Tag: reddit

Would you buy a ski chalet? 

MIKE6 Comments

How much money do you need? Make sure it’s at least at least one million. Now, double your number (I will move the goal posts for you). If it’s not at least $20 million, raise your number to that.

Would you buy a ski chalet?

A form of this question regularly rises on a sub-Reddit. 

Business sellers (occasionally it’s sunny stock situations) come into a large amount of money and ask strangers on the internet: *How do I…*. What a time to be alive! Bags of money bring baggage. So, would you buy a ski chalet?

On Reddit answer is no.

And it’s not even close. 

Potential purchasers make three assumptions that posters point out. First, that they will always enjoy skiing and the attractions of a single place. This is unlikely. Retired wealthy Redditors reply that they want to travel more and wider, now that they have more time. That they might get injured while skiing, which takes the shine off. Or their children, who they now want to spend more time with, will lose interest or get injured.

Second, ski chalet’s are in mountains, and mountains are not the most accessible places. It’s probably a plane ride, a rental car, and maybe even connecting flights. The sweet spot, per the commenters, is two hours. Vacation places within two hours get used and enjoyed. It’s logarithmic.

Third, vacation homes away from home are inconvenient to manage. Imagine spending a large amount-though you can afford it and then paying someone the lowest price to keep an eye on it. This is not a recipe for success.

Ultimately, the advice breaks down to three points: do things you enjoy, with people you love, and not too much stress. This is the main point of the story.

And this advice supplies to people who are not in the market for a ski chalet. One of the maxims for thinking analytically, is to take things to an extreme case. If we had all the money we thought we ever needed, How should we spend it? This is an actual question being answered by people who answered correctly and incorrectly.

Do things you enjoy, with people you like, and not too much stress.

It’s not the price of the ski chalet that’s the problem, is that it doesn’t fit with this advice.

Here’s a tip, better copywriting

MIKELeave a comment

“First time seeing this at restaurants…,” posted Mrs Monroe, “way to guilt customers to spend more”.

Commenters added: “tipping is a sham”, “servers don’t really get that money”, “I hate seeing this at…”. Some suggested subterfuge, a special and spiteful $0.01.

It’s too bad, and a chance for good copy.

There are many restaurants because there are many restaurant jobs: fast, casual, formal, status, and so on. Diners want to feel good.

Broadly, businesses like restaurants, sell two things: steak and sizzle. The tangible, measurable, structural aspects are the steak: how fast, how good, how much. The intangible, spiritual, and attitude components are the sizzle: how nice, how friendly, how fun. Intangibles can be measured, though not as easily (so we often don’t).

Part of a place’s sizzle is their copywriting, even when it’s time to pay.

The good. ‘Good’, ‘Great’, ‘Wow!’. Translating feelings (this service was good) into actions (tip 15%) helps customers. People, like rivers, follow the least resistance. Make it easy. Also good are the calculated tips.

The bad. (1) Misuse leads to dislike. One commenter claims their local Taco Bell uses this same interface – tips and all. That’s fine, I guess, but doesn’t jive with the TB strategy. Hence the frustration.

Also interesting is why Mrs. Monroe feels guilty. Was this a serve-yourself place? Family style? Buffet? There’s a disconnect between her expectations and experiences.

(2) People like choices. There’s technically thousands of tip amounts, but we only see six. Especially with money, people do not like to be told what to do. Better would be a slider like for a phone’s brightness, or a knob like for a stereo’s volume.

(3) ‘Best Service Ever!’ is a twenty-five percent tip? Whoever programmed that has not (or forgot about) eating out with kids. Best ever deserves more. Setting this upper amount also frames the range a customer sees.

(4) ‘Skip’ could be ‘Skip and speak with the manager’. This forces diners to match their words and actions. Was it bad, or just a bad mood?

The confusing. None.

…

This image lacks context: the quality, service, and kind of meal, the representativeness of the commenters, the individual’s profile. None of what’s written may be a solution. But thinking through the options might get to one.

Good copy sits within the broader bucket of communication which sits within strategy which works best when the sub-actions align.

Da Moon

MIKELeave a comment

Via Reddit.

“My parents are everything to me. They’ve worked their asses off to raise me and my two little siblings, starting with nothing as immigrants. They’re in the restaurant business and the pandemic forced them to burn through a large chunk of their savings, and they stress out over finances every single day. My dad always told me one day he’ll retire once the house is paid off, and that day is finally here.”

The OP dollar cost averaged their way to six Bitcoin for an estimated $240,000. “Thank you bitcoin community for all the memes and bullshit TA threads. I’ve reached my moon.”

We denominate freedom in money (the number) and sometimes get caught in this metric. But personal financial success seems to be mostly choosing from the good options, having good luck, and remembering da moon. Inverted: it’s not getting caught up with the Jones family.

With the 2020/2021 run it’s been a treat to see the Reddit stories about paying down debts, hitting marks, and people cashing out.

There’s certainly luck, but for OP there’s also brains and heart.

OP: Original Poster