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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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Thunndarr
Joined: 30 Sep 2003
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 Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 10:05 pm Post subject: How typical is this? (Semi-rhetorical question) |
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Ok, so a nice little taco stand opened up in my neighborhood. Great, cheap, basically authentic Mexican-American food. Real cheese, real sour cream, generous portions, etc. Oh, and it was cheap. Note the "was" in the previous sentence. The place has been open for about 3-4 weeks (to my knowledge) during which time I stuffed my face full of cheap taco goodness. Suddenly, the last time I was there, I was greeted with A) a 25% price increase and B) portions that were about two-thirds their previous size.
To give you an example: Before, I could spend 6 or 7 thousand won and get like two tacos or nachos and tacos and that would feed my wife and me easily (really big tacos.) Now, I have to spend 8 or 9 thousand won and it's barely enough for me alone. This is not exacly the kind of change I approve of.
So, the question is...why? My theory is that Mr. Taco Stand Owner decided he wasn't making enough money (not enough customers) so he decided to try to make more money per taco sold. Of course, this *may* work, but on the other hand, it may be world-class dumb. To me, this typifies what I've seen of Korean business behavior, to wit, maximizing short-term profit while at the same time sacrificing long-term growth. |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 10:35 pm Post subject: |
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Well, if he were making a good profit you can be sure that soon there'd be five taco stands all within sight of each other with none of them making much money.
My town's recently experienced a chicken & pizza shop boom and I believe that when half of these go belly-up a toast sandwich shop boom will be next (my town's about 1-2 years behind urban Korea). |
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poet13
Joined: 22 Jan 2006
Location: Just over there....throwing lemons.
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| Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 12:01 am Post subject: |
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| I would guess it was simple economics. He was losing money, but then has gone too far the other way. Just hope he finds the right quantity vs profit margin so you can get back to authentic tacos. makin' my mouth water right about now. |
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Demonicat
Joined: 18 Nov 2004
Location: Suwon
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| Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 12:08 am Post subject: |
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| From what I've seen that may actually boost his sales dramatically. It appears to me that cheap and plentiful style businesses do not work in Korea, unless they cater to an expat audience (ala TACO in Noksupyeong). Instead, Koreans seem to lik a higher price and smaller portion. Let us consider Crazy burger, Omurice, or any of the really popular joints. None of them were popular when they were cheap, they double the prices, cut the portions, and boom! lines around the block. Cheap+plentiful= poor people food, Expensive+ little= prestige |
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rawiri
Joined: 01 Jun 2003
Location: Lovely day for a fire drill.
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| Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 12:35 am Post subject: |
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| Prestigious taco's....the folly's of the nouveau riche in korea aye. |
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eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
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| Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 2:34 am Post subject: |
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| Demonicat wrote: |
| From what I've seen that may actually boost his sales dramatically. It appears to me that cheap and plentiful style businesses do not work in Korea, unless they cater to an expat audience (ala TACO in Noksupyeong). Instead, Koreans seem to lik a higher price and smaller portion. Let us consider Crazy burger, Omurice, or any of the really popular joints. None of them were popular when they were cheap, they double the prices, cut the portions, and boom! lines around the block. Cheap+plentiful= poor people food, Expensive+ little= prestige |
I would go for this theory too.
Anything that Koreans don't know very well, e.g. foreign food, they assume that the more expensive it is the better it is. They don't really have a benchmark to go by. Also, of course, Koreans are sure suckers for the, buy-expensive-stuff-to-make-yourself-look-rich-even-if-you-can't-afford-it, nonsense.
Ever go into the home of a middle-aged, middle-class Korean couple? You're bound to see something like a huge, disgusting, antique-style, leather sofa which cost about 6 million. They will be intensely proud of it. Or they might have a 5 million won Plasma TV. My parents are lower middle-class but they would never spend 5000 dollars on a TV (or an antique style leather sofa) even if they had money up the hoo-hah. Far too ostentatious. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 3:28 am Post subject: |
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| You're bound to see something like a huge, disgusting, antique-style, leather sofa which cost about 6 million. They will be intensely proud of it. |
AND will sit down right on the floor like they always have and tell you how proud of the couch they are. |
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Pak Yu Man
Joined: 02 Jun 2005
Location: The Ida galaxy
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| Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 7:06 am Post subject: |
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| He was getting everyones attention. Koreans will only try something new if it's cheap. Is there a Kimchi taco? |
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