October 22, 2023: Continuing Price Hikes（値上げの連続）

So far, there is no sign that prices will cease to rise. I have just recently been told by two parties that they were going to raise the price. Firstly, I was faced with a price hike at a barbershop. When I went to the shop, I was told that the charge for the haircut price was raised by 10%. He had no choice but to raise it because everything was going up. Among them was the energy bill, which was his biggest headache. But I had no problem accepting it because I understood how difficult it was to keep running the business at the old price. I also knew that he had never raised it for about 10 to 15 years, whatever happened to him. So I agreed with it and had him cut my hair at the new price. I am also ready to accept him raising the price again as long as it is up to 10% if he really has to do it to continue the business.
Then, I received a notice from NTT. It said that they would raise the price for the Flets-Hikari service soon. In other words, they would soon stop giving points and discounts to me as a user of the service. They insisted that they had to do it because of the increasing labour costs and others. But it must be price gouging, using the government’s campaign to raise wages. All they have to do is to send me the notice. But I have to struggle to find an alternative since I do not accept it as it is. I only have a few choices. But I have to choose one of them in a few months.

　このところの値上げはやむ気配がありません。最近も、二つのところから値上げをすると言われました。最初は、散髪屋です。散髪に行ったら、料金を10%値上げすると言われました。何もかもが値上がりするため、値上げせざるを得なくなったそうです。中でも、一番頭が痛いのが、光熱費だそうです。でも、この値上げは問題ありませんでした。旧料金で店を維持していくは分かっていました。また、この店は、10から15年の間、何があろうと値上げしてこなかったことも分かっていました。なので、値上げに納得して、新料金で髪の毛を切ってもらいました。また、店を維持するためにどうしても必要なら、10％くらいまでの再値上げは受け入れる用意があります。
　つぎに、NTTから通知がありました。フレッツ光の料金を値上げするというものです。つまり、利用者に付与していたポイントや値引きを近いうちに止めるというのです。高騰する人件費などが理由としていますが、政府の「賃上げ運動」による便乗値上げだと見ています。NTTは通知をすれば済みますが、ボクは納得がいかないので、代替サービス探しに格闘しています。選択肢は数個しかありませんが、数か月以内に決めるつもりです。