Your customers are not as dumb as you think

In a fit of burrito and fresh-fried tortilla chips, I went to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. While waiting to be seated, I noticed this sign up on the wall of the entrance to the bar:

Okay, maybe I'm not thinking of this correctly, but if your Happy Hour prices are "all day, every day" isn't that just your regular prices?

This reminds me of the "special pricing" that is always in effect for certain clothing stores. Nobody really believes they are getting a deal because they all know that no one pays the "originally marked price."

So, if you are in charge of marketing, sales, product pricing, or just your neighborhood bar, don't insult your customers and think you are convincing them they are getting a deal. Don't bother trying to daze and confuse your customers with confusing pricing and discounting schemes. It makes you look dishonest and more difficult to do business with.

Your customers want to like you, feel good about giving you their money and attention, and feel good about themselves for getting something they want at a fair value. Make it easy to like you. Make it simple to understand the price and value. And above all, treat your customers with the respect you would like to have. You are someone else's customer, after all.