• @bostonbananarama
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    18 months ago

    So in one comment you’ve gone from less than a cent to possibly 10 cents. And the price increase isn’t a dollar, it’s 70 cents.

    Your calculations don’t seem to include increased refrigerated space required, additional man hours, increased inefficiencies, and possible increased spoilage. The price increase does not strike me as unreasonable given the circumstances.

    • @[email protected]
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      8 months ago

      cf supra—

      exhibit a:

      “So while I was exaggerating for effect in my original post”

      exhibit b:

      “extreme worst case scenario”

      exhibit c:

      “almost a dollar”

      waaaay ahead of the gotchas and objections my dude.

      Additional space isn’t an overhead rolling operating cost, and per unit is probably infestisimal. Additional man hours is a weird objection, do starbucks even track for “reaching for a carton slightly further away”? I imagine the time savings for moving a carton 4" closer are measured in the thousandths of seconds

      oat milk has a longer shelf life (6 months) than cow milk (5 days) and when opened too (10 days vs 2)

      The price doesn’t have to strike you as reasonable or not because we are discussing whether we think starbucks are making a profit on oat milk or not. To me it’s obvious they are making more of a margin on oat over dairy, whether or not that is good/bad, reasonable/unreasonable, fair/unfair is an entirely different conversation

      • @bostonbananarama
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        18 months ago

        Additional space isn’t an overhead rolling operating cost, and per unit is probably infestisimal. Additional man hours is a weird objection, do starbucks even track for “reaching for a carton slightly further away”? I imagine the time savings for moving a carton 4" closer are measured in the thousandths of seconds

        Either they added a new refrigerator or made room in an existing refrigerator. To make room something needs to be removed, less room for regular milk means more trips to a walk-in to restock. More SKUs means more time on ordering and inventory. If they added a refrigerator then there’s added electricity costs.

        oat milk has a longer shelf life (6 months)

        I meant once opened, which is more like a week. Which means they likely all need day dots put on them. More man hours (or minutes, or seconds)

        The price doesn’t have to strike you as reasonable or not because we are discussing whether we think starbucks are making a profit on oat milk or not.

        They’re a business, I assume they make a profit on everything. Oat milk lattes would seem to be a strange loss leader.

        • @[email protected]
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          8 months ago

          again I already addressed those objections in my post before you commented. Shelf space is cheap, refrigeration already exists and is not an added cost, expanded refrigeration is a single point cost that is quickly paid back by sales, I dont think adding day dots is putting starbucks out of business.

          they already have separate supply chains for paper cups, crockery, beans, syrups and milks — I know this because I worked on a project that used their paper cup supply chain a few years ago. Plus they already have an oatmilk supplier so they’re not even adding an additional sku.

          I assume they make a profit on everything

          yes, the point of this thread is “should companies by allowed to significantly profit more on allowances made for not being ablebodied” && “is charging more for dairy intolerance the same as charging more for using a wheelchair ramp or a braille menu”

          • @bostonbananarama
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            18 months ago

            Hand waiving something away isn’t addressing it, but fair enough.

              • @bostonbananarama
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                18 months ago

                it’s not Hand waving - an extra fridge is just cost of doing business.

                Everything is a cost of doing business: payroll, electricity, inventory, etc.

                • @[email protected]
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                  18 months ago

                  yes, and what I was inferring is refrigeration is understood to be a necessary part of food service, so you can’t really say “food companies shouldn’t be regulated by preventing them charging extra for disabled patrons because they have to refrigerate the food!”

                  I can’t fathom why you’re constantly trying to drag this thread into a discussion about the minutae of drink service operation instead of the topic at hand.

                  • @bostonbananarama
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                    18 months ago

                    I can’t fathom why you’re constantly trying to drag this thread into a discussion about the minutae of drink service operation instead of the topic at hand.

                    Providing additional options, especially options that require refrigeration, have additional costs associated with them. My central thesis has always been that a business should be able to recoup its cost and make a profit, that is the purpose of a business. The “minutiae of drink service operation” is central to that discussion.

                    It’s clear that this conversation is going in circles and serves no purpose. I find it quite reasonable for a company to charge $0.70 when their costs increase by $0.25 cents, and you don’t. The ADA requires only a reasonable accommodation, there are several reasonable accommodations available in the form of non-dairy beverages. It isn’t even clear that lactose intolerance would be considered a disability under the ADA.