. Because at the end of the day I had left and decided that I was not going to buy from them anymore.

It doesn't matter how noble your intention is if at the end of the day customers are leaving because you have failed to share the idea. It's a lost-lost situation between the seller and the buyer.

Now, let's say you have a good product which you honestly believe is better than other products in the market. Say, it's a toothpaste that can make the teeth glow in the dark. You think, hey glow in the dark teeth could be a cool thing in the dance floor. You genuinely believe that.

Of course, you have to add some ingredients which other products don't have to make it glow. This particular ingredient pushes your production cost above the others. In the end, to get at least as good profit as the other competitors (who really wants that anyway? Don't we want to get higher profit than the others? But let's assume that way), you have sell it with higher price.

Now you have to struggle to convince people that this special thing you have for your product is worth they money. That even though they pay you more, but they get better price per value. It's like people go to Starbucks instead of make an instant coffee (which I don't get, by the way). The price different is huuuugeeee, my friend. Yet, people go to Starbucks. Why? Because they believe that whatever Starbucks has and the instant coffee doesn't have is worth some more money.

The next question is, of course, how to be a Starbucks?