Restaurant Specials and Pricing

[menton1]

This issue came up on a local board, but it is a universal subject and I thought it would be interesting to open the floor up on this topic in a general way.

Personally, my experience has been that most of the time, restaurants recite specials without giving the prices. Not a scientific study, but discussions with others lead me to believe that the prices are not given more often then they are.

I would surmise that most restaurant customers would not only prefer to have the specials'pricing given, but would actually prefer that the specials be written or printed on paper rather than have the wait staff recite them. Blackboards work, too.

Some have commented that this is not an intentional mindset of the restaurant management, but rather a whimsical approach, something that just happened, the lack of pricing information. Others contend that it may be a sales tool, something like presenting the product is its most favorable light, selling the sizzle, and leaving the bad news (the price) for a later time.

Would love to hear the comments of others regarding this subject. Intentional or not? What do you prefer? How should a restaurant handle the Specials/price issue?

[Kent Wang]

I'd rather have the specials written down with complete description and pricing. Sometimes it's hard to remember exactly what the specials are when the waiter just tells you verbally. I've found that most higher-end restaurants that do a large amount of daily specials will print up a daily menu. This is definitely the way to go.

[godito]

I think prices for a special should never be too high (unless the special uses expensive ingredients, like a truffled foie terrine).

I think the best way for a restaurant to deal with specials is to print it somewhere. Some places write them on a blackboard. I like that approach. Others have a section on their menus to add a card with the day's specials.

Mostly, though, if you want to know howmuch the special costs, you can just ask your server. You're right, some restaurants do a horrible job with pricing information (I've even seen menus without prices that are handed to the women in a table), but other times, even though they are instructed to, some servers neglect to do so because they forget, or they're tired of repeating the same thing over and over, or they just don't care to sell that particular item.

[raxelita]

One reason restaurants don't have specials printed that they are often put together by the kitchen at the last minute, and so pricing and description are done on a whim-- perhaps 15 minutes before service. Keeping it verbal gives the kitchen leeway in case, for instance, the parsley foam didn't actually complement the beet whatever-- they can just tell the waiter ixnay on the arsleypay.

The kitchen may also add a luxury item at the last minute that would up the price, like a quenelle of caviar.

I think some restaurants like servers to verbal specials because it makes patrons feel like their getting attention, and that their waiter is knowledgeable about the menu (this is known to backfire at times).

I think some waiters, and customers, find it tacky if all of the prices are recited.

My method of Special Recititation has always been to state the price of items that are much more expensive than the menu standard-- like the price of a white truffle special, but to leave out the price if the dish's cost is commensurate with the rest of the menu.

[winegeek]

As a server, my preferance would be to have a printed list of specials. I beleive that most guests zone out after the 3rd recited item. One of the top restaurants in Vancouver actually verbalizes over 10 items everday. And as a guest i'm supposed to remember what special number 3 was? I can't even remeber what i had for breakfast!!

As for mentioning the price; if a special is out of our regular menu's price range I will always mention it, if it isn't I will not. If it is that important to a guest I beleive they will ask the price. Very few times do guests ask for a price. If I get flamed here for this practice I promise I'll change my ways .

[andrewB]

As a chef, i don't run specials and don't trust them on other menus. What makes it special? It was sitting in someones warehouse fridge for too long so someone sold it at a 'special' price?? I think the word sometimes used for those who rode the short bus was 'special' as well...

[godito]

As a chef, i don't run specials and don't trust them on other menus. What makes it special? It was sitting in someones warehouse fridge for too long so someone sold it at a 'special' price?? I think the word sometimes used for those who rode the short bus was 'special' as well...

←

good point. I worked at a restaurant that we had a foie appetizer, and we still had a foie special made just to charge a little extra. or another place I worked at always had specials before we received new fish just to get rid of the old one.

however, some chefs do specials to highlight seasonality. like special dishes with asparagus and strawberries during spring. it depends on te chef, I guess.

