Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

Re:Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life by mgkimsal on Wednesday June 15, 2022 @11:53AM (#31754889)

Plenty of us didn't always have 'a couple hundred cash' at all, much less 'free' to just carry around 'in case of emergency'. I can now, but don't for the most part, partially because of decades of not being in that position. We have a modest amount of cash on hand at home - we sometimes pay service folks in cash, or can tip a delivery person now and then, but those are rare instances. Neighbor kids selling door to door now and then too, but even then I wrote a check last time, directly to a school fundraiser, didn't just hand over cash.

If we needed to leave due to an emergency, some cash may help for a hotel, probably, assuming it's far enough away to have power/water.

If there's earthquake/hurricane/etc with resulting power outages, most of the places I'd go to wouldn't be able to even open their POS systems to take cash in the first place.

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Re:Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life by lotsofpulp on Wednesday June 15, 2022 @12:08PM (#31755128)

> If there's earthquake/hurricane/etc with resulting power outages, most of the places I'd go to wouldn't be able to even open their POS systems to take cash in the first place.

Businesses or anyone wanting to get paid will figure out an alternative. Dealing with cash is not complicated.

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Re:Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life by mgkimsal on Wednesday June 15, 2022 @12:31PM (#31755467)

I worked at a fast food place where our power went out. They forced us to keep ... open and selling anyway. The 240v was out so no grill, but 120 outlets worked so we could make coffee/tea. That was about it. Cash registers didn't work. I was writing everything by hand, calculating tax, etc, keeping records.

2 hrs later, the regional manager - WHO HAD TOLD US IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS THAT WE HAD TO REMAIN OPEN DESPITE NOT HAVING POWER - came in and chastised me for 1) not wearing the full uniform (we had no AC and it was July, so I took off the tie) and 2) handling money without a register. "You can't guarantee your numbers are right - that's what computers are for". "But... they're down, and you said to stay open and keep selling". "That doesn't change the fact that you might be making mistakes!"

Insanity.

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Re:Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life by kayodelycaon on Wednesday June 15, 2022 @12:24PM (#31755360)

Dealing with cash is complicated actually. You need to protect it from theft. You need to count it daily. You need a bank to deposit it. You need to have change because people don't bring exact amounts. Having change requires a bank or some other facility to exchange currency with.

Cards require a machine, some kind of network connectivity, and an account. It's actually a lot easier to deal with as a small business. Most of the people I know who go to conventions as vendors prefer cards because it greatly simplifies their logistics.

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Re:Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life by lotsofpulp on Wednesday June 15, 2022 @12:27PM (#31755400)

Yes, but I was talking about a scenario where there is no network connectivity and hence no ability to take card payments.

In the case of getting paid something versus getting paid nothing, I am guessing most merchants will opt to put in the work to accept cash rather than shut down.

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Re:Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life by aerostable_slug on Wednesday June 15, 2022 @03:48PM (#31758452)

Note that some retailers can and do store and forward transactions, for example with gas stations using satellite connectivity for payment processing. The amount one stores depends upon one's fraud tolerance.

There are attacks where bad guys will disable a gas station's dish (by covering it with foil among other methods) and then rack up a bunch of gasoline sales with a stolen card. They've got generally got a limited window so they have to hit a bunch of local stations quickly, but meth users aren't known for high dollar scores.

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Re:Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life by leksak on Wednesday June 15, 2022 @03:03PM (#31757773)

But if someone robs you then you have both zero money and less merch due to sales that day. I'm guessing a lot of places will err on the side of caution rather than some income.

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Re:Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life by lobocinza on Wednesday June 15, 2022 @04:28PM (#31759018)

I saw a supermarket operate with calculators ~10 years ago when power grid was off for days. I don't believe I will see it again at least not in any big store as financial conciliation is a PITA and the old ways are lost. But small vendors that are often marginalized by the market will.

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