Competition At Work
Isaac: Hey! We were just figuring out where to eat in the food court… I'm starving! Oooh… I think my stomach is starting to eat itself.
Emily: Well, it looks like we have three choices: pizza, pizza, or pizza.
Isaac: I know! Three pizza joints right in a row! Can life get any better? And they're all competing against each other for our business! That means we get better prices, more choices, and best of all… better pizza!
Emily: When businesses compete, consumers win. Each pizza place wants our business, but if they're all selling the same product, there has to be a reason to choose one place over the other. As customers, we're the ones who decide which is best. That means that each business tries to beat the competition by having some combination of higher quality, lower prices, bigger selection, and better service than the other guys—so we win!
Isaac: Yep, that's great… Can we please get some food now!
Emily: We gotta figure out where to eat first. Read about the different pizza places and see how they're competing. When you're done, check back with us, and we'll figure ouwhere we want to eat.
Mama Toni: If you're looking for fresh pizza, made from the best ingredients, we've got it! At Mama Toni's, we make our pizzas from scratch: homemade sauce, hand-tossed crust, the freshest toppings, and the finest cheeses! Nothing's ever frozen or reheated. On top of all that, at Mama Toni's, we do everything big! Our huge slices have twice the toppings, twice the cheese, and twice the flavor of the other guys! Right now, you can get one of our giant three-topping slices for just five dollars and we'll throw in a medium drink for free!
Slice: Slice's Pizza is hot, tasty, and ready to go! What do we have that the other guys don't? More slices for less money! Today we're giving away five for five! That's five slices of hot cheese pizza for only five bucks! That's a deal so hot it can't be touched! Get your hunger fix at Slice's!
Ovenry Man: Come thou forth unto… Ye Olde Brick Ovenry! Our gourmet pizzas are cooked to perfection over a wood fire in our famous medieval style brick oven for a flavor that's beyond compare! Choose from over fifty organic toppings! Five all natural sauces! and three herb-sprinkled crust styles! Everything is prepared to your exact specifications. Stop by for a small seven-topping brick oven pizza for just ten dollars! Nobody comes close to the selection or the quality found at Ye Olde Brick Ovenry!
Emily: I don't know about you, but I think Mama Toni's looks amazing… Everything's made fresh, the slices look delicious, and the price is pretty decent.
Isaac: Yeah… Mama Toni's sounds good, but just one slice for five bucks? I'm starving… I mean, they're kind of big slices… but not nearly as big as my stomach. I could get five slices of pizza next door at Slice's for the same price!
Emily: Are you kidding me? I'd take one slice of Mama Toni's over five slices of soggy cardboard from Slice's Pizza any day!
Isaac: I think you mean five slices of hot, cheesy goodness… and for only five bucks!? Come on!
Emily: Uuuh. That's disgusting. Besides, it's just plain cheese and it doesn't even come with a drink.
Isaac: I'll just get water. After eating all that cheese, it's probably better not to add carbonation to the mix. Though toppings would be nice…
Emily: Well what about Ye Olde Brick Ovenry? If we put our money together and both ordered water instead of soda, we could split a small seven-topping specialty pizza. Seven organic toppings!
Isaac: Mmm… seven toppings… and all the sauce and crust options… the possibilities are endless! With so many delicious choices we could create the world's tastiest pizza pie! Lets do it! With all those toppings, I think half of a small pizza might be enough to fill me up. If not, I'll just steal one of your slices.
Emily: Pshh… no way. We're splitting it fifty-fifty.
Isaac: Fine… but I'm picking the toppings!
Emily: Rrr… Anyway, as you can see, when businesses compete, in addition to getting more choices, you get better selection, better quality, and lower prices. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get over there before Isaac orders something gross.
