On the afternoon of National Coffee Day, I went to one of my favorite local coffee shops, which had a special offer: pay as you wish. I could have paid any amount for the iced latte I ordered: 50 cents, $1, $2. Whatever amount I wished, "no questions asked."
I'll share with you a little later how much I ended up spending on the iced latte, but, as I'm sure you've gathered by now, I wouldn't be writing this blog entry if I had in fact paid what I wished.
I've never been good at this whole pay-as-you-wish thing. I blame Radiohead. In 2007 the band released "In Rainbows," which was essentially a surprise album at a time when surprise albums really were a surprise. Radiohead said fans could pay whatever they wanted, even if it meant paying nothing at all.
I wasn't sure what to pay. I knew I didn't want to pay what I would normally pay for an album: between $12-$15. But I also didn't want to download the album for free. The band did work hard on it, after all, and deserved to be compensated in some fashion. I felt strongly about that.
I gave Radiohead $2. Well, I didn't say I felt strongly about compensating them well.
I do regret having paid so little for what turned out to be a pretty good album, perhaps my favorite of Radiohead's since "OK Computer." I should've given them at least $5 more. Sorry, Thom.
I saw Radiohead in concert earlier this summer for the first time since the "In Rainbows" era. They played several songs from "In Rainbows" that night, but not my favorite track; they saved it for the following night. I can't help but feel they did that on purpose, as a measure of payback for stiffing them all those years ago.
The pay-as-you-wish model doesn't work well for someone like myself, who has a tendency to overthink things. The Met has pay-as-you-wish admission. What's a fair price for the opportunity to see a van Gogh or a Monet in person, at one of the world's most famous museums? More than the $2 I spent on "In Rainbows," for certain. But $10? $20? $25? I don't know. I'm not an art lover. I love many things more than art. Baseball, for one. Say, shouldn't it be the Mets, and not the Met, who have pay-as-you-wish admission, anyway?
I had pretty much the same pay-as-you-wish debate in my head as I stood in line at the coffee shop on National Coffee Day: What is a fair price for this iced latte?
I settled on $4, including tip (my holiday gift to the barista).
The usual cost of an iced latte at this shop: $4.
Total savings on an iced latte on National Coffee Day: $0.
If only the offer had been advertised as "save as you wish," I might've made a smarter decision.
Here's what I really wish: I wish businesses would stop asking me to pay what I wish. No more pay-as-you-wish offers, no questions asked.