[Curlz]

Glad you started this, Menton. I contributed to the other thread, but here are my thoughts:

1. I'm the customer. Don't put me in the position of having to ask what the price is. You don't know who I am dining with--maybe I don't want to let on that I'm watching my budget! And/or, maybe I'm too shy to ask. (Hey--those of you who know me--STOP LAUGHING! )

2. There are no more excuses--you all have access to a computer these days--type up the specials with the prices. I don't care if they're created 15 minutes before service begins (but I find that tough to believe)--put the info in front of me. Other option: blackboard, but I prefer to have them at the table where I can look at the menu AND the specials as I decide.

3. Why should I have to remember a long list? I hate asking "Um, what was that _____ one again?" and am guessing that wait staff hates to have to repeat the info. Put it in front of me. And for that matter, why should your wait staff have to remember a long list? Maybe they'll mess it up and I won't order something b/c they forgot to mention the parsley foam, fennel puree, etc.

4. It's great to know that most specials are in line with regular prices, but unless I'm a regular customer, I have no way of knowing that.

This just seems like a no-brainer to me.

[fifi]

As a server, my preferance would be to have a printed list of specials. I beleive that most guests zone out after the 3rd recited item. One of the top restaurants in Vancouver actually verbalizes over 10 items everday.  And as a guest i'm supposed to remember what special number 3 was?  I can't even remeber what i had for breakfast!!

. . . . .

←

I vote with you. In fact, if I had a chance I would stuff the ballot box. The recitation of specials, with or without prices, is one of my pet peeves. To say that I hate the practice, that it annoys me in the extreme and that it prompts questionable behaviour on my part . . . well, you get my point.

All too often, this practice coincides with my other pet peeve. Noisy restaurants. I usually avoid the "happenin' places" that have a "groovin' jive" but I do get dragged into one, kicking and screaming, from time to time. You can't hear yourself think, let alone the server's spiel.

I have already admitted to questionable behaviour. I have been known to stop the server, ask how many specials he intends to recite, and proceed to pull out my little notebook. "Indulge me, dear. I have a short term memory problem and I can barely hear you. Please begin again." "And the price of that is? . . . "

I accept the fact that the more casual places that I frequent probably couldn't afford a printed list so I am ok with the blackboard on the easle at the entrance. That approach always has the prices as well. Some of my favorite places use this to advantage by having someone on staff that is rather artistic with the chalk. I have seen some charming art work that makes me smile. I wish I had taken a picture of the cartoon of a local fish that appeared one time. That one had me laughing out loud.

[TPO]

I accept the fact that the more casual places that I frequent probably couldn't afford a printed list so I am ok with the blackboard on the easle at the entrance. That approach always has the prices as well.

I think that any restaurant other than diners ought to have a computer on site, so I do think they should be able to whip out a dozen printed sheets of the specials in just a few minutes.

But the blackboard works for me too. At least then I can make a mental note of the prices and have an idea of what the server will be telling me. Otherwise, I can never keep the specials straight and end up rarely ordering them.

I am terrible at making menu choices. Everything always looks good to me and I often have a difficult time choosing one meal. Not having to rely on hearing and understanding the server helps make my decision easier.

[tommy]

As a chef, i don't run specials and don't trust them on other menus. What makes it special? It was sitting in someones warehouse fridge for too long so someone sold it at a 'special' price?? I think the word sometimes used for those who rode the short bus was 'special' as well...

←

at better restaurants it's usually more about what looked good at the market that day or what the chef felt like doing out of the ordinary based on availablity of ingredients, or weather, or whatever.

as far as not trusting restaurants, well, i don't eat at restaurants that i don't trust. i'm not sure why anyone would.

[dvs]

As a chef, i don't run specials and don't trust them on other menus. What makes it special? It was sitting in someones warehouse fridge for too long so someone sold it at a 'special' price?? I think the word sometimes used for those who rode the short bus was 'special' as well...

