I had the opportunity last weekend to do a short tour in Burgundy. After the visit of the Hospices de Beaune, we decided to take a little trip to the Cave des Cordeliers , right side, just to moisten his throat with some local wines.
What characterizes this tasting is that it pays: 7 € to taste five wines including a vintage * to over 50 € a bottle.
Intuitively, a neoclassical economist (bouuuh. .. let's stone him!) Looks like a wine connoisseur rationally prefer a free tasting at a wine tasting fee: the less you pay, the more one is happy. Yet it was exactly the opposite.
Those who have already visited the cellars are familiar with this dilemma. When you taste wines at a wine shop, one dare not leave without buying anything, it would be rude. Suddenly, you feel obliged to take at least a bottle while the wine is disgusting. That's what happened a little later in the day when we made a second cellar in a village lost. The guy gave us a plonk not terrible. In addition, it was obviously a bit forced to drink so he started a lengthy monologue that prevented us from leaving. We then bought a bottle to cut off power and flee.
The head of the Cave des Cordeliers has understood that and he understood very well that we could oust certain social standards by introducing market norms **.
This mechanism has long been known by social scientists whose experience is most illustrative of care in Israel ***. In these centers, parents souent arrived late to pick up their children. To try to fight against this phenomenon embarrassing, we tried to introduce fines proportional to delay time. Neoclassical economists (Ouuhh. .. they are beheaded!) Would have thought that this would reduce delays. However, this was exactly the opposite: increased delays. Before the introduction of the fine, it was a social norm that kept parents arrived (too) late. We try to avoid pointing to the flock because "it fucks wrong." But once the fine in place, a market standard just replace the social norm. Understood: it pays for the delay, so we had no discomfort at being late. The social incentive was replaced by a monetary incentive, less efficient (because the amount of the fine was not very high).
Here, the fact to pay the tasting because it is no longer perceived as an act of generosity in inviting reciprocity and therefore the purchase a bottle. Instead, the tasting is seen as a commodity exchange and thus is no longer the feeling of "having" something to cellar. Thus, we feel much more comfortable!
Well, it still took two or three bottles because wine was really good. These included a small white, Meursault 2004, which commanded respect.
Mh, I smell a note written in disaster after a weekend vacation this.
* But as a gift, you keep the glass anyway :-)
** There is an entire chapter devoted this theme in the book by Dan Ariely is (really?) me who decides.
*** recounted in the first chapter of Freakonomics .
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