The optics to the average person that "I'm getting a bargain right after prices already went up way too much due to inflation".

If they called it something along the lines of an off hours discount that's what the optics would be. Clearly the fact that people are talking about this in a generally negative way shows that they aren't seeing it as getting a bargain.

> Clearly the fact that people are talking about this in a generally negative way shows that they aren't seeing it as getting a bargain.

That's because the same companies who have been jacking up prices for no reason sure as hell aren't looking to do us any favors now. They'll use this to extract as much money from us as they can think they can get away and if we complain about their prices they will blame us for not rearranging our lives to match their random schedules.

I guess that is true. To me, I think people in the service business, especially back of house in restaurants, have long been getting shafted in terms of pay and quality of life having to work evenings, nights, and weekends for low pay.

So prices going up means they must be getting increased pay (because the restaurant business is so low profit margin).

> So prices going up means they must be getting increased pay

sorry, is this sarcasm?

edit: to clarify, there must be assumptions to see price hikes as benefitting the bottom. even to view meager increases as improvement is disingenuous if what goes down is a fraction of what goes up.