←

at better restaurants it's usually more about what looked good at the market that day or what the chef felt like doing out of the ordinary based on availablity of ingredients, or weather, or whatever.

as far as not trusting restaurants, well, i don't eat at restaurants that i don't trust. i'm not sure why anyone would.

←

this has been my experience...

but mostly, i think restaurants try to keep "specials" in line with the regular menu's pricing and if it is more $$ will mention it. i think the general thought is that it is tacky to mention $$ (unless the special is $$$).

[tommy]

but mostly, i think restaurants try to keep "specials" in line with the regular menu's pricing and if it is more $$ will mention it. i think the general thought is that it is tacky to mention $$ (unless the special is $$$).

←

it's nice to think that but it's not always the case. in fact, i just read a review the other day that mentioned that one of the specials was priced way out of line with the rest of the menu, and no prices were mentioned. to think that this doesn't happen is probably naive. and clearly the only way to ensure that it doesn't is to print the specials with the prices, and not rely on a server.

it's not tacky to mention price. where else does one not know the price before purchase? is it tacky to list the prices on the menu as well? is it tacky to ask the prices? a consumer making a decision on value based on price isn't tacky. it's smart.

[purplewiz]

Add me in with the prefer the written list. It gives me time to imagine how the flavors go together and decide which combination would be most delightful that night. If I have to rely on memory, I'm much less likely to order a special unless something really jumps out at me.

If prices aren't mentioned, and a special sounds good to me, I'll always ask "....and how much is that?" I am not ordering something without knowing how much it is.

To be honest, if the specials are on a blackboard, again, unless something really jumps out at me, I'm probably going to forget all about them by the time I get to my table.

Marcia.

[Shalmanese]

One italian restaurant I go to has a nice practise where the specials are written on 3 or 4 blackboards at the start of the night. When your seated, they prop the specials board right next to your table and then take it away again once you've ordered. It's a nice touch.

[menton1]

i think the general thought is that it is tacky to mention $$ (unless the special is $$$).

←

I disagree, I don't think that it's a "general" thought. If its so tacky, maybe the printed menu should not have the pricing either? I am spending my money. I want to know what I'm spending. It's no more tacky than putting the price on the bill. Restaurant customers want to know the price!!

[Fat Guy]

One of the most frequent complaints I get in my inbox (other than "you suck!") involves variants of the scenario where a customer orders a recited special at a restaurant where the average entree price is $20, the bill comes and the special turns out to have cost $40. It happens so often that for many customers it has become a stereotype that defines what specials are all about. So I would think any restaurateur would want to take action to preempt that situation and the fear of that situation.

I prefer just to be given a menu with everything on it. When I look in a restaurant's window and the menu says at the top "Joe's Restaurant Menu for 14 March 05" I immediately assume it's a serious place. I don't think I've ever had a bad meal at a restaurant that dates its menu every day.

Second best is a printed specials list. A blackboard is okay, though inconvenient. Recitations are awful, but if they're going to happen they should include the price of every item. The only instance in which I think recitations are a good idea is when there's a very limited quantity of a special item -- like there's one fish in the kitchen good for only a few portions. But even that should be coupled with a printout of the specials that aren't likely to be eighty-sixed. This is an effective selling tool: you have a menu, you have printed specials and then the server says, "And by the way, we have just a few of X available, prepared in Y manner. It's wonderful. It's $20." Watch that item sell out in ten minutes.

[menton1]

I think the key issue for me, and I suppose this would be hard to determine, is if this specials-recitation-without-pricing is done as an intentional business policy, to accentuate the positive (food) rather than the negative (cost) or whether its just a whimsical decision (or non-decision).

I tend to feel, although this is a non-scientific opinion, that most restaurants choose to do this as a business decision. It's not exactly a subterfuge, but more of a selling feature. It does seem, though, from the response here, that most of the public does not like that no-price system.

