Betfair Official Blog

Casinos Have Their Cake And Eat It

JOHNNY The Guesser has an allegorical tale he would like to share with the Forum:

Johnny liked cakes. About 5 years ago a small bakery opened just down the road. Johnny went in on their opening day and started buying all his cakes from here.

He went in most days usually 2 or 3 times. He was far from their biggest customer but he liked the place and felt they valued his business - Johnny was self employed himself and knew that all customers were important and needed to be looked after.

The bakery itself was a strange place with a cross section of customers - a real motley crew. Some would eat cakes all day and all night - they did little else. In his weaker moments he somehow envied them permanently stuffing their faces. Some sat quietly in the corner eating one cake very slowly whilst others ate too many so quickly they made themselves sick. Some ordered huge cakes - more than would surely be good for them. Some of the male customers even dressed up as women before ordering their cakes! Fights used to break out but there was mostly a good atmosphere about the place.

After a while Johnny noticed a change - many of the customers were now entering the bakery through a side door and getting their cakes 30% cheaper. This started to annoy Johnny so he approached the manager and asked for a similar discount - It wouldn't cost them much and he had been a long-standing customer.

New customers only" was the brusque retort.... "But..." "New customers only!!!"
"Psst" said a big German fellow in the corner - Johnny recognised him as one of the bakery's best customers - "All in" he would shout before devouring the biggest cakes in a single mouthful. "I can get you the discount." "What do I have to do?" "You need to change your identity and pretend you are a new customer." "Yes...but the manager will recognise me." "He won't care, it goes on all the time." "That's just a stupid way to run a business," Johnny replied.

Johnny couldn't be bothered - but he did notice the other customers sniggering when he continued to buy his daily cakes at full price. Maybe the bakery no longer wanted his business.

After a while the bakery moved to new premises across the road and a new bakers opened on the old site - bakers were everywhere.

"I do hope you will continue to come in for your cakes," asked the manager.

"Can I now buy them at a 30% discount like everybody else? After all you always seem to have cakes left at the end of the day," Johnny asked politely.

"No! New customers only"

In the meantime Johnny had approached the new bakery and had been offered a 30% discount and had sampled their cakes - they were identical to the ones he had enjoyed for the last 5 years.

What should Johnny do?

What should the relocating bakery manager do?

Answer: Change banks? Or play Zero Lounge...