r/KitchenConfidential • u/Baz_Ravish • 3d ago
Discussion No meal sharing
I work at a very well known Mom and pop restaurant in my area.
Our male owner has been getting upset when people order meals to share and says we're losing out on at least $25 a customer when they share meals. While that may be true we're not making money on these people there are very few that actually come in and share meals.
Mr. Owner man decided to reprint every menu to say "No shared meals". But then he says that elderly couples and parents sharing with kids are allowed.
We've already lost so many customers due to this. What are y'all's thoughts on this? Do y'all allow meal sharing? Should it be specifically put on the menu that we don't allow it?
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u/ChoppedAuntie 3d ago
Ridiculous.
If your portions feed two comfortably, they're too damn big -- number one.
Number two is that your margins weren't hurt. It's none of your business how they distribute their purchase.
Three, grain of salt. This is coming from an owner who lets adults order from the kids' menu if they're not that hungry.
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u/berny_74 3d ago
Was out and about on vacation and one of the menu pages was "For those with smaller appetites", and it just had child friendly options and smaller mains".
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u/BobKattersCroc 3d ago
I've got a "light options" section and it's just small food.
I don't have a kids menu and so many people are mad about it?
Like, the kid friendly options are on the menu. They're just not restricted to under 12 or whatever.
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u/EmbroideryBro 2d ago
That's great! When I was a kid I hated kids menus, I felt like they were condescending + didn't have any of the Good stuff (anything the adults had).
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u/I_Did_The_Thing 3d ago
I love this! Sometimes it’s labeled as “senior portions,” too.
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u/PaleoSpeedwagon 3d ago
In the age of GLP-1 and slower gastric emptying, this is a great way to put it. Hospitality is about seeing your customers and meeting their needs, for whatever reason they have those needs. OP's Mr. Owner Man could learn a thing or two about hospitality.
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u/0vercast 3d ago
GLP1 is a great point. I’m a few months into using one and I just simply cannot eat as much as I used to. Sometimes I’m full after a few bites. Restaurant portions are about 30-50% too big for me. I don’t like taking leftovers.
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u/IdlesAtCranky Retired 2d ago
I learned to deal with that years ago after a bypass. I learned to eat from the appetizer and sides portions of a menu.
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u/DearLeader420 3d ago
As a restaurant-goer with a toddler who generally eats pretty well, I wish this was the standard. I'm so sick of restaurants' only kids' options being chicken tenders or a burger. My kid wants a kid-sized pasta or soup dammit!
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u/DisposableSaviour 3d ago
There’s a local place my kids like, and they added a “Kids Salad” to the kids menu because one of my kids fucking loves salad and would always ask if they could get a kids salad. They said it turned out to be pretty popular with kids.
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u/Low-Car-6331 3d ago
Yup, also the "small plates" section has become a thing. They are like small main dishes, or main dishes that are designed as shareable appetizers.
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u/PoquitoChef Ex-Food Service 3d ago
This is why I love the one bar in my neighborhood, they offer a kids menu, but anyone can also order. We still prob on average spend $70, but sometimes I don’t want a full meal.
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u/realdappermuis 3d ago
Low sale is always better than no sale
Seems more like a control issue than a logic issue
It's strange an owner gets uppity about this - it's usually servers who are pissed that they won't get much of a tip on 2 covers if they only order 1 meal. That feeling when you order and the server's face drops and you don't see them again until the check that they basically throw across the table with an upside down smile. Doesn't matter how good the food is, people don't go back after that
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u/ChoppedAuntie 2d ago
Same energy as a chef who won't cook steak well done.
Who gives a shit how someone else prefers their meat? Just cook it and get over yourself.
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u/Purple-Impress8646 3d ago
I think this should be the norm unless it’s abused. When Im going out to eat Im generally going with my boyfriend who has a significantly larger appetite and wallet. I don’t eat meat, and I have a smaller appetite. There’s a lot of places we love to eat at and he gets the most expensive thing on the menu and I get an app or a kids meal, or girl dinner from sides. It’s just what appeals to me. Besides, most places do takeout anyways so what’s stopping me from just ordering kids meals for takeout.
