The Balancing Act: Profit Versus Dining Experience Part I Of II

A friend of mine from another state called me a couple of days ago. As usual, our conversation moved onto the topic of restaurants and food. She told me of an experience that she had encountered while eating out at one of her favorite restaurants. I wanted to share this information with my readers to see what comments and ideas you have regarding the situation.

As my friend explained to me…

A normal Saturday night consisted of going out to dinner with her family and another family with three children. One of their favorite haunts is an upscale crab house that is located on the water in Maryland. She explained that she has frequented this particular restaurant for over 17 years and her husband and friends had gone for over 20 years. This restaurant was so well liked that my friend had their wedding dinner there years ago. The restaurant has always been crowded, even on a weeknight. She noticed that when they arrived, there was no wait to be seated…for the first time ever.

The friendly server came over quickly and established a good rapport. Drinks and food were ordered and everything seemed to go along as they usually did each time they came to the restaurant. Like chips and salsa being offered at a Mexican restaurant, crab houses are known to supply Hushpuppies to patrons to nibble on while they wait for their seafood to be prepared. Although it was not told at the time, the once complimentary Hushpuppies now cost $3.99 for
4 little balls. Hushpuppies were ordered. They were cold, but since they believed that they were “free”, no use in complaining.

Along with the dinners ordered came the salad bar. My friend was amazed that they were told that each person was only allowed one trip to the salad bar. She stated that she had never made more than one trip to the salad bar in all of the years past, but she was disappointed that the table was told three times throughout their dining experience that they could only go once or pay an additional $9.99 per extra visit.

Please continue to The Balancing Act: Profit Versus Dining Experience PART TWO for the conclusion.