Comment by bombcar

This is exactly it - mom and pop businesses will charge enough for a comfortable lifestyle for themselves, but not really feel pressure to charge above that.

And if you have a vet, say, who is near the end of his career, he's already amortized all the training/educational expenses, and so can run out until retirement at relatively low rates compared to a brand new one.

The companies take advantage of this, but the customers also like it, too, because the offices will be fancy and feel new and they can schedule an appointment online.

Same thing that Great Clips et al did to barber shops.