Pânêra Franchise To Stop Charging Set Amounts·

[nicomachus]

So I found out that a local Panera franchise will be trying to do something I thought about trying some years ago:

www.triplepundit.com/2010/05/panera-st-louis-bread-cares-cafe/

Instead of charging set amounts, they will allow customers to pay what they think they should.

Only time will tell whether this particular experiment will work.

However, I think that this much is clear: As it becomes increasingly obvious that capitalism is itself a failed, 300-year long experiment, we will begin to see a lot of novelties being attempted. People, consumers and businesses are going to begin trying to find alternative ways of conducting commerce and economics. It is an almost Darwinian reaction: Those who continue to cling on to a failing mutation (capitalism or communism) will not survive.

[chiver78]

the CEO's hometown newspaper interviewed him for their Globe Magazine last month. according to this interview, the majority of patrons to the Panera Cares locations do actually pay full price.

after reading the Magazine that weekend, I've actually made it a point to patronize Panera a little more when I can. there aren't any really near me, so it's not very often that I do get to one. it's nice to see that this CEO is thinking outside the box a little while still operating a for-profit business. it doesn't appear that he's losing much, if any, profit so far and he's helping out people that might not get a meal otherwise.

[vl]

Kind of. Right now, mainstream business is dominated by old monies and younger dummies. Ignorance with push button power rules. The fact is... "quality" has never failed and "integrity" is still attracts more customers. The fact is-- when we transitioned to "mega" anything, the handwriting for shift was etched in the wall. Plain out... your ability to actually do things that matter is critical. We are about to step backward on the progress scale about 125 years while still retaining more recent advances in technology, medicine and awareness in balancing environment, economics and ergonomics.
If the only Period in Time you are familiar with involves the lifespan of Baby Boomers, put your i-Phone down and get to your local library. Start reading "boring" books on history from about 1400 to 1900 (sorry, searching google and wikipedia isn't the same). It should occur to you that nearly every aspect of our existence was Biggie-Sized after 1950. The "reset" button has been pressed and there isn't a viable back-up program for what we had in recent years.

[flopsy]

how has capitalism failed? we've never experienced pure capitalism. do you mean the bounded semi-capitalism has failed? that i would agree with. i'd suggest reading Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal by Ayn Rand.

what is Panera's aim in going through this exercise?

[vl]

BTW... I'm a huge Panera fan... the Mediterranean Sandwich is awesome!

[neohguy]

I don't think I've ever been to Panera. If they open a non profit in my area then I'll probably start patronizing their full pay franchises. Nice to see some nice ethics.
When you think about it, many local greasy spoons have been doing a little of this for a long time.

[chiver78]

Feb 13, 2011 15:22:18 GMT -5 flopsy said:

how has capitalism failed? we've never experienced pure capitalism. do you mean the bounded semi-capitalism has failed? that i would agree with. i'd suggest reading Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal by Ayn Rand.

what is Panera's aim in going through this exercise?

check out the link I posted. it's an interesting read. Ron Shaich is an intriguing individual for sure.

[nicomachus]

Pure Capitalism, like pure socialism, is an impossibility. Nearly every economist has recognized this. That fact alone should have said something to us as it was repeated in economics class after economics class for the past six decades. But only now are we realizing what it means: We've been chasing untenable economic models. Why? Is this not a form of insanity?

To say that it has failed is to say that it has proved itself incapable of surviving in a human society. Capitalism, in its earliest stages, requires a people with a pre-capitalist ethic to make it work: That is, a people whose values are centered in family, civic life, thrift and moderation in pleasures. But as the Capitalist child got bigger, like a virus it eventually had to start killing off those values in order to survive, until the new values became consumption, hedonism, greed and ignorance. But it is again finding what it knew from the beginning: The very values it must kill off in order to survive are the ones it needed to be born in the first place, and thus the paradox consumes it.

VL: Agreed. I miss Panera. Don't have 'em much here in Spokane. Their soups and salads were also excellent. Coffee wasn't bad either. And free WiFi.

[flopsy]

family, civic life, thrift and moderation in pleasure? i thought that the values were along the lines of self interest, rational and informed decisions, and freedom from force/violence. as for consumption/hedonism/greed/ignorance, if the values have changed so has the system.

as for Panera, ehh their food is ok...i only go when i'm with my younger sibs who are infatuated with the place. thanks chiver, checking out the link now : )

[verrip1]

Feb 13, 2011 15:07:14 GMT -5 @nicomachus said:

So I found out that a local Panera franchise will be trying to do something I thought about trying some years ago:

www.triplepundit.com/2010/05/panera-st-louis-bread-cares-cafe/

Instead of charging set amounts, they will allow customers to pay what they think they should.

Only time will tell whether this particular experiment will work.

However, I think that this much is clear: As it becomes increasingly obvious that capitalism is itself a failed, 300-year long experiment, we will begin to see a lot of novelties being attempted. People, consumers and businesses are going to begin trying to find alternative ways of conducting commerce and economics. It is an almost Darwinian reaction: Those who continue to cling on to a failing mutation (capitalism or communism) will not survive.

Yes. Very soon the Federation of Planets will take control and all we'll have to worry about is the Prime Directive.

How does one order a ham and cheese panera in Klingonese?

[flopsy]

what is the prime directive? jk! i'm ready to be assimilated

[nicomachus]

The prime directive requires capitalist societies to avoid contact with pre-industrial societies. However, we have generally not followed that directive, especially if said societies had something we wanted (oil, slaves, etc).

I think if one looks at the social values of the eras in which capitalism was born and in which it was able to thrive (late 18th century and shortly after WW2, with the latter being more questionable than the first), one sees that the notion of self-interest is very foreign to a people still deeply steeped in religious traditions that emphasized selflessness over selfishness.

[flopsy]

nico i'm unacquainted with your version of the prime directive.

selfishness/self interest cannot be squashed by religion especially when played out through relationships. i love all my brothers and sister in Christ but i love my actual siblings more (even when they are a frickin pain in the A). when i pick who to have relationships/friendships with i value them more than strangers no matter what is preached every Sunday.

[comokate]

Feb 13, 2011 15:22:18 GMT -5 flopsy said:

how has capitalism failed? we've never experienced pure capitalism. do you mean the bounded semi-capitalism has failed? that i would agree with. i'd suggest reading Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal by Ayn Rand.

"Famed individualist Ayn Rand secretly received Social Security and Medicare benefits under the name Ann O'Connor, a social worker and consultant to her law firm revealed in a 1998 interview. In Oral History of Ayn Rand, a book by Scott McConnell of the Ayn Rand Institute, Evva Pryror reveals, "Doctors cost a lot more money than books earn and she could be totally wiped out." She said Rand took the benefits even though she "despised government interference and felt that people should and could live independently ... She didn't feel that an individual should take help."

www.drudge.com/news/140768/ayn-rand-welfare-queen

[nicomachus]

The United Federation of Planets has not been consistent in its presentation, interpretation or implementation of the prime directive. However, in its Vulcan origins, it had to do with non-communication with pre-warp societies.

My point is and has been, however, that an economy fueled by selfishness (as capitalism must be) is one doomed to moral failure.