Paying The Experienced Hand Less

by Patrick Appel

Dan Ariely talks to a locksmith:

He was tipped better when he was an apprentice and it took him longer to pick a lock, even though he would oftentimes break the lock! Now that it takes him only a moment, his customers complain that he is overcharging and they don’t tip him. What this tells is that consumers don’t value goods and services solely by their utility, benefit from the service, but also a sense of fairness relating to how much effort was exerted.

2006-2011 archives for The Daily Dish, featuring Andrew Sullivan