Cowboy with a Martini

If a car is built to go fast and it is marketed to go fast along with the fact that it is priced so absurdly high because it is meant to go fast, DO YOU HAVE TO DRIVE FAST?

Here is a little something to listen to while you drudge through this blog...

This past weekend I visited my friend Steven in Spokane. He drives a Audi S4 (the "S" stands for supercharged) This car resembles what I mean by fast, 333hp fast.

My friend Steven always offers to drive (not that I have a choice). Sometimes I find it funny that he listens to gangster rap and always drives over the speed limit (won't specify how much over). Then I realize that if I owned that car that I would probably do the exact same thing because I would buy that car so I could go fast. Until that day happens for me I will continue to drive relatively slow and listen to country music in my Ford explorer. This is my experience with this car and will always think of driving it FAST (thats the semiotics that I have developed).

This is not always the case as I also discovered this past weekend.
On our way to spokane we drove a 2006 Honda Accord and on many occasions passed this 30-40 year old guy that was going at or under the speed limit driving this.  :)

My thoughts exactly. This guy was still young and owned a Shelby Cobra GT 500 "THIS CAR GOES FAST." yet this guy was content traveling maybe a couple hundred miles just going the speed limit. Either this person was completely unaware of the fact that this car's attribute revolved around going fast or his "self-image congruence" with this car only had to do with price. He was just showing off the fact that he had money if this were the case. 

I guess what I am trying to get at from this post is that Function and Marketable Aspects of a product may not always influence the purchasers behavior. Sometimes we don't buy because it performs, is high quality or responsible. Sometimes we just buy because it looks cool and it will make others jealous which is insane. 

 

Pay it Forward

Pay it Forward -- WHILE CONSUMING

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one.” Mother Teresa

One of the perks of working at a coffee shop is that I get to closely observe consumers behavior everyday. The other day this couple came in and after purchasing their coffee, they offered to buy the girls coffee behind them. This happen all the time at a coffee shop, but in this instance the girl had no clue who this couple was. This simple act of random kindness started a chain reaction where people kept buying the drinks of those behind them, which probably last for 30 minutes or so. Who could know the motives of the couple but the fact that others joined in was amazing.

Why do we buy?

“Every man dies, not every man really lives.” William Wallace

This act made me think of why people come in and spend five dollars on a coffee drink when they could make something similar for a fraction of the cost. I would like to think that customers come into City Brew because we care about them and try to provide them with a service they can't find at home. The truth is that people in their busy lives are unconsciously searching for single moments that will open their eyes to life.

Besides the couple at the coffee shop the others most likely did not think when they walked in that they would be buying a strangers drink but yet they did it anyway. This could be considered irrational consumer behavior because they will probably never see that person again and get return on their investment. This simply means that not every purchase uses prospect theory and that not all irrational purchase decisions are habitual. Money is not always an issue when you are paying for the experience and that is why people go to a coffee shop. Sometimes it just feels good to do the right thing, even if we need to be nudged to do so.