Update: A local business owner finally clued me in that commercial power around here is about 75¢ per kWh. I’ve re-done the whole article to match the new math. Higher than I thought, still not worth pissing off your customers.

I eat ate lunch pretty much every weekend at Aldo’s restaurant for the same reason I eat breakfast at the bakery every morning- free internet and a power outlet. Last year it was the perfect routine… donuts, coffee, blogging, then on to the performance or off to bike around the island. Seven days a week the bakery got my money and every weekend the restaurant served me at least two meals.

This year, however, they’ve covered all the power outlets. No more running the laptop on their dime. For all the tourists that drift through and considering rising energy costs, it makes sense, right? Wrong.

Do The Math

Unlike Aldo’s Bakery and Restaurant, I actually did the math. Here is the breakdown:

• Avg. retail electricity price in RI: 13.98¢ per kWh
  http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/fig7p4.html
• Block Island price: 75¢ per kWh
  According to a local business owner.
• MacBook maximum hourly power draw: .06 kWh
• .06 kwh x 75¢ = 4.5¢ per hour
• Average time I spend at Aldo’s: 27 hours per week
• 4.5¢ x 27 = $1.21 per week

The Worst Case Scenario

If ten MacBooks were plugged into the bakery’s ten outlets, running at full power draw, from open to close 17 hours a day, they would cost the restaurant a mind-boggling… um… $7.65 per day.

If all ten MacBook users spent only an hour here (45¢ total energy cost) and bought only one small cup of coffee each, they would pay for the next 20 people to do the same. (I know what the markup is on coffee at the bakery.)

For all 10 weeks that I’m on this island, if all 10 of us fictional MacBook users were cranking away at full steam in here, that’s a grand total of $535 they’ve spent in two and a half months assuming maximum capacity all the time.

But I am only one MacBook user. I am only here on average 27 hours a week to do my business and eat a couple of meals. At most, I am costing them $1.21 per week.

What is Aldo’s losing for that $1.21?

By making their power unavailable to me, they’re losing two lunch meals every weekend- a burger here is about $15 when all is said and done, somehow I doubt the profit margin is less than $1.21. They give the locals a 10-15% discount on some items, so they’re still making a profit at $13.50.

For $1.21 they’re losing a beer or two with each of those burgers. That’s a $4.50 Widmer Hefeweizen, usually, and between two beers I doubt the markup is less than $1.21. This is on tap, too, not in a bottle.

For $1.21 they’re losing all the Google juice that comes from me Twittering and blogging about my field office (this is probably the last post you’ll see on my site with Aldo’s in it).

The End Result

What do I see as a customer? I see a place that wants me to come in, spend money, and leave ASAP. I understand that costs are rising, but there are better (and far more effective) ways to save money. This move was obviously made without the customers in mind. It’s the same kind of move my web host made when they crammed twice as many sites onto one server and outsourced all their tech support to Mars.

Turn off the lights in the ice cream freezer and bakery displays when nobody’s in the restaurant (or better yet, install a motion sensor). Put a low-flow toilet in the bathroom. Turn off the TV’s in the bar until someone sits down for a drink (they draw more power than my MacBook anyway). Hell, charge me a quarter per hour… that’s over 5 times the cost.

But don’t take any steps that will cost you a customer unless you’re going to save more than that customer is spending. Do the math, see what’s really worth it and what isn’t.

Update: Just found out that Aldo’s will charge you $7 an HOUR if you want to plug in. Methinks this may not be an actual cost-saving move but a way to gouge tourists and locals at the same time. With a 60w power supply, that’s over $!00 per kWh. Shameful.

Today I had yet another encounter with Northwest Airlines. Last time I flew Northwest was 6 years ago when they delayed my flight 45 minutes, put me in First Class, stranded me in Minneapolis, fed me, got me drunk, and gave me one of the best non-fiction journal entries I’ve ever written*.

As I’ve said to people for the last 6 years, Northwest goofed up and then came through in spades in customer service. Continental can kiss my feathered digital ass, Northwest knows how to treat a stranded customer.

Well today I was supposed to fly from Atlanta to Detroit to Boston, but the first plane was delayed by a full hour. With no way to make my connecting flight, they shot me over to Delta and gave me some vouchers to go get something at Chili’s.

Oh, and even though I’m still leaving 45 minutes later, it’s a nonstop flight, so I’m arriving 40 minutes ahead of schedule. Northwest, you have goofed up again, and I hope you keep this up every time I fly with you.

*“Jeff, John, two Donnas, and a guy with a tail walk into a bar.” Yes, I was the guy with the tail.
[tags]Matthew Ebel, piano rock, NWA, Northwest Airlines, Delta Airlines, Continental Airlines, customer service[/tags]