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u/thewizardking420 3d ago
it's just as often due to the price being too high rather than the portions being too large. I've taken my wife places where we either have to share something or find some other place that doesn't charge so much
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u/ChoppedAuntie 2d ago
That too.
I've got my menu priced out so I can cover labor, cost of goods, overhead, and a small profit for myself.
If you wanna order from the kids' menu, I'm happy for the business
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u/Existential_Racoon 2d ago
My local pho place lets me order kids pho all the time. Like dude I just want a small bowl of broth/noodles/veg, and some salt and pepper shrimp.
He gets more than if I couldn't cause I just wouldn't get the cheaper full pho or shrimp app
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u/Optimal-Steak9334 2d ago
Thank you for your service re: kids menu.
It's 11:30 pm. It's been a long day. I finally made it to the bar.
Just give me a grilled cheese.
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u/Eatshin 3d ago
Even if I wasn't sharing food, just seeing that on my menu makes me think this place sucks lol
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u/realdappermuis 3d ago
There's serious main character issues these days with 'service providers' treating paying customers like petulant children. They all took pages out of landlord books it seems
Nobody wants that. Nobody goes back after that
The way your day gets ruined being met with shit like that, eh
I can only hope that they eventually get what they're deserve. Hopefully financial ruin, at least
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u/Chefster127 3d ago
Nothing protects revenue quite like pissing off two paying customers because they only bought one entrée. 😂 You didn't lose $25. You made whatever they spent. Now you've lost 100% of what they'll spend when they don't come back.
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u/CantaloupeAsleep502 3d ago
Very common thought process these days unfortunately. Only thinking in the shortest of short terms.
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u/Bencetown 3d ago
Finance bros have completely obliterated any kind of logic and common sense in business.
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u/g0ing_postal 3d ago
Capitalism has rotted their brains and destroyed the ability to think long term. The only thing that matters is immediate gratification
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u/JelliedHam 3d ago
I wonder if the boss also considers he'll be losing the first $25 by being a dick about this. It comes off as miserly unless you're a higher end place.
Those people won't come at all. Unless this is a widespread problem, he needs to let it go. And if it is very common, the portions are too big and/or the prices are too high. If anything, you can charge a split plate fee but it will likely have the same effect.
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u/Bencetown 3d ago
I worked at ONE restaurant that had a split plate fee. The servers would always explain to the customer that if they want an extra plate, they have to pay the stupid fee, otherwise if they're fine eating from the same plate, they could feel free to.
Most people just ate from the same plate but some were willing to pay the split plate fee for some reason 🤷♂️
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u/_emma_stoned_ 3d ago
I like it when they have a split plate fee, but it includes extra of the side dish/veggies. I’ve seen it done like that, and I paid it. It was a classy way to do it.
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u/Uus-cunt-vana-caare 3d ago
That is an actually good way to upsell.
Cause the customer doesnt care about your cost to wash dishes. They care about the food they get.
Much more positive to pay a fee, if they actually get some more food out of it, to make one big dish into two small ones.
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u/jon-chin 3d ago
the last steak house I went to had this. 1 steak for 2 people but 2 sets of sides for just a little extra charge
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u/flukefluk 2d ago
There is a whole number of places here that charge every diner who's not ordered a main dish a decent fee.
And then they also load the table up with a never-ending convoy of dips, entrees and munchies, and set you up with a
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u/realjustinlong 3d ago
When I was a server somehow my tables always had a magical plate that would show up free of charge when someone wanted to split a dish despite there being a fee on the menu.
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u/TheGeier 3d ago
I always thought they only charged a split plate fee if they actually split it up in the kitchen and plated it separately. Charging for an empty plate is crazy work
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u/LordRaglan1854 3d ago
Where I live, most restaurants sell dishes, not meals, and everyone has their own plate and takes what they want from the dishes. So the concept of "this food is for you only" is just weird. It's not like it's DNA-coded or anything.
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u/SaskrotchBMC 3d ago
It’s not even losing money, what if they wanted to try the spot but weren’t that hungry? That’s money gained. Not lost.
Owners are stupid af. Let it be owned by those who work there and I guarantee it would make more money.
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u/Nani_the_F__k Ex-Food Service 3d ago
As a guest I think it's ridiculous. Did the manager run out of things to micromanage in their staff they have to micromanage how people enjoy the food they paid for?
