How do you prefer to travel: by airplane or Shinkansen? News is that JR East has started trying to win customers away from the airlines by serving breakfast on the Akita-Tokyo Shinkansen, from June onwards. Their problem is that it takes 4 hours by train versus 1 hour by air, to get to Tokyo. Their strategy is to pamper customers with breakfast, tea, oshibori, and slippers -- all free of charge.
Their target is business people, who take the early train to Tokyo. Over 40% of the passengers travel early in the morning. So, although you can eat breakfast in comfort, or even take a nap on the way to work, the problem is that if you have to be in the office by 9:00 a.m., then you have to leave home before 4:30 a.m.!
Personally, I would rather sleep than have a free meal. Do you think this marketing ploy will work? We'll find out in a month or two, I guess.
Their target is business people, who take the early train to Tokyo. Over 40% of the passengers travel early in the morning. So, although you can eat breakfast in comfort, or even take a nap on the way to work, the problem is that if you have to be in the office by 9:00 a.m., then you have to leave home before 4:30 a.m.!
Personally, I would rather sleep than have a free meal. Do you think this marketing ploy will work? We'll find out in a month or two, I guess.
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