The Fre@kY Bever@ges You P@y For

Nowadays, if you go for a hawker's center and ask for a drink or food. You start to realize that drinks are getting relatively expensive. Well! I have been doing some short researches about the reasons. Most people might not know or not too sure why this is happening. Ask for a Coke that normally costs only a buck in a vending machine but it will cost you more in a hawker's center or some places. The answer is Economics.

Let me give you another great example of bar or pub business. Most of the time, bars or pubs will provide you free peanuts or chips and also charge you for drinks that even include plain water. Here is the reason of they are doing it. Chips or peanuts, although cost something, are cheaper than beers and other drinks. In order to attract customers to drink more, they provide free chips for the sake of getting customers going thirsty for drinks. In other words, chips and peanuts come hand in hand with drinks like beers or even cocktails. Therefore, normally, you won't order chips and peanuts without ordering any drinks at all. Customers will always get thirsty consuming peanuts and chips. As a result, bars and pubs will play a role to jack up the price a little higher, knowing that the customer will purchase a drink and giving you free peanuts or chips. Maybe even free services like open karaoke environment.

Same things apply in the business of some hawker's center. Eaters, who buy foods from the stalls, will also end up buying drinks. I have seen several hawker's centers are playing a special role in monopolizing a certain area. For instance, one will only find a drink corner with several food stalls. In other words, the food center might only allow one drink shop to be in business due to certain rights. Selling drinks generates tremendous amount of profit and the effort of running a drink business is rather easy and time-profit effectiveness. The monopoly effect allows drink shops to play with the price and causes competition to be absolutely none.

Sometimes, you also find a restaurant that rents out small booths of food stalls to others for business while the restaurant's owner will do the drink business. Again, most of the time, there is no way we purchase foods without drinks. On the other hand, most people can have drinks without food. Importantly, the profit margin of running drink business is greater than running food business.

If you start to complain about the cost of a drink getting more and more expensive. You might as well start to bring your own bottle of water. LOL. If you have questions and comments, feel free to discuss with me. Afterall, water is the best drink ever.