Herewith a relatively trivial but, I hope, fun application of marginal thinking. Actually two applications: a subtler one by my non-economist wife (who has lived with an economist for 37 years) and an obvious one by me.
Most Saturdays my wife and I go out to a nice lunch. A couple of Saturdays ago, she wasn’t feeling well and didn’t want to go out. So we agreed that I would get takeout and bring it home. But where to go? I suggested some of our standard places that cost us between $35 and $50, not including tip. Here came her marginal insight: She nixed those places because it didn’t make sense to her to spend that kind of money when, with her stomach feeling the way it was, she wouldn’t get much value out of it. So she suggested Subway.
I went to Subway and noticed that the 6-inch sandwich I like went for $5.99 and the 12-inch went for, if I recall correctly, $7.49. So the incremental cost of the extra 6 inches was only $1.50 plus tax, which totaled about $1.64. It was easy to figure that the value of that extra 6 inches, for breakfast or lunch the next day, was well above $1.64. So I bought the 12 inch and, sure enough, had a delicious lunch the next day as well.
Culinary note: Some people don’t like a Subway sandwich the next day, especially if they get mayo and mustard, as I do, because the sauces seep into the bread, making it gooey. I love that. When my sister and I took a bus from Winnipeg down to Nacogdoches, Texas in April 1965, my aunt whom we visited packed tuna fish sandwiches for the return trip. Unaware of the danger of leaving mayo at room temperature, I didn’t finish the last one until over half way through the 50-hour bus ride, I think somewhere in Iowa. It was yummy.
READER COMMENTS
Dave Tufte
Oct 10 2019 at 12:26pm
Properly made, the pH of mayonnaise should make it OK to eat for quite a long time (it may not look that great). You probably were not incurring much risk. Not so with unpasteurized cheeses, as I found out the hard way going by train from Berchtedgarten to Paris in 1984.
David Henderson
Oct 10 2019 at 1:38pm
Thanks, Dave. Good to know.
Phil H
Oct 10 2019 at 8:17pm
I’ve never been able to really get on board with gourmet food, because I never think it’s better than cheap food. I’ve had some great meals – venison steak at the Ritz, a tofu banquet in Kyoto – and very much enjoyed them, but I don’t think I enjoyed them *more* than I enjoy a Subway sandwich.
I assume that it’s just a function of my particular tastes, because I do enjoy good music better than basic pop, and I like good books better than basic books. But it’s interesting that the definition of good food often seems to be “expensive food”; whereas what I love about books is that with few exceptions, the good and the bad all cost about the same.
Matthias Görgens
Oct 11 2019 at 12:20pm
We have quite a few hawker stalls with Michelin stars in Singapore now. A meal costs you typically less than 5 dollars.
On another note: I noticed that the main impact of eating fancy sushi on me was that I stopped enjoying cheap sushi. It’s not the same afterwards.
Alan Goldhammer
Oct 11 2019 at 9:42am
Of all the chain fast food places, I find Subway the most consistent in terms of quality. Yes, they do skimp a bit on meat but the bread is always good. I also have bought the 12 inch sandwich from time to time but not when I’m traveling on the road and only stop for lunch.
David Seltzer
Oct 12 2019 at 6:41pm
Yup! At publix, our local grocer, they often offer BOGO’s. My fav, 12 pack of Pepsi at $4.99 per with get one free…FREE!
Craig
Oct 12 2019 at 9:31pm
Indeed, Publix BOGOs are excellent. Publix might very well be my favorite thing about FL actually. I would suggest the Chicken Tenders Sub is, perhaps, the signature food of FL. Every week they have a whole sub special. This week its the whole Meatball sub for $5.99
Publix has really put a dent into Subway in South FL, no question.
Craig
Oct 12 2019 at 9:29pm
“Culinary note: Some people don’t like a Subway sandwich the next day, especially if they get mayo and mustard, as I do, because the sauces seep into the bread, making it gooey. I love that.”
Fair enough, but for those who don’t care for it there’s a solution. At Publix, the #pubsub which I personally feel is superior to Subway I will frequently order the weekly special sub of the week and in anticipation of eating only half one day and the other half the next, I order the one I am eating normal, I order the other half dry. Publix, by default, wraps each half individually. They will give you mayo/mustard/oil and vinegar packets.
Comments are closed.