Losing Money to Be a Tycoon c1-883
Page 56
Pei Qian was still playing when Zhang Yuan suddenly served him a glass of alcohol.
The glass was not big, but the liquor inside it looked especially bright. It was dark red at the bottom and an apple-red at the top. Both colors were translucent. Where they met in the middle of the cup, Pei Qian could see the colors mixing. It looked quite awesome.
The first thing he felt was: how mysterious!
After taking a sip, he found that it tasted special as well. It was hard to describe, but it was a very memorable drink indeed.
“What is this alcohol called?” Pei Qian asked.
Zhang Yuan answered him matter-of-factly, “Boss Pei, this is a type of Aurora Jungle-Juice. Ordinary Aurora Jungle-Juice would only glow in the dark. This slightly different recipe makes the color look more natural.”
“Not bad, how much does it cost?” Pei Qian asked.
Zhang Yuan, “Fifty yuan for a glass.”
Probably for fear that Pei Qian would find this too expensive, Zhang Yuan quickly added, “There is grappa in here, which costs about four hundred yuan for seven hundred milliliters. This cup alone contains thirty milliliters.
“There’s a cheaper version as well, which can be used to replace the grappa.”
“Oh,” Pei Qian responded, nodding. “Then, how much is the cheapest cocktail on the menu?”
Zhang Yuan pondered for a moment and said, “The cheapest is… twenty-five yuan. Most drinks sold at the bar are priced that way.”
This was 2010. It was not cheap.
The cost of one glass of alcohol would be equivalent to the cost of two meals for many students. What’s more, the customers that would come to an internet cafe-cum-bar are different.
“How is it, Boss Pei? Are the prices alright? If you think it’s too expensive, we can reduce it.”
Reduce?
Or increase?
If he lowered the price, he would earn less for every glass of alcohol. However, what if people spread the word that the drinks at this bar were cheap? What would he do if everyone came here to drink?
Wouldn’t that be akin to making small profits but having quick turnovers?
He could not reduce the price!
Although the price of the drinks was not considered low now—after some thought, Pei Qian decided that there was still room to increase the price!
Pei Qian made up his mind. “Add ten yuan to the price of every drink. Our customers are all high-class customers. If we price our drinks too low, it would be akin to looking down on them!”
“Huh?” Zhang Yuan was stunned.
“That’s decided, then. We will add ten yuan to the price of every drink.” Pei Qian sipped his cocktail happily and went back to his game.
Naturally, Zhang Yuan did not ask any more questions. Instead, he turned around and went back to work.
Pei Qian played for a while more and felt satisfied.
It was not so much because of the environment… but because of the expenses! According to his calculations, playing this game for two hours and drinking a glass of cocktail cost him eighty yuan in total. This money was enough to play at an ordinary internet cafe for a week!
Immediately, mainstream customers would be chased out of this internet cafe into other, cheaper alternatives.
Of course, Pei Qian knew that these high-end internet cafes would soon become the trend in sixty or seventy years. However, that didn’t matter… as long as it was not the trend now. What’s more, in sixty or seventy years, internet cafes would not have cocktails at sixty yuan per glass!
He had to incur a loss! He had to incur losses for the next four to five years.
How great!
Pei Qian stood up and prepared to leave.
At that moment, Ma Yang walked over and asked him, “Brother Qian, we plan to open the day after tomorrow. How do you think we should organize the opening ceremony or opening specials? I plan to half the price of gaming and drinks for the first three days. Do you think that’s enough discounts?”
Half the price of gaming for the first three days? Half the price of drinks? No, no, no, no, definitely not!
This would make them wildly popular in a short time. How could Pei Qian let that happen?
He shook his head profusely and said, “No, tacky! We are a high-end, attractive internet cafe, understand?
“We will open for business as per normal, without resorting to these low-class tricks. Good wine needs no bush. With such a top-class environment, are you scared that we would not attract customers? Why must we slash all our prices and make our opening so big? We cannot allow our internet cafe to look like a market!”
“Alright, we won’t do it, then…” Ma Yang did not understand why, but he knew that he would not go wrong by listening to Pei Qian.
Pei Qian walked out of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, satisfied. He was ready for the internet cafe’s opening day. On that day, he would see how desolate the internet cafe was. Then, he would finally feel real relief!
…
…
March 9th…
The opening day of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe!
There were no opening specials, flowers, firecrackers, or banners. There was nothing! Everything proceeded as per normal.
There were no Mandarin words on the shopfront. There was only one huge logo. Indeed, it looked high-class. However, it was not helpful in telling anyone that they could access the internet here.
The good thing was that there were many glass panels in this two-story building. In the day, people could easily see through the glass panels… into the coffee area and the gaming area.
Even so, everything was too low-key.
Zhang Yuan waited at the bar counter for customers to come in so that he could perform his fancy bartending skills. After waiting for half a day, he only saw people walk past the shop. At the very most, they looked curiously. However, not a single one of them walked in.
The cold wind outside the shop was very effective in persuading people not to enter.
