Ordering One Meal for Two People

[ivan]

The Dear Abby World is all a bunch of hoo-haw. Sometimes I order 2 dinners for one person (me) and I STILL get bad service.

[reesek]

i'm with the customers on this one. unless i'm doing a tasting menu and putting myself in the chef's hands - i'll order what sounds good. if that's 2 apps and no entree - so be it. high or low end - i'm paying for an experience - it's either one i trust the chef to direct - or it's one i direct myself.

i nearly always drink and i'd guess my check average is on the high side of average - but i don't feel one bit guilty for asking for, eating and paying for what i want.

[jsolomon]

The Dear Abby World is all a bunch of hoo-haw. Sometimes I order 2 dinners for one person (me) and I STILL get bad service.

←

You're sure that's not because you're tasting food by shoving it up your nose like you recommended for finding the difference between the Brandywine and the Sweet-100?

[Stigand]

There are all kinds of reasons why someone might walk into a restaurant with other people but not want their own entree. Maybe they are newly pregnant and coping with nausea and food aversions. Maybe they are on chemotherapy and can't eat. Maybe they have severe acid reflux and can only eat certain things. Maybe they've just had gastric bypass and are only going to be able to eat a tablespoon of food. Does that mean that because they aren't going to be good for the restaurant's profit margin, they should be banned from sitting with their family and friends while the other people eat?

←

Of course they should be allowed to sit with their family and friends. But I don't see why they shouldn't pay a minimum charge, if that's the restaurant's advertised policy.

[designchick88]

Of course they should be allowed to sit with their family and friends. But I don't see why they shouldn't pay a minimum charge, if that's the restaurant's advertised policy.

Are you kidding? If the restaurant is making money off of the rest of the people in the party who ARE ordering food, what does it matter if one person is sitting there sipping a Sprite? Surely the other people at the table will make up for it, and if not those people, then the people at the next table who are going hog-wild ordering appetizers, drinks, entrees and desserts? It's simple mathematics - some tables are going to be high-yield and some will be low-yield, and if you have upselling, friendly servers and good food, most likely the high will outnumber the low and you will still come out ahead.

Charging someone who can't or won't eat an entree a premium just so they can sit at a table with their companions is just reprehensible, in my view. It goes back to seeing each patron as a dollar sign and not as a customer. I realize restaurants are in business to make money, but I believe it's good business to treat people well, and charging someone a "food minimum" is NOT treating people well. Unless a restaurant is overrun by patrons only ordering coffee who then take up tables for 4 hours (which I do agree is irksome), I don't see how allowing an occasional patron to split entrees or order appetizers instead of an entree is going to drive a place out of business. If the restaurant is on that shaky of financial ground, there are other problems wholly unrelated to what food their customers are ordering.

I'm actually amazed this practice exists. The only places I've ever heard of that charge a consumption minimum are strip clubs. And they're obviously offering something in addition to the food and drink to entice their customers to spend money.

[ivan]

You're sure that's not because you're tasting food by shoving it up your nose like you recommended for finding the difference between the Brandywine and the Sweet-100?

←

By George, you might have something there! And all this time I thought it was my breath!