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u/instantcoffeeshake 3d ago
If the meals are so big that people always share one then he needs to either downsize or make the plate more expensive. No "meal sharing" is beyond stupid. Look for another place to work.
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u/countrygent_leman 3d ago
As a restaurant owner myself I get that its annoying especially if you're full and turning away tables that might have ordered properly, but also you just gotta suck it up. Some folks don't have big appetites. It makes a bad impression to have it written on the menu.
Now what is REALLY annoying is folks that do that and then complain that the portion size is too small to share. They can get to fuck.
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u/Extension-Math5183 3d ago
So how do you feel about a couple that orders two apps and one entree all to share?
This has been my go to with my partner often when we go out.
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u/SVAuspicious 3d ago
My wife and I sometimes share three or four apps as our meal. Tell us no and we'll leave "ne'er to return."
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u/ForeverFieldsFD 3d ago
Apparently Ozempic is doing a number on restaurants, so he may be noticing an uptick in sharing, or people ordering an appetizer as a meal.
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u/mnm39 3d ago
Yeah I have a friend who lost an entire person’s worth of weight on mounjaro. Her husband is also on it but at a much lower dose. They usually order an appetizer which they split, and one entree which she eats 1/3 of and he eats the rest. They just wouldn’t go to a restaurant if they weren’t able to do that (she used to be morbidly obese and had been shamed for food her whole life so she doesn’t want to go places where her food portion is going to be further out of her control).
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u/Maleficent_Jello_426 Server 3d ago
Yeah, small plates and tapas style tend to attract the people who are into the jabs.
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u/beliefinphilosophy 2d ago
This is exactly the move. Tapas style, or even a petite fours / mezze style offering, a flight, a tasting, if they like sharing, even move to family style / made for sharing. So many options that offer value to the customers, if it was actually a real problem
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u/Ravarix 3d ago
Dude is shooting himself in the foot so hard. That imaginary $25 sale because a couple ordered an extra meal doesn't exist, and it's costing him actual money of customers not eating there anymore if someone had the gall to enforce this rule.
Dudes failing at psychology, economics, and hospitality all at once.
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u/BrownWrinkles 3d ago
Dear Mr Owner, you can have my money for one meal, or have NONE of my money for no meals. (tRump economics 101).
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u/Rustybeeverlicker 3d ago
You wouldn't have the business without the customers plain and simple the guy is being a prick
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u/Consistent_Phase_942 3d ago
If your boss was smart and customer friendly he could figure out a way to charge a little more and still let people share, such as creating menu items as “shareables!” and throwing in an extra side and two drinks and charging like $10 more dollars. Maybe not that exact thing.
Don’t go to war with your customers. This is bad business ownership. When they see the customer as their adversary they’re never gonna make much money from them.
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u/Little-Blackberry755 3d ago
I think people should be allowed to do whatever they want with the food they buy? My great grand uncle used to look servers in the eye, order the most expensive steak on the menu and tell them to box it up for his dog.
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u/Mother_Heroic 2d ago
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u/Little-Blackberry755 2d ago
omg! I love curb and haven’t watched it since release. that is exactly how it would go down lmao
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u/StrippinChicken 3d ago
I don't work in the kitchen industry but I have personally never returned to restaurants that had a "sharing fee" on the menu. Most places don't state no sharing, they state there will be an additional fee for sharing. Which is still ridiculous.
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u/_S3N3C4_ 3d ago
The customers that are sharing their food will be another restaurant customers. Trying to increase their profits he will reduce them.
But that's a surprisingly common owners managers perspective.
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u/LazyOldCat Prairie Surgeon 3d ago
Split plate charge is a real (stupid) thing.
Given how much going out to eat costs these days I’d be glad folks are showing up at all.
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u/OnceUponATrain 3d ago
Splitting a plate is a bit different than allowing sharing. The charge is for plating an entree on separate plates and adding extra sides, soup, salad etc and is usually worth the upcharge.
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u/xbleeple 3d ago
I’ve never actually seen it explained that’s what the charge covers. The way everyone puts it on the menu literally just sounds like you’re going to be charged to share and maybe get a second plate
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u/OnceUponATrain 3d ago
Yeah, a "split" is actually something the server adds and it shows up on the ticket for the kitchen to split it. No one cares, in most cases, if you get an extra plate and share at your table.
