Everyone loves Bagels, especially here in the USA where the Bagel originated, but every time I go into a Bagel store and order one, I wonder how on earth they manage to justify charging an arm and a leg for a smear of cream cheese.

Let’s just look at two of the biggest chain stores that sell Bagels, Einstein Bagels and Dunkin Donuts.   The price of a Bagel is between 80 cents and just over a dollar if you have nothing on it.  But add a smear of cream cheese, and the price sky-rockets to around $2.50!

How do they justify charging you $1.50 or more just for a meagre scrape of cream cheese?

Frequently at the weekends I will take my daughters to Einstein Bagels for breakfast.  Ok, call me stingy, but rather than buying 4 Bagels with cream cheese  on them,  I buy 6 (getting one free) and a tub of cream cheese and spread my own.   The assistant still has to cut the Bagels and run them through the toaster though.

Together with drinks, the price works out at around $15, and there is more than enough cream cheese in a tub to spread thickly on all 6 Bagels.   Were I to have got only 4 Bagels and had the assistant spread the cream cheese, the cost would be $18 or more.

I just don’t understand, and furthermore I don’t know how they continue to get away with ripping off customers so badly.

Actually I am quite happy to rip a Bagel apart and eat it on it’s own, especially if it’s a Cinnamon Raisin or Assiago Cheese one, or just really fresh and soft.

So what say you?  Please give us some feedback on the extortionate cost of cream cheese, forward this to your friends, post it on other social sites, and let’s see if we can let this protest spread (sic!) around the USA and bring down the price of cream cheese on our Bagels…