A new word has been bantered about over the past few months, a word that ticks off consumers and demonstrates either greed or an inability to understand the public’s perception of “value”. “Shrinkflation” is a descriptor for reducing the size of packaged goods while either keeping selling prices where they were or raising prices while portions are being reduced. It only takes a few seconds to move from being a “go along for the ride” consumer to feeling screwed. Consumers may wonder how naïve manufacturers think consumers are and even worse believing that we will all just shrug our shoulders and think “it is what it is”.
Shrinkflation is creeping into every aspect of our lives as companies adopt a strange new philosophy of “give less and charge more.” I suppose it was only inevitable that this new method of doing business would creep into restaurant and other food related businesses. Grocery stores try to eliminate cashier positions (yes, I know how hard it is to find help) and opt for self-check-out but do so without lowering prices. Not that I mind, but oftentimes the cashiers that are there no longer bag your purchases, that’s the consumer’s job now. Restaurants, especially in quick service and limited-service restaurants are moving towards kiosk ordering, or use of an on-line app to do the same in lieu of customer service, and every other article on restaurant trends and future projections seems to focus on how artificial intelligence is the savior of this business we once referred to as “hospitality”. Oh, and have you thought that maybe those items you purchase seem a bit lighter in weight or in numbers than they were just a year ago?
Now the latest insult to the business of restaurant hospitality and any attempt to justify value is charging for bread. Okay, I understand everything costs money and prices continue to rise but take a breath and think about what we are doing. Bread has always been a given. In fact, our business is based on the concept of gathering in a special place where service with a smile was the obvious complement to “breaking bread”. What’s next – up-charging for butter, condiments, and maybe the ice in your water glass? Or maybe, as is being done in NFL football stadiums now, restaurants should simply charge a lease fee for the right to make a reservation.
How about insult to injury – it might even be slightly acceptable if restaurants served exceptional artisan bread for what they charge, but in many cases it’s a frozen product that is simply defrosted, warmed, and sliced. Hardly worth the $8-$12 that restaurants charge. How can a chef set the stage for a dining experience if restaurants continue to look at everything as an extra charge.
Value is a very personal consideration. What is value to one guest may be insulting to another. What value should not be is something that only relates to the price charged. When this happens, when people look only at the price and wonder if dining out is “worth it” then food becomes a commodity, and the restaurant experience is relegated to an exchange of money for either an acceptable or an unacceptable pause in a person’s normal schedule.
Yes, I have spoken about this before, but the more I think about it, the more disappointed I become in restaurateurs trying to make a profit rather than earn it.
The a ’la carte model lacks an understanding of how people perceive value and how the chef desires to create enjoyable experience and focus on a way to attract return guests. Charge what you need to charge but at the same time invest in building great experiences from the moment a reservation is made until the coffee is poured and the check delivered. Don’t try to solve your financial challenges by nickel and diming your patrons.
Charge what you need to charge by thinking about what you can add to the experience instead of what you might take away. Great hospitality is common sense. The right approach is to seek ways to exceed a patron’s expectations every time – not disappoint. I have always judged a restaurant by the quality of their bread and their attention to detail. Why would a restaurant choose to alienate the guest before the experience is in full gear?
So, maybe enough about bread, but understand that if this becomes the norm then license is given to move on to the next disappointing decision. Know what everything costs and charge what is fair and right, but don’t allow a lack of respect for the guest experience to be the result. Look around and shake your head at this trend in so many businesses. Pricing is no longer transparent, and assumption is more and more likely to disappoint. Your phone service has proven this over the past decade as has other services from streaming to ticket prices for entertainment venues where the assumed price is then riddled with extra charges. Let’s not allow this to happen to the business of hospitality.
Every restaurant should want their patrons to leave with a smile on their face, memories of great tasting food, a comforting feeling that they were taken care of, and a sense that what they spent was worth it. Don’t allow a guest to leave feeling disappointed or worse – screwed! If our objective is to attract return patrons and leave them excited to tell their friends about a great experience, then it is imperative that we re-think this obnoxious trend.
I don’t like to rant, but this is a rant worthy topic.
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