Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Ohio business owners have been grappling with rising operational costs. A recent survey found that 70% of business owners planned to increase their prices in response to these costs, with 91% citing the need to pay competitive wages and cover other expenses as the reason.
One such business owner is Gary Dible, who owns four Biggby Coffee locations in northeast Ohio. Although he had only raised prices once since the pandemic began, Dible has now decided to increase them again due to inflation and other factors. The increase is expected to be between 5-15%, depending on the item. Despite his reluctance to raise prices, Dible emphasized that it was necessary at this time in order to remain competitive and continue providing quality service to his customers.
Dible’s decision comes after a survey conducted by the Ohio Restaurant & Hospitality Alliance found that prices were unlikely to decrease in the near future based on the state of the industry report. However, customers like Michael Judin understood the need for price adjustments and emphasized that as long as the quality and service remained consistent, they had no issue with businesses increasing their prices.