[doc slaughter]

I hate when they don't tell the price of a special and I've usually found that it's several $$ more than the average menu items so I've made it a pratice to always ask the cost of any special that I think I might be interested in trying. I think that if they have no price listed and don't tell you when they recite you the list you should be able to pay what you think it worth! How do you think that would work??? How hard is it for the restaurant to print up a small sheet and attach it to the inside of the regular menu? I'm a real big fan of the blackboard for special's especially since you can erase things your out of. I've also had a waiter quote me the wrong price of an item and that was akward when the bill came and 4 of us had specials.

[winewizard]

I hate when they don't tell the price of a special and I've usually found that it's several $$ more than the average menu items so I've made it a pratice to always ask the cost of any special that I think I might be interested in trying. I think that if they have no price listed and don't tell you when they recite you the list you should be able to pay what you think it worth!  How do you think that would work??? How hard is it for the restaurant to print up a small sheet and attach it to the inside of the regular menu? I'm a real big fan of the blackboard for special's especially since you can erase things your out of. I've also had a waiter quote me the wrong price of an item and that was akward when the bill came and 4 of us had specials.

←

Here goes my opinion:

Firstly, I like the idea of specials because I may have a favorite spot to fall back on yet may become tired of the same menu. So, specials which are fairly priced and varied are a good idea. I like to have a menu insert listing specials including prices which should encourage a patron to try them. I don't know how many of us would tolerate a menu without prices, so why should the specials be a mystery?

[Pan]

I also have found that specials are on average more expensive than the average main dish/appetizer (whatever) price of items on the printed menu. I also have a strong dislike for specials recited without prices. I, too, always ask what a special's price is before ordering it. I do order specials, when they sound particularly interesting, which I think is usually a mark of creativity in the kitchen or/and the availability of particularly good products of a certain type.

That said, at my local Polish-American diner, Teresa's, the specials are virtually all really everyday specials, except for the weekend brunch specials (which also generally recur every weekend), yet they write them on that one blackboard. The only exception I can think of off-hand is the Chicken Stew, which is sometimes left over from lunch. So I wonder why they don't just add them to the menu and save the staff some extra work. Maybe it's because they not too infrequently run out of specials like roast duck (which I ate tonight) and roast chicken, and some of the others. But I can't remember a time when spinach pierogies were unavailable there as a special.

[doctorandchef]

Hmm.... the issue of "tackiness" of stating prices with the specials is a bit puzzling for me.

I guess this is assuming that the person paying for the meal doesn't want the "treated" person to know how much the meal costs.

Going by that logic, let's have no prices on all the menus then!!

I have no shame and I flat out ask what the specials' prices are, and I sometimes ask the waiter why he/she did not mention it during his spiel. Big pet peeve.

[Marmish]

I don't mind having specials recited if there aren't too many of them - more than 4 or so, forget it. I want to know how much, and I don't want to have to ask. Recently we were at a nicer restaurant with friends. We had not been there before, and should have realized due to the location that we would be underdressed, even though it was not someplace I would consider fine dining. I was interested in one of the specials, and asked its price when we ordered. Since it was much higher than the other entree I was considering, AND I felt it was overpriced for what it included, I ordered the less expensive regular menu item. It surely was a combination of factors that night, but I don't like to have to ask the price, then order something else because it makes me feel like I can't afford it, even if I can. It is uncomfortable and unnecessary.

Servers should recite the prices with the specials. Always. As for assuming the prices are in line with the rest of the menu, well, you know what they say about assuming...

[H. du Bois]

I too have experienced the horror of finding on the bill that the special was far more expensive than I'd imagined. If they're going to recite the specials orally, name that price! I'd rather hear that than the verbose product description that often accompanies each dish the server mentions - it's that, more than anything, that creates mind clog for me.