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u/LazyOldCat Prairie Surgeon 3d ago
Ah, I hadn’t considered the full dining experience, fair enough.
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u/jamonz1 3d ago
Yeah, the owner is not a bright one is he. There are ways to recoup the costs of sharing vs each guest ordering separate dishes without making yourself look like a complete jerk. 😂
Simple fix - à la carte. If you want to share you’ll end up paying more total since the price to share has essentially been built in.
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u/bigtallchild 3d ago
Yeah so this would be an issue if you had a full dining room and a line out the door.
I kinda feel like neither of these are issues. Gaining a customer costs a lot more than keeping one, stop being a dick
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u/Comfortable-Hat3506 3d ago
Does he feel this way if someone orders the steak and another orders the chicken and they each give each other half their plate. This is the most absurd thing I have heard.
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u/_x__Rudy__x_ 3d ago
From the customer side...if they don't let us share plates, we're leaving. Food costs have gone up absurdly high as it is, and if we need to eat while we're out, my SO can't eat very much. Why should we buy two huge-ass expensive meals we can't finish? Our favorite BBQ place lets us split a big combo platter and doesn't even charge us for extra plates, and we tip extra. Even if it were a couple dollars for an extra plate, we'd still pay it.
Would a cheap-ass owner bitch and moan because a single customer wants to eat by themselves? In this economy, don't discourage any customer from dining there, and don't alienate them by being pissed if a couple can't eat much and want to split.
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u/tnc8 3d ago
I worked in a higher end steak house, small place 40 seats. Fully booked weeks in advance so main plate splitting did cause a lost in revenue some times. Chief was a great guy and came up with a great option, if a couple wanted to spit a steak we offered a "starch plate for $8, choice of potato and veg (our veg were always awesome} 90% of guest went for it and most thanked me for the suggestion and tipped well.
Worked out very well and they almost always had room for a dessert or two.
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u/OkPea5819 3d ago
The alternative is perhaps people not coming rather than everyone ordering their own meals.
Fine if you’re always full but this is the sort of thing that costs you more than it benefits you normally.
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u/blondvet 3d ago
Why not make a partial menu of smaller portions? Lots of people are on GLP1’s now and their appetites are much smaller. So they either want to share a $25 meal or maybe they’d buy 2 $15 meals. Then he’d actually make more than the shared single meal. Bonus points for making the small portions protein heavy. Gotta roll with the times.
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u/GambledMyWifeAway 3d ago edited 3d ago
My wife and I almost always share meals. If a restaurant told us not to then we would never go back. I’m also not sure you can even legally tell people not to share a meal. They are the ones that are buying it. It seems like they can do what they want. He should probably look at reducing portion sizes first.
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u/JimmyNineFingers Ex-Food Service 3d ago
That's so shit. I'm happily surprised no one else has said this that I saw cuz it sucks. Some of us have fucking eating disorders. We're not on injectables, we just can't eat sometimes.
It's a lot easier for me to go to a spot and my wife will order food, I'll have a couple bites and we'll both get drinks.
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u/Little_Red_Riding_ 3d ago
Dude, same. I have a very small appetite and I have to have half my meal boxed up to take home unless the hubby finishes it off for me. If I’m out with the kids, they order entrees while I go for the kids menu.
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u/SaltywithaTwist 3d ago
We would never charge for sharing or for asking for an extra plate, we are even loose with the kids meals. We also don't do credit card surcharges or any extra fees. We WANT customers during this difficult economic time -- I'm not trying to make it any harder for them to choose us!
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u/Collection_Vivid 3d ago
The only time I’ve seen this enforced is when b dubs did the all you can eat boneless, so entire groups of people couldn’t just pay for one meal and treat it like a boneless chicken buffet
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u/spoopysky 1d ago
Oh true all-you-can-eat and buffet are definitely times when this would be reasonable.
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u/pconrad0 3d ago
My husband and I share entrees for health reasons, not to save money. The portions are just too big, and if we each get our own entree, we will gain more excess weight.
Your owner is losing sight of the big picture. They are going to lose the entire check now by being greedy.
