Combos are a way of
maximising the
minimum amount of cash a
consumer will
spend. Most
food joints,
movie theatres, etc.
so cash in on combos.
Let me give you an example:
I went to one of those
huge new
theatres. Maybe it was a
Silvercity. Anyhow, as with many other
people, I often like to get
popcorn and a
drink when I go to see a
movie. But, not being very
hungry and
knowing the
high price of
movie theatre food, I
decided to get a
small popcorn and a small
Coke. Here's basically what happened:
ME: Can I get a small popcorn and a small Coke,
please?
THEM: I'm sorry,
sir. We don't have small
sizes.
ME: Uh.. well.. I guess I'll get a
medium Coke and a medium popcorn then, please.
THEM: Uh, sir.. for
25 cents more you can get our
Extra Value Combo.
ME: What is that? And how much is it?
THEM: For $9.50 you get a
large popcorn, a large Coke and a
Mars bar. PLUS the popcorn and Coke are
refillable.
So you're
led to
believe that the
best '
option' is $9.50 for more
food than you
want. When, really, the best deal is to buy food ahead of time and
sneak it into the theatre.
Another good example:
Pizza Pizza.
Buy one pizza, get the next one for only a buck! But how much is one
pizza? It's
$13 &
fucking 99¢.
Buy two pizzas or spend way too much!
This isn't really a new concept. I mean, most places have always rewarded customers who buy more stuff. You buy more stuff, you get a better deal. But.. combos seem to be a little more sinister. You see, when combos are present, if you buy too little, you get punished.
A combo is also a
combination of
moves executed in
rapid succession or a combination of
button presses/
joystick movements in
video games of the
fighting genre.