Pricing, customer service and the decisions that affect a business. Read Jay on the DoorDash-Instacart deal, Kelly Clarkson and Art of Play, and the 32-hour workweek.
Mamdani Warns DoorDash-Instacart Deal Could Raise Prices
“Customers might get a great introductory membership offer, but what happens to delivery fees, service charges and grocery prices six months or a year later? That’s the real test.”
“The question isn’t whether DoorDash can save money. It’s whether DoorDash will share those savings.”
Newsweek reports on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s warning that DoorDash’s proposed $17 billion acquisition of Instacart could raise consumer prices. Amanda Castro turns to Jay Aldebert, Chief Growth Officer at International Services, Inc., on whether the savings the companies promise will reach customers. His point: a single membership can help households paying for both services, but corporate cost savings are not the same as consumer savings, and the real test is what fees and prices look like once a major competitor is gone.
Read two more quotes from Jay in this article
“A single membership could be a win for customers currently paying for both services. But let’s not confuse corporate cost savings with consumer savings.”
“Regulators should be looking at consumer pricing, competition for delivery workers and the leverage this combined company could have over restaurants and grocery retailers.”
Kelly Clarkson's Feud With Brooklyn Store Raises a $15,000 Question
“Customer service isn't just about being polite. It's about protecting future revenue.”
“Publicity is only valuable if the business can turn it into something sustainable.”
Newsweek examines how the Kelly Clarkson and Art of Play dispute connects customer communication, public criticism and financial risk. Jay explains why attention alone does not establish business success, and why the response should be judged by sustainable sales rather than online traffic.
Read three more quotes from Jay in this article
“You can have a $15,000 product sitting in your store, but the way an employee communicates with a customer can end up being worth far more than the item itself.”
“A celebrity with millions of followers can do more damage to a small business in 30 seconds than that business could afford to spend on marketing in an entire year.”
“Sometimes the smartest financial decision is knowing when to stop talking.”
“A four-day week can absolutely work for some businesses. The mistake is assuming that because it works for one type of company, it can be applied to the entire economy.”
“One risk is that we turn five days of work into four days of stress. If making the model work requires higher prices, fewer employees, reduced hours or asking the same workers to carry a heavier workload, then the cost did not disappear. It just moved somewhere else.”
Newsweek reviews the actual outcomes from the UK's 61-company pilot, Germany's 45-organization trial, Portugal's 41-company program, and the South Africa and Botswana study, then examines the proposed federal legislation from Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Mark Takano. Jay is quoted on why the model works for some business types and breaks against others. Software companies with meeting-heavy calendars can absorb reduced hours. Hospitals, restaurants, retail, and manufacturing cannot, because coverage requirements do not compress. The Aldebert read: the labor cost never actually disappears in a four-day model, it just moves somewhere else on the P&L, and small businesses with narrow margins feel that move first.
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