Pei Qian sat at the coffee area, sipping and enjoying his coffee as he watched the empty internet cafe. The corners of his lips slowly curled up in a deep smile, but he tried his best to keep them down.
Ma Yang was not as calm as he was. It was obvious that he was getting restless. “Brother Qian, they should at least go out and distribute flyers, right…?”
‘They’ was referring to the managers that they hired. They were managers in name, but their job scope was wide. They even had to wait on people by pouring water and tea for them.
Before this, Pei Qian rejected every proposal that Ma Yang raised to promote the opening of this internet cafe. The reason he gave was that they needed to be patient!
We have such a good-looking place. If we offer opening specials and promotions like all the other entertainment businesses, it would be meaningless!
In the end, the opening day of the internet cafe was extremely quiet; no one cared for it.
Pei Qian sipped his coffee nonchalantly. “Why should we distribute flyers? How classy would that be? We have to allow our customers to stumble upon this place. Then, it would be a pleasant surprise!”
“Allow customers to stumble upon this place…?”
Ma Yang felt like there was something wrong with this strategy. However, at that moment, he found it difficult to rebut it.
Chapter 103 - Deserted!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
They waited for more than another hour… until noon.
A young man stood outside the door and looked inside for a very long time before he finally pushed the door and entered. The waiter that had been waiting for very long immediately went forward to greet that man.
“Welcome! Are you here to surf the net or drink some coffee?”
This was a slightly amusing way to ask; however, as Fish-Catching Internet Cafe was indeed a place that combined both dining and surfing the net, how else could he have phrased the question?
The youn
g man had evidently seen the high-tech computer setup inside through the glass and guessed that this was an internet cafe; that was why he had entered.
“You guys… how much an hour?”
The waiter answered honestly, “Ten yuan.”
The young man was a little bewildered, thinking that he had misheard. “Ah? I’m asking about the open area, not a private room.”
“That’s right, sir. The open area is ten yuan an hour; we don’t have private rooms here.”
The man was obviously lost for words. “Do you have any membership promotions?”
“Yes, we do. After becoming a member, alcohol and other drinks are ten percent off.” The waiter warmly served the menu.
The young man took a look as he staggered.
What the f*ck!
The front side of the menu listed all sorts of drinks and cocktails; all cocktails and anything with alcohol cost forty to fifty yuan a glass. The flip side contained some traditional comfort food such as tomatoes with eggs, Yuxiang shredded pork, and whatnot. They weren’t cheap either!
Even if there was a ten percent discount, he couldn’t afford these prices!
Furthermore, the internet cafe membership actually didn’t offer discounts for surfing the net, but only for drinks? What rubbish was this?
The young man coughed twice and said, “I’m sorry; my family isn’t that well-off. I’ll make a move first.”
He turned and left. The few waiters exchanged glances, not knowing what to do.
This…
They really wanted to stop him from leaving. However, Boss Pei had instructed that service had to be as natural as the spring breeze! It had to be just like the spring breeze gently floating by one’s cheeks, to allow customers to feel their sense of presence; they couldn’t make their presence too strong either.
Hence, the few waiters could only endure and do nothing.
Very soon, it was noontime; and more people stopped by. Some also came to ask about the price. In the end, three or four others came. Similar to that young man before, they heard the price of this place and beat a swift retreat.
Someone even mumbled to himself softly, “This is daylight robbery!”
Zhang Yuan had been standing by the bar counter, preparing to display his skills at mixing drinks. Alas, not even one person came in to surf the net, much less order drinks!
“Brother Qian, this cannot continue!” Ma Yang saw what was happening and grew anxious.
The opening was going so poorly; this was bad! The more deserted this place became, the fewer people would come; wouldn’t that be a vicious cycle?
Pei Qian also nodded very seriously. “En, we can’t continue like this. Someone, come. Make a sign and paste the price on the door! Everyone’s only coming in to ask about the price and leave; this is unacceptable.
“We’ll let them know the price at the door so that they don’t even have to enter to ask and then leave, what a wet blanket! If they think it’s expensive, I’d rather they not come in. We’ll have one less person to entertain; how good would that be.”
Ma Yang and company were dumbfounded.
This was what Boss Pei meant by ‘we can’t continue like this’?
If they didn’t hang a sign outside, perhaps someone might come in, ask about the price, feel bad about leaving under the watchful gaze of the waiters, and stay. This way, they might be able to keep some thin-skinned customers.
If they did a sign and everyone looked at it from outside, they would leave without even entering!
Weren’t they chasing away some thin-skinned potential customers as well?
Ma Yang was a little conflicted.
Pei Qian saw that Ma Yang was hesitating as he prompted Ma Yang again. “Hurry up and get it done. Why are you hesitating to do something that benefits everyone?”
Ma Yang stood up rather reluctantly as he arranged for someone to make a sign.
Pei Qian continued to drink his coffee. It seemed as if even this ordinary coffee smelled much sweeter than usual!
