But luxury meals are enhanced by paying more for them. They are prestige purchases, and "prestige pricing" increases sales, according to data in marketing textbooks. How much you paid becomes a positive part of the experience, and worth remembering.
While I agree with your point, it gets lost when applied to Starbucks.
There seems to be a groundswell of people who have suddenly realised that it's totally unreasonable to charge what they charge for a cup of coffee.
The sheer ubiquity of Starbucks has also reduced their luxury allure.
Might be nice to have a pretty receipt, but as far as Starbucks is concerned, they might want to reduce the font of the price and ensure it smudges easily.
OH yeah, his Starbucks example doesn't really make sense - I was thinking of the architecturally designed home and the $1000 restaurant meal. It's a bit weird how he starts with two compelling luxury data points, then overgeneralizing to... a $6.02 purchase.
I disagree that luxury meals are enhanced by their high price. I eat for the food, and superlative, exquisitely prepared food tends to cost more. Overall experience, most notably accomodating and non-intrusive service, is important as well.
I think a handsome receipt gives a "nice touch" feeling about a restaurant experience; in a similar way, a flimsy receipt may stick out as the only dumpy aspect about a meal.
