Posted on 02/24/2008 11:37:09 AM PST by yorkie
1. "It's more about the sizzle than the steak."
Business is good for the restaurant industry. Americans now spend roughly half their food budget dining out, and restaurants expect revenue of more than $537 billion in 2007. That's a 67% increase since 1997.
But it's not just our collective avoidance of the kitchen that's pumping profits: Restaurants work every angle these days, using marketing psychology to get you to spend more.
At legendary Aureole Las Vegas, spandex-clad "wine angels" retrieve bottles from a 42-foot-tall spirits tower. The thinking behind the spectacle: "Anything that gets patrons' attention will get them to spend," says restaurant designer Mark Stech-Novak.
Fast-food outlets use a high-stimulus environment to maximize the source of their profit: "It encourages faster turnover," says Stephani Robson, a senior lecturer at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. "Specifically, the use of bright light, bright colors, upbeat music and seating that does not encourage lolling."
Even menus are rigged. "We list the item that makes the most profit first so it catches your eye," says restaurant consultant Linda Lipsky, "and bury the highest-cost item in the middle."
2. "Eating here could make you sick."
(Excerpt) Read more at articles.moneycentral.msn.com ...
lol If I read the whole article will it stop me from wanting to go out to eat tonight? ~Pandy~
Better tonight, than tomorrow. On monday, the chefs try to get rid of everything left over from the week before. They pass it off as “Specials”. Some pretty disgusting stuff is served in the Chef’s ‘special sauce’.
The best tip if you read the whole article is Monday is the left overs from the week end.
I think the article is pretty accurate. I recall sitting near the kitchen at a Morton’s Steak House. We could see how much butter they used on the veggies. No wonder they tasted so good. It was amazing, they must get it cheap.
Same goes for the ‘special’. Especially if the ‘special’ is something they don’t normally serve.
LOL! Our posts said the same thing, 18 seconds apart.
Great minds...............
;-)
Meow
The Restaurant Inspections is the first thing I check out in the newspaper. I used to frequent a Chinese Buffet when they first opened. But the food seemed colder and colder every trip - until I just wouldn't go there anymore. Turns out, they turned their burners down real low, to keep the food from over-cooking at the buffet. They got 13 violations from the Health Department. I'll never eat there again.
I’ve gotten wise to restaurants that suddenly close for “remodelling” and when they reopen, all the changes were “behind the scenes” (to meet code?).
Also chain restaurants that close up for a week because the boss is “on vacation”. It’s a chain. They never close up for days at time without a good reason.
I think if they don’t pass health inspection, there should be a flurescent red sticker on the door “closed by the board of health”.
The secret to buffet dining is get the first batch served.
hmmmm well I think I will cook after all, lmao!
I agree. In fact, I told our Health Inspector that I wish the Inspection results would be posted right on the front door!
Bttt
It's no secret that restaurants enjoy huge markups on certain items: Coffee, tea and sodas, for example, typically cost restaurants 15 to 20 cents per serving, and pasta, which costs pennies, can be dressed up with more expensive fare and sold for $25 a dish or more.
At a fine-dining restaurant, the average cost of food is 38% to 42% of the menu price, says Kevin Moll, the CEO and president of National Food Service Advisors. In other words, most restaurants are making roughly 60% on anything they serve.
It's not all gravy though. Restaurants keep only 4 cents of every dollar spent by a customer, says Hudson Riehle, the vice president of research and information services at the National Restaurant Association. The remainder of the money, he says, is divided among food and beverage purchases, payroll, occupancy and other overhead costs.
Am I the only one that sees nothing wrong with this? How can the markups be ridiculous if they are only making 4% profit. If their M/U's were lower they will lose money.
More scare tactics. Just how many people have had bad experiences thanks to restaurants? (I mean, REALLY bad.) I can’t think of 1 instance in my life, cheap or expensive, and I’m 38.
If we keep up this inspection stuff (some basics of which I can see), before long they’ll be inspecting our homes or not allowing us to have guests over - because that would be like going to a restaurant.
In fact, the last few weeks something exactly like this was brought up. Wish I could remember just what it was. And of course, we’ve already heard about inspections of soup kitchens (churches and such) and the like, where people trying to be nice are shut down - thus, the homeless get NOTHING to eat in a decent place.
I worked in management in two ‘Fine Dining’, three and four star resort restaurants. If I told you all the things that I saw, it would curl your hair.
But, I do agree - we certainly don’t need more of Big Brother.
Oh, boy, here’s something they can’t say anything about:
“About 70% of the time, for example, those Maryland crab cakes on the menu weren’t made using crabs from Chesapeake Bay, says James Anderson, the chairman of the Department of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics at the University of Rhode Island. Because of high demand, crabs are often from other Eastern states or imported from Thailand and Vietnam. (Look closely at the menu: “Maryland-style” crab is the giveaway.)”
IT DOESN’T MATTER! They’re Blue Crabs, and they’re (supposed to be) made the MD way. That’s all that’s needed. We MDers KNOW alot of our crabs come from NC and LA and the whole Gulf, and some elsewhere. It doesn’t matter as long as it’s the right animal and the right method.
Why? Because of alleged over-crabbing here in our crab-crazy state. But also because of the ridiculous ENVIRONMENTAL restrictions put on MD crabbers (including casual family take). Another thing to thank the Commie Enviros for.
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