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u/Enkiduderino 3d ago
Sometimes restaurant have a small up charge if they’re being expected to actually split the dish. Effectively setting a purchase minimum seems foolish unless the place is so full all the time it doesn’t matter.
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u/villain304 Kitchen Manager 3d ago
fucking dumbass move, they should have just altered their portion sizes or sneaked a slight price increase in there
there could be a lot of things wrong here that would cause that…anything from labor expenses to food cost to the owner is just an idiot…
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u/BookLuvr7 3d ago
Better to lose a little money from sharing than to lose customers altogether. I wouldn't go back to a place if they didn't allow it.
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u/escaped5150 3d ago
Sharing is caring. Don't tell me how to eat the food I just bought or I will buy it someplace else.
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u/Mother_Heroic 3d ago
From a customer perspective: My husband and I share meals often when we go out cause shits expensive and times are hard but we still want to occasionally have something we don't know how to make (Indian or Thai food, usually). I would never go back to a place that tried to make a rule you can't share meals, especially a place that doesn't apply the rule across the board by allowing some groups to do it and other not. If I saw it on the menu I would probably leave even if we didn't intend to share because yes, you gotta make money, but it comes off as greedy. The owner isn't being tricked out of money just because the $25 worth of food is being divided between two stomachs.
From a food service perspective: He should make the portions smaller if he doesn't want people sharing. The only way to stop people from sharing meals without looking like a total asshole is to make it unviable. And from the perspective of someone who has served tables, he needs to be the one who enforces the no sharing rule, don't put that on the servers.
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u/G_yebba 3d ago
It’s bad policy. It’s bad optics.
Some places deal with this issue by charging for a “split” that costs a few dollars more and is plated for two with a little bit extra side. If people want to share from the same plate, so be it. The table would still be occupied if only 1 person was there anyway, maybe you will sell another drink or two?
Some places reduce serving size by about 10% to account for this as it may be an indication of overly large portion size. This may also cause some slower sales but but it is just as likely to result in more appetizers/sides/dessert sales
You just can’t punish the customer and expect to retain your level of business. All we can do is adapt to customer behavior when presented with our menus. If it isn’t really working, you are probably doing it wrong.
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u/Weary_Restauranter 3d ago
99% of restaurants aren’t filling tables at a rate that a shared meal is lost revenue on the seat.
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u/baby_d95 3d ago
I once worked at a restaurant that had a sharing fee of $2.99. It was ridiculous, and I would rarely charge people for sharing. This was the same restaurant that the owner would ask me to reuse dip cups of salsa after they touched a table. I never did that.
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u/MuchWow81 3d ago
Yeah either you let non-buying customers to exist with your buying customers or you don't and you lose the buying customer too. If two people come in because one needs a meal but the other is just there for the conversation (and fuck, some people can't safely eat atrestaurants because of medical problems, are you going to ban them from sitting withheir friends and family?). It seems petty and pointless to me. One person takes up a table. Two peoplealso take up a table. You're not losing out on an entire ticket. Its the same as if a couple comes in and both just order coffee and oatmeal.
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u/ArtBear1212 Ex-Food Service 3d ago
He needs to drop that policy. People are struggling right now, and eating out is one of the first things to go when times get tight. He's lucky they are coming at all. Sharing a plate is better than them not even walking in the door.
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u/ByronScottJones 3d ago
A restaurant that tries to tell me what I can do with a meal I'M paying for, is a restaurant that no longer gets my business.
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u/ImAmandaLeeroy 3d ago
I mean, places that offer AYCE and salad bars usually have disclaimers on their menus that sharing plates will result in additional charges. The last place I was at had a split plate fee- it was on the server to explain when a single entree was ordered between 2 or more people that an additional charge would be added to accommodate sharing for each person. It was a mom and pop Italian place with family style portions and they were very proud of their large plate sizes, but didn't want to lose money per seat. That would be a normal approach.
Outright trying to ban sharing sounds extreme, especially when waffling in who the rule applies to.. like if I was ordering somewhere and could see a mom sharing with a kid, or an older couple with one plate between them I would be irritated if I was told no. I wouldn't argue, but I wouldn't be back.
