‘Twas the night before Christmas,
The store had just closed.
I tallied receipts,
Adding to my woes
The Grinch had stolen Christmas
Before my eyes, without even a hint.
He’d stolen my profits,
Leaving my pockets with lint.
In an economy blue,
Battling high unemployment and costly fuel,
He encouraged low prices to get sales—even a few.
The Grinch, so heartless and cruel.
I lowered prices to all,
Yet sales and profits continued to fall.
So did my holiday cheer;
The Grinch had stolen Christmas again this year.
Weary and disheartened I drifted into sleep,
A welcome respite, a bit of relief,
A way to deal with the season’s defeat.
Alas, it was a mistaken belief.
In my dream the Grinch lowered prices.
He lowered them early,
He lowered them often.
Yet buyers’ resolve did not soften.
I saw the Grinch smile,
As he thought with guile,
“I know this won’t work,”
As he cut prices and continued to smirk.
A distant voice cried out,
A murmur more than a shout,
“Low prices won’t get people to buy—
Wasting money makes buyers wry.
“People buy what they want,
Price is irrelevant.”
The Grinch, knowing my price was fair,
Pressed me to lower my fare.
Wait, what do I see?
The picture becomes clearer.
As the Grinch comes nearer,
The Grinch is me.
This article was originally published by Pricing for Profit
Published: December 11, 2013
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