…
When afternoon came, customers finally arrived.
Two seemingly rich second-generation-heir young lads had come to surf the net together. Seeing the price at the door, they evidently hesitated for a while. However, after bickering between them, they still entered and sat in the internet cafe area.
A few looking like white-collar workers also went to the coffee area and ordered some coffee. This was actually within Pei Qian’s expectations. Although this place wasn’t in a proper commercial district, it after all bordered one such place. It was a street away.
As people came and went, some people might actually walk by this place to drink a cup of coffee or the likes; this was unavoidable. As this was after all a well-furnished internet cafe, even if the price was steep, it wasn’t to that extent where not even one customer would come. That type of situation was too ideal; it was unreal.
Having a few customers was still completely acceptable.
As long as it was controlled within a certain number such that the intake could not cover the costs, that was fine!
Pei Qian kept a watch till night time. A few people came to drink alcohol while Zhang Yuan also took the stage to sing two songs; the atmosphere was still not bad. It wasn’t as desolate as in the daytime. However, very few people actually came here to use the internet.
Pei Qian made a rough estimate: this amount of earnings was not going to cover anything.
It was great! Everything was within his plan!
Pei Qian stood up and prepared to leave. Ma Yang, on the other hand, seemed to have received a shock; he was a little dispirited. They had such good computers, such a great environment. However, the first day of operations had been so deserted!
Ma Yang couldn’t really stomach this.
Pei Qian tried his very best not to smile as he comforted, “It’s alright; it’s only the first day. Old Ma, you must remember that this is a long-term operation for Tengda Corporation! Don’t mention one day; even if in the first three months or the first half a year were all losses. That was fine! Things will slowly get better, understand?”
Ma Yang nodded; however, it was obvious he hadn’t really taken these words to heart.
Pei Qian also couldn’t say too much as he patted Ma Yang’s shoulder and left gleefully.
…
…
March 14th, Sunday…
Nighttime…
Zhang Yuan and Ma Yang found a table on the second floor near the windows and sat down; their faces were very dark. Zhang Yuan took a pen and was doing some sums.
“Rent, three hundred and fifteen thousand a month. As for water and electricity, ingredients purchases and consumption; all these are at least ten thousand a month. Wages are around sixty thousand a month.
“That means that even if our internet cafe doesn’t do anything, we would have expenses of four hundred thousand a month! Furthermore, the initial investments for computers, equipment, furnishing, etc; that amounted to two million yuan.
“Based on our revenue for these three days, we can’t even compare to small coffee shops that are only ten-odd square meters big. If this situation continues…
“Don’t talk about recouping our capital; we would at least have losses of three hundred thousand a month…”
Hearing Zhang Yuan doing the math, Ma Yang’s huge and long face grew pale. This… this was a little too much, right? However, thinking about the past few days of operations, this figure also actually seemed reasonable.
Too few customers had come!
For the tens of computers in the internet cafe, most of the time at most one person was playing in each row of computers, much less it being full house! Furthermore, these people also didn’t stay for long.
As for the coffee area, it was just barely slightly better and had more people. However, many people came, ordered one cup of coffee, and sat the entire day. They didn’t spend much. The worst part was, be that as it may, the coffee area couldn’t even
fill up half of the seats available! Business was that poor!
During the nighttime, not many people came to drink alcohol. Even when Zhang Yuan went and sang a few songs, only a mere few people would be listening and praising him, with the applause being pitiful.
It was very embarrassing!
Hence, these two days, Zhang Yuan and Ma Yang were very worried. If Fish-Catching Internet Cafe lost three hundred thousand a month, that meant that ten thousand yuan was flying away daily even if they did nothing.
This was a bottomless pit!
How much money was needed to fill this hole?
Zhang Yuan said, “Brother Ma, you have a solid relationship with Boss Pei; should you inform him of the situation? We can’t continue like this; we have to think of something.”
Ma Yang became glum, “Brother Qian had said for us to stomach this regardless for at least one week; then, we’ll talk.”
“One week…”
Zhang Yuan took a look at the calendar. Next Sunday was the 21st.
It felt… so far away!
“Aye, alright. Since Boss Pei has said that, let’s wait and see how things go.”
“The crux is Boss Pei isn’t letting us distribute flyers while we can’t lower our prices; this…” Zhang Yuan couldn’t understand this.
There obviously still was a small space for profit-making!
If they reduced the per-hour charges a little and made the drinks cheaper while did a membership promotion. The situation could be turned around! However, for some reason, Boss Pei wasn’t letting them do this.
Zhang Yuan was now out of ideas.
If a problem with price existed, no matter what he did in other areas, it was useless!
“Let’s listen to Brother Qian and regroup after a week.”
Ma Yang did not think that much. He was adamant in believing something: since Pei Qian had specifically given such instruction, Ma Yang would follow them obediently; he would not act on his own.
“We can only do that for now.” Zhang Yuan was a little worried; he wasn’t sure how many more months he could draw his over-ten-thousand-yuan salary.