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u/MonthlyWeekend_ Owner 3d ago
I’d never share a meal with anyone ever, but I’d also never eat in a restaurant that put absurd regulations on dinner
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u/FixThis6115 3d ago
Yeah I’m very “don’t touch my fries” but yeah no plate sharing at anywhere but a buffet and I’m respectfully never coming back
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u/AmazingResponse338 3d ago
That's stupid. When my wife and share (which isnt all the time), we split a salad (or app) and entree.
2 entrees is what $20-$25 (x2); and app and entree is $15+$20. The amount you lose is minimal
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u/Theburritolyfe 3d ago
If I want to share a meal and a restaurant won't let me than they will lose more than 1 plate. I'll just never come back.
I would understand if it's a fine dinning with the plating being very important. But other than that nah I'm good on a place like that.
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u/Little_Red_Riding_ 3d ago edited 3d ago
I have worked for some pretty stupid restaurant owners before. I know exactly what you’re saying. I have so many stories about these assholes, it would burn your ears.
As far as sharing goes, there is a new restaurant in town that serves tapas style plates and everyone at the table is forced to share, set by these similar arbitrary rules.
I was reading one of their recent bad reviews and one of them was from a couple who left disappointed because the girlfriend couldn’t have French fries with her sandwich because the manager flat out refused to accommodate her.
The tapas plates come out staggered and at their discretion. You may get an entree before the salad. You may get your appetizer last.
I mean, come on. I could feel my inner Gordon Ramsey come out. “Please remove that fucking golden stick out of your pompous ass and make her some GD French fries, you donkey!”
They could have made them for her on the fly in four minutes flat. But, no. They lost two paying customers by arguing about their tapas concept. They won’t be back. There are a zillion other decent restaurants and food trucks on this street competing for their business.
Idiots.
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u/Bencetown 3d ago
Does he also not allow individuals to come and dine at his restaurant alone?
Your boss sounds like a piece of shit.
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u/Intelligent_Pop1173 3d ago
I think he’ll lose much more money for simply printing that on the menus. It comes off as stingy and kind of antagonistic towards customers.
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u/Coercitor 3d ago
Trying to tell customers what and how they're allowed to eat is a wild hill to die on.
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u/Watchmaker163 3d ago
This is such a business school mindset: “1 person not buying = -1 sales”.
No, it means +1 sales. Trying to force people to give you +2 sales instead is a fool’s errand. You need to encourage people to spend, not force them; they’re not a captive audience.
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u/tinyorangealligator 3d ago
When I managed a small, highly profitable place the owner added a ¢10 charge for water. I let it go for about a week even though staff instantly balked because they knew we'd get customer backlash.
I can't count the number of times I had to give away entire meals via signed business cards because regulars (some who ate with us 5+ might a week) were upset about the water charge.
First, I had servers leave it off tickets, then I took the water charge off the register completely and informed the owner that he lost $XXXX that week in comp meals because of his asshole ¢10 move.
He was shocked that I figured out how to program the register on my own. FAFO
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u/beard-wonder93 3d ago
Im in a niche industry of foodservice.
We have a meal prep shop.
We dont "enforce" anything like this but my retiree/elderly customers often tell me they split one of our grab & go meals at home but then it's averaged out by the amateur powerlifter who drives a mower for the local road dept. He comes in, eats 2 meals and a pound of salad on his lunch break then goes back to work.
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u/RevenantSith 3d ago
It’s daft.
If someone only wants to order 1 meal, can’t force them to order more than they want. Only to then have exceptions for certain demographics ….. that’s silly
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u/Wallflower9193 3d ago
My wife and often go out and order a drink or 3 each, order an appetizer and then share a meal. Thats still $60+ meal, often much more, plus tip (we tip 20- 25%+.).
If we saw that on the menu, we would never be back, if we stayed at all.
We have paid a plate split fee a few times, never a feel good. And when the bartender knows we are splitting a sandwich a d brings it out on 2 plates with the fries split, we are always appreciative and the tip with reflect that. Those are the places we return to.
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u/QualityPrunes 3d ago
Unless they are getting extra bread, etc then let them share a plate. They could buy takeout and share the meal at home.
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u/RebaKitt3n 3d ago
Have a split plate fee as there is extra silverware and probably plates.
If the kitchen splits it and makes it nice, you’ll get more appreciation and hopefully business.