[TheFoodTutor]

I think the key issue for me, and I suppose this would be hard to determine, is if this specials-recitation-without-pricing is done as an intentional business policy, to accentuate the positive (food) rather than the negative (cost) or whether its just a whimsical decision (or non-decision).

I tend to feel, although this is a non-scientific opinion, that most restaurants choose to do this as a business decision.  It's not exactly a subterfuge, but more of a selling feature.  It does seem, though, from the response here, that most of the public does not like that no-price system.

←

Yes, it is an intentional business policy, or at least it is in every restaurant where I've worked. It does make the flow of telling the specials sound much nicer, keeps it upbeat and positive, shortens the presentation and, most likely, sells more food.

I have worked at many restaurants, but currently I have gone back to work at one of my favorite places of employment, a small-ish chain of about 50 restaurants or so. When it comes to analyzing everything that a server does and scrutinizing everything that can be made more efficient and effective, this restaurant tops the heap. In Cornell's Restaurant and Hospitality Management program, 2 entire chapters are devoted specifically to how these restaurants operate. It is considered to be one of the best business models in the restaurant world, and many, many entrepreneurs copy it.

I have a very specific manner in which I must tell the "specials" - although they're not called "specials" in the restaurant world. Want to know why that is? Well, of course it's because all of our entrees are special, ladies and germs. Did learning that just make you a little bit queasy? Yeah, me too.

But anyway, I even go through a process called "re-certification," every other month or so, wherein I wait on a manager, and the way I "feature" (they are "features," or "additions to the menu," not specials) the guest is a huge portion of this test - a test which basically grades how well I do my job. I happen to always do very well at this part, because I know exactly what the company wants, and I follow it to the letter. Somewhere along the line, they have figured out that the fewer words said at the table, the better, so absolutely no unnecessary words should be spoken. For instance, I say my name, but I don't say, "and I'll be your server." Of course I'm your server. I'm dressed like all the other servers in the restaurant, and I'm standing at your table. I think you've figured out what my job is by now.

But I digress. Here's how I do my feature: Greet the table, very short pleasantry, drink order, offer to get them an appetizer right away (just in case they arrived at the restaurant dying of starvation, nearly passing out from hunger.) Then get eye contact from most members of the table (or if they all are doing something else, or talking on cell phones, just pick one person who looks intelligent enough to repeat the list after I'm gone and focus on him), and then tell them the specials as quickly as humanly possible while enunciating clearly, smiling and keeping eye contact. No prices.

"Our fresh fish of the day is Georgia Rainbow Trout. We also have Atlantic Salmon and Cajun Redfish. Our Crabcakes are also available, made with jumbo lump crabmeat and served with a Pommery (SP? I don't spell it, I just say it) Mustard Sauce. Vegetables of the day are Braised Red Cabbage and French Green Beans."

And that's it. Bam, bam, bam, then walk away from the table. The only part that I usually get wrong is that I sometimes say, "I'll be right back." More unnecessary words. Obviously, I've just taken a drink order, so I'm going to get them, and then I'll be right back. It's just hard not to punctuate leaving the table with a finishing line.

So the company has clearly done research into this sort of thing, and while the specials stay the same for so long, but do sometimes change, that I can recite them in my sleep, it is important to say the specials. And I see why in the faces of many, many customers. Some of them even beam brightly at me, before they've decided what they want to drink, and ask "What are your specials?" There must be something about the reciting of specials that completes the restaurant experience, although it is also true that our seafood specials are open to change due to availability, freshness and quality of product.

And just giving this brief information conveys to the guest that I am simultaneously willing to go back and explain more about every item, and the prices, if needed, and able to skip the whole recitation and let them order the same item that they always get, every time they visit.

So what I'm saying is that, while the majority here seem to agree that they want prices recited with the specials, this other model seems to work really, really well, to the benefit of the restaurant, and the benefit of the guest who wants to be served very, very quickly. And this restaurant is both too formal to have a blackboard, yet so casual that they have a 1-page menu that is laminated.