Top 5 ways restaurants make you spend more

[snapman]

Most restaurants are like any other business, which means they want to make as much money out of you as they can. Here are the top five ways they get you to spend more.

Eating out used to be simple. Before the 1960s, competition among chains was timid, with only a few established restaurants operating in a handful of formats. Over the years, factors such as the demand for healthy choices and the introduction of foreign cuisines have created an overwhelming number of restaurant options.

Restaurants must continually work to lure in customers and maximise their guests' spending, and a handful of companies seem to have a recipe for accomplishing both. But this industry is vulnerable to trends and staying on top takes inventive marketing, shrewd strategies and aggressive selling. To prove this point, set a budget the next time you eat out and then look for these common restaurant tactics that work to increase your spending.

1. The up-sell

All successful restaurant operators tell their serving staff to use suggestive selling. And servers have plenty of incentive beyond their boss's bottom line, as the higher the final bill is, the larger the tip they stand to receive.

A good server sells food like a car salesman. Every menu offering is simply a base model that can be enhanced with special features: A pasta dish can be outfitted with garlic bread and upholstered with cheese. Everything's better with bacon and who doesn't deserve a "king-sized" serving? These suave suggestions of super-sizes, appetisers, dessert, extra cheese, double burgers and large drinks quickly double your tab, too, and these extras are often the difference between an operation being a laggard or a moneymaker.

2. Forced waiting

Have you ever been on a restaurant's waiting list but noticed a number of open tables that you could be dining at? Many times, the restaurant has done this by design. The idea is to get you to sit in their lounge (there always seems to be room in the lounge). Here, the bar staff can sell you drinks and appetisers.

Some restaurants will bill you separately for your lounge items, which may make you feel obligated to tip both your servers. Many diners may walk in with a budget, but when made to wait among a lounge full of food and drinks, it's tough to ignore a sudden craving or a hungry belly.

3. All-you-can-eat

This gluttonous proposition appeals to consumers' desire to get the most value for their money. And while there is some value in all-you-can-eat offerings, savvy restaurateurs know how to make a lot of money from the seemingly generous deal.

First, the price for the starter is often more than the regular price and the serving size is smaller. Guests are also encouraged to fill up on less expensive side dishes and complimentary (see cheap) breadsticks and salad, leaving less room for refills.

Second, mass-producing one item reduces the purchase and production costs of the item, allowing for a significant profit margin. To actually cost the restaurant money, a guest would need to eat a lot of refills. Very few people actually go beyond two servings, so the law of averages works in the restaurant's favour.

These promotions are also great at attracting big crowds on otherwise lacklustre days and a crowded dining room creates plenty of opportunities for servers to up-sell profitable add-ons. Even if a customer happens to be a competitive eater, it's likely they still have to wash down all that chow with over-priced soft drinks or more alcoholic options that balance the costs of the entrée.

Even at a small loss, the restaurant can still hope to offset losses with repeat business and positive word-of-mouth advertising.

4. Fake specials

Many restaurants reserve a place on their menu for the daily "special." Often, this unique offering is simply the food that is set to expire soonest.

Featuring a dish is also a great tool for pushing high-profit menu items. Restaurants like to push big-ticket starters as a featured item to give the impression that an expensive meal is available for less.

There are real deals to be had, but it's wise to check the regular menu to see if the special is indeed less than the regular price. Many restaurants will let their guests assume that featured items receive a discount when in fact there are no savings.

Being sceptical of subjective descriptions like "special" and "feature" can help you avoid paying up for false value.

5. These pretzels are making me thirsty

What happens when you eat too many salty snacks? You get thirsty. This scientific titbit isn't lost on bar owners, who profit from salt's dehydrating effects.

Many bars are happy to offer free pretzels, peanuts, crisps and popcorn (pretty much anything that's cheap and addictively salty will do the trick), knowing that customers will soon crave drinks to ease their growing thirst.

If you're trying to keep a modest drink tab, avoid curing your tongue with salty snacks that drive you to drink.

The bottom line

No matter what food you're craving, British restaurants offer a host of options and aggressive competition means great deals are out there. But to follow your food budget, you need to see past the slick commercials, flashing neon and limited-time promotions.

By becoming impervious to restaurant sales tricks, you can avoid overspending and, by fortunate coincidence, overeating.

Source

 

[astrolab]

these particular bad attitudes from ..General Restaurant Policy, is not like that for any Restaurant, if we want to mesh , mix any Restaurant , we have to distinguish the Real from the Business only Eating Places, not all the restaurants are the same, there's places where you pay only for the Name of the Place, the food is normal, the bill is high, there's other places where the food is terrible and the service is good, others have good food and terrible service, other again have good food, good service and good prices. A restauranteur, doesn't base his own business to rip-off Customers, just squeeze them get the maximum amount of money to spend from them, who do this, is not a restaurateur, but a copy, or simple low food business orientation company, where in few years, they have to close down, people are not stupid any more, and lot's Customers are became expert in food, you cannot serve food near to expire like the dish of the day, who do this, are simple idiots, ruin their own business.
Of course the waiter try sell more expensive food, or drinks, but this is not a full owner profit, this is for the waiters percentage or tips, a serious restaurant owner, prefer sell good food, top quality food, good service and low bill due any one will go back there, and this is the secret of a Restaurant called.
All the others use tricks to sell food and get money only, don't have long life, i was own for more than 30 years, a restaurant, still one of the successful place, either I am not there anymore.
The food is not a business to cash-up money, is art, dedication, passion, and personal affirmation of knowledge in food and drinks.Is your home, the Restaurant where the owner can come to your table to greeting you and suggest, a good meal, not the most expensive meal, but the good one, the owner know , you will go back if you treat them well, other wise, the Place will be empty after short period of time.
This is all over the world, not just in the UK, food is not a simple money making business, is much much more, all depends from who do this business, and how.
My experience make me able to clean the WC better than any one and I can demand to do the same from my cleaners , I'm cooking also better than many one,and I know how to handle the Staff in the kitchen to pretend the best from them, and I know how to serve and how to buy fresh food and not frozen only or prepared already from some Catering supplier,... so there's a big difference from restaurant and Restaurant, remember a good restaurant is a place where culture, experience, preparation, professionalism, style are the base for keeping the rate of the place, always more up from others, of course don't include in the list, fast food, or fish and chips or MC Donald and Wimpy, and to close, we are not all the same. Trust me.

 

[Utopie]

Dude, these tricks and 'brain hacks' are prevelent through every single aspect of society today. You have to be savy at ALL times: when reading the news paper, watching TV (esp the news), talking to friends, walking down the street...

We are all under constant attack from people and organisations who want to steer us into making an unconcious decision, that's why as a nation and more so a global community, we are obsessed with money, shopping, vanity and fame... It's a 'mind virus', and most of us are infected...