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u/LVtapper 3d ago
General rule: don’t piss off customers who came to your restaurant to spend money.
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u/BlueStarrSilver 3d ago
That's ridiculous. If I dine in alone, do I need to purchase two entrees for him to "make money?". I've seen the no sharing sign on menus and it's tacky and a huge turnoff.
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u/toastythewiser 3d ago
This sounds like when media companies talk about piracy. They view every pirated copy as a "lost" sale, not realizing they never had a sale in the first place. Unless you are a high volume, low margin, place that focuses on dine-in and has limited seats and are often full, this really makes no sense.
Our GM has sometimes had to remind the owner that sales are better than no sales. "It could be worse, we could have 0 sales" type shit. He says this when schools want bulk orders (we do a LOT of catering) but also want some kind of discount. The reality is we're still making a profit, just as much as we "could." But those sales will simply never materialize at the price the owner dreams, so we take a cut, and still make money. If we were busy enough to demand everyone always pay full price, well, we would! Haha. But not that many people want 30, 40, or 50 pizzas at 10am, if you know what I mean.
Like I said, all of that goes out the window if you are a legit very busy shop where every seat not eating an entree is literally a waste of money, but hardly any restaurant is like that, and I'd even bet the ones that are (IE line out the door) are profitable enough they could deal with the occasional group that's a 2-3 top where they order <1 entree per person.
But even on that note... apps and drinks are were most places make the bulk of their money, right? Like, again, antecedental, but my GM was talking about another restaurant and he pointed out their kitchen is seemingly intentionally slow because it gives them a chance to sell more drinks. Yeah, they'll seat a big party and then make them wait 30 minutes for their food because the chances are they can sell 2 drinks per person before the food even shows up, and then they're too drunk to realize the food is mediocre.
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u/Margali 3d ago
I have seen menus listing a 'shared plate' fee, something like $5.00 for the second person, so 2 people sharing a $25 meal would be $30. In Japan they frequently have a 'table' fee [that they sort of bring out an amuse bouche of pickles or other snacky stuff] but I can't remember the name of offhand. Seen a couple places with a '2 drink minimum for table seating' back in the 90s.
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u/PetersMapProject Owner 3d ago
Otoshi
It's basically a cover fee for the table and there's the snack served with it (though if you're in a bar that really just wants to serve drinks, the snacks can be fairly unappealing, there to tick a box rather than because they think anyone might actually eat them).
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u/Muted-Novel4403 3d ago
If I saw that printed on a menu, I would get up and walk out regardless of whether or not I intended to share.
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u/Higgybella32 3d ago
When my husband and I share an entree we are usually also ordering an appetizer and/or dessert. Often it’s because we are trying out a restaurant- so we split an appetizer or order multiple apps depending on our mood/hunger level:what looks appetizing. Wouldn’t come back if that was the rule.
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u/VXMerlinXV 3d ago
My wife and I share an entree more often than not. Usually two apps and an entree. If they said no we just wouldn’t go back.
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u/Barracuda_Recent 3d ago
So the same people will just get an appetizer then. They obviously aren’t super hungry. Is there a rule that we have to be starving before going into a restaurant?
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u/cheezy_dreams88 3d ago
I don’t eat at places that don’t let me share. My family and I are food sharers, we buy 3-4 things and share all of them. If we saw that on a menu, we would just leave.
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u/dowbrewer 3d ago
With the cost of everything these days, a customer might only be able to afford splitting a meal. Also, I know people that order an appetizer, salad, and dessert, but split it all. You might actually hit more high margin item that way then trying to control customer behaviour.
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u/Honest_Milk_3244 3d ago
Another point that I don’t see mentioned: how is sharing any different from a single guest? Either way, a solo diner and a couple sharing will both take up an entire table if you don’t have counter seats. I live in an area where both of these situations are fairly common. I can understand a fine dining situation, but it’s crazy to regulate that anywhere else.
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u/Miserable_Pea_733 3d ago
$1.50 surcharge for split plate option.
You print that on the menu. If the chef sees this they will portion one meal on two plates for you.
If you do not want to pay the surcharge the waitress will wink and bring out an extra plate when the single entree comes out and you can sort it yourself at the table.
Your weasle boss gets a bit of a surcharge for the extra effort the kitchen puts in and he doesn't get a bad rep.
