By your logic there is no such thing as 'price gouging' - it's all just simple capitalism.
Keeping/losing customers is not just a matter of pricing. Piss them off - they leave and they never come back. They tell other people and those people never even walk in the door. Good business owners understand this.
If their model of price-gouging during tough times is working for them, then fine. But they've obviously upset some potential customers who not only won't buy, but have told me and now I won't buy. I say "tell everyone" and let's kill as much of their business as possible.
Now it's no longer about price, right?