The New York Times published an interesting article on coffee shop and fast food chains offering wireless internet access to their customers. As the author emphasizes, wi-fi connections are to coffee shops what air conditioning has been to movie theaters a few decades ago.

The article describes the services offered by different companies to their customers, referring to their pricing policies, the support they offer and the imminent lack of security all wireless connections entail.

From what I know about Bucharest, Pizza Hut offers such free services to its customers in most of its restaurants. And I read an article a while ago about a huge redesign plan for all McDonalds restaurants, who would, upon completion, also provide internet services to customers. I am pretty sure the internet is supposed to be free. Which would be a smart choice for Romania, as few of us would pay to get online at McDonalds.

There are plenty of those in Bucharest. More than you can imagine. However, that does not mean all of them have a clear idea that they make money from the commissions their customers pay. So rudely hanging up on a potential customer is not such a big deal for them. After all, who cares?

This attitude might shock you at first. But after you think for a few minutes, it is all quite clear. The demand for apartments (to rent or to buy) is almost inelastic. People need a place to live in and the prices are always growing. As living in the North Station or at a hotel are really not viable alternatives, customers depend on agencies to find an apartment for them. Or to find buyers or tenants.

For such an agency, both the owner and the buyer/future tenant have to pay a commission. The issue is that returning customers are a factor to consider. So, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll act nice. Tenants don’t stay forever, so you may gain customers that always come to you when they need to move. Maximize your profit, that’s the idea! Yes, customers are pretty much everywhere, but what if some other company manages to turn most of them into return customers?

Now, some more complaining: I hate calling hundreds of people for hundreds of ads! I hate that the ads are already obsolete on the day the ad paper is published, that very morning, not later in the day. OK, now I feel better. Back to my search!