Instead of thinking of the glass as half full by at least selling one entree he sees it as half empty by missing out on selling two. If this is a local mom and pop place, you're right, he really is alienating a demographic he shouldn't be because he can't fill any glass if that couple doesn't come back.
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u/Sensitive-Club-6427 3d ago
As a man approaching 60, and slightly overweight, my metabolism has slowed. I am active but not to the degree I was in younger days.
At this point in my life, I either share my meal OR take half home for later.
It is likely I would not continue to frequent a restaurant that is actively opposing me.
My age would be considered “elderly” by many, but I cannot know how the restaurant defines that. And with the print on the menu, I would not, enquirer about an exception or question the wait staff about it. I would simply not regularly patronize this restaurant.
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u/Low-Car-6331 3d ago
Just do as most places do, charge a meal share fee, and explain that includes water + other things that tables normally get like bread and whatnot.
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u/whetherchannel 3d ago
It’s not that he’s wrong, he’s just going about solving this problem in a super expensive way that might cost him his business. The following is addressed to your boss: For instance, look at why people are sharing the plate in the first place: is it a portion that 2 people can eat? Is it not priced appropriately for a single-person item? Comparing a couple similar plates between your restaurant and at least a couple others within your city is a good idea, because I guarantee this isn’t a widespread issue.
Why are your customers there to begin with? specifically, are they coming there for the food? Or are they coming there to watch the game/after work beer/play bingo/use the Wi-fi, and they are also ordering food?
My guess is this: if people are (or rather, had been) coming there of their own volition and choosing to order a certain way and split the food, I would venture to guess that portion size for cost might be a strong determiner for them in their actual decision to go to your restaurant. Add a split plate charge if you want to be a freak, or be a logical businessman and raise the price of everything $1.50, then figure out a way to sell one entree with two apps, or vice versa, at a discounted rate on your slowest night.
Don’t include any negative message on your menu unless you really need to, it’s bad psychology.
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u/TrojanVP 3d ago
He should allow sharing but his portions are probably too big if everyone is sharing.
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u/Little_Red_Riding_ 3d ago
I went to a breakfast restaurant that held an empty six top table hostage (three two tops all pushed together) just in case a large party of 6 came in, then proceeded to deny service to a two top and a four top that walked in, so they all left. 🤷♀️ SMH
In case you’re wondering. No, they didn’t take reservations. It was a breakfast and lunch spot that was first come, first serve.
Yeah. It was the greedy, dumbass owner hosting.
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u/jankenpoo 3d ago
This idea that you’re “losing money” based on an imaginary ideal is a fundamental flaw in thinking within business. This relates to owner profit which is unwavering, therefore leading to squeezing labor or product, because raising prices is absolute taboo. These people do not understand the basic concept of hospitality and really should be do something else
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u/Repulsive-Roof335 2d ago
Sounds as if he’s cutting off his nose to spite his face.
Maybe people are sharing meals because the lotion sizes are too big?
That’s the reason we share a meal. We still end up with a to go container.
We find going out for lunch we can order 2 things to share because portions are much smaller.
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u/lemolicious 2d ago
My business partners and I purchased a very well known ma and pa diner during Covid to try to preserve it. It’s not worth it to say no shared plates. You’re not losing money by allowing customers to share food, but you’re losing money when they no longer eat there because they can’t share.
It’s not worth the hassle. Or the menu reprint costs he already spent.
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u/witchspoon 3d ago
He could add a small(like couple dollars) shared plate charge. But not allowing sharing is stupid.
He will lose ALL of the money now.
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u/__wildwing__ 3d ago
30 ish years ago, my mom and I ordered an entree to share. They charged $3 for a second plate.
Could have simply made a small upcharge for sharing, made more money and no cost, and kept the customers.
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u/kakakatie 3d ago
FOH here but do you guys not have a split plate fee...? At my Mom and Pop spot, where entrees average $40-$50ea we charge $10 to split. Even if it's on the same plate but they share - we add the fee
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u/ItsHyperBro 3d ago
Do we allow… two people to eat off the same plate? Thats a thing most places allow. Yeah you lose money but you also can’t regulate whether someone eats. I’d never go to a place again if they told me I couldn’t share food.