In summary, you're upset that a business is, largely correctly, assessing the value of their service to you and adjusting the price based on your willingness to pay?
You do know that this happens constantly right, just usually by overpricing it and giving out discounts based on your willingness to pay.
The problem arises when the business overestimates willingness to pay. Ancestor post said "screw this; taxi".
That damages customer goodwill. Every time.
If you double the prices on umbrellas every time it rains, some people will stop buying umbrellas from you entirely, even when it's sunny and they're still normal price. But if you offer a 50% discount whenever weather is fair, there will be no adverse reaction from consumers. Weird. The prices are the same either way, but the reaction is totally different.
People like to know "this is the maximum I can be expected to pay" a whole lot more than "this is the lowest price I can get". When planning out a budget, it is always better to have an unexpected surplus at the end of the month than an unexpected additional expense. That's why businesses overstate the price by X% and then continually give out Y% discounts. People who can pay the higher price might not bother with requesting the discount. If they advertise a low price, then add on a bunch of hidden fees and surprise upcharges, people get pissed.
This is something telecoms and airlines should consider.
I'm in complete agreement. This may very well hurt their business by making their customers angry but I don't feel right telling them that they shouldn't be allowed to do this.
It's no less morally defensible than an employee asking for a salary that's more than they need because they know their worth to the company.
I don't think that anyone thinks Uber's upcharges are hidden given how often they're talked about -- hell, Uber seems proud of the system. It might be bad for their business in the long run to price this way but who am I to tell them how to run their show.
