man my wife won't let me eat any of that stuff tell you what i'll give you 10 bucks for that
thing would you like fries with that probably not but you answer yes anyway could this be one
of the 10 sneaky ways fast food restaurants get you to spend money let's find out menus
designed to get you to spend more oh well let me try to recap the order a crawler two sugar
pucks a stanley cup large coffee with cream a raspberry jelly doughnut fast food restaurants
are always developing new ways to influence your decision making whether through subliminal
messaging the power of suggestion or manipulation menu engineering requires a particular toolbox of
psychological methods clear section headers easy to find item titles and other graphic
strategies may help restaurants develop menus that are easier to browse rather than reading a
menu from beginning to end consumers prefer to skim it fast reportedly spending an average of
109 seconds reading or browsing this means the menu only has a little time to create a large
impression on customers menu engineers investigate which portions of the menu are prime real estate
or where customers glance first in those 109 seconds what is the overall conclusion
customers typically spend the majority of their time looking at the first and final items on
vertically structured menus therefore the meals in those locations are oftentimes the most popular
most academics appear to agree that when customers scan a menu their eyes naturally travel to the top
right hand corner dubbed the sweet spot in the business as a result many restaurants place the
menu item usually an expensive meal that they want to promote the most there at least this one is
profitable color may also be used to emphasize a point since people's emotional responses to color
are typically subconscious as a result color theory is used in a variety of applications
including advertising and product packaging red and blue for example can stimulate hunger on menus
they've perfected the use of descriptive language in room 954 which is the library catalog number
for india and south asia we're proud to serve a wide variety of indian dishes the titles and
descriptions of meals may be considered the heart of a menu as this is the information by
which customers make their orders that's why menu developers engineers and copywriters work hard to
pique diner's interest with enticing tasty and emotive language it's been demonstrated that
sales go up by about 30 percent when they have a decent description customers were more happy
with their meal when descriptive menu terms were used for example succulent italian seafood fillet
sounds more appetizing than the more plain seafood fillet sounds delicious in theory but
you never know until you taste it as a result more positive feedback was possible assuming the item
met expectations dishes labeled with sensory descriptors like tender succulent and satin
are more enticing cultural terms like cajun and italian as well as nostalgic terms like home style
traditional and grandmas have the same effect all those extra descriptors divulged an important
finding it increased sales by 27 ultimately restaurants who invest time designing enticing
dish titles and descriptions will reap the benefits they try to trigger nostalgic feelings
blah blah blah nostalgic story classifying different methods as geographic nostalgic sensory
or branding using nostalgia to invoke emotions is a very powerful tool in any marketing campaign
especially when it comes to food adding in the name of a location makes dishes
like napa valley nachos sound more appealing and as a result increases sales tremendously
this strategy might involve phrases like traditional or homemade to remind diners of the
good old days when life was simpler it might also entail humanizing a meal by mentioning the chef
the restaurant owner or the source of the recipe the secret ingredient is but there's nothing like
bringing up childhood memories of food and family to make you homesick both in life and
when it comes to restaurant menu design it's a match made in heaven many individuals have fond
recollections of the kitchen or the dining room table making cookies with mom or eating christmas
dinner at grandma's using nostalgic language to evoke those sentiments can be quite powerful
they try to avoid using dollar signs and hide their prices price is the price yo pricing is
one of the most difficult aspects of a menu to get right since it must strike a balance between
generating a profit and not frightening potential customers getting rid of dollar signs or other
monetary signals is one of the first actions suggested by menu developers any mention of
cash reminds diners of the pain of spending money which may cause people to order exclusively on the
basis of price rather than ingredients quality or what sounds the most enticing however by removing
the dollar signs the restaurant softens the costs not only that but according to research
individuals spend much more money at restaurants where the prices do not feature dollar signs or
the term dollars in the menu placing the pricing in a column enables clients to focus on price
not the food and it might drive them to select the lowest item in the column according to researchers
this is certainly not what restaurants are looking for no god a decoy is a similar pricing
strategy that restaurants frequently employ to divert customers attention away from the
costs a decoy is a menu item that appears to be ridiculously costly yet is there to make other
perhaps exorbitant things appear better it allows customers to order something they would normally
consider too expensive they utilize music to influence your mood this restaurant is perfect
you may not give much care to the music being played at your favorite spot but a conscientious
restaurateur does for decades restaurant owners have understood that up tempo music makes people
eat quicker while slower calmer music creates a pleasant atmosphere that keeps you in your seat
longer the music you hear is determined by the aims of the institution you should expect up tempo
music if it's a crowded lunch spot that relies on fast shifting tables to earn a profit change music
expect low key music at night at a fine dining restaurant where keeping you seated boosts the
chances of selling more wine or dessert you could even notice at the same restaurant has a distinct
personality depending on the time of day with quicker music for speedy turns during the day and
calm music for leisurely meals at night in any case learn to tune it out and eat on your own time
employing happy and friendly staff give me a pie apple do you want me to hold the spit
just kidding officer the best employees are also sales people and if you're in the hands of
a master you won't even see it coming waiters are aggressively prepping you to submit to temptation
it can be a bubbly teenager encouraging you to leave space for desserts or a sophisticated
sommelier telling you there's an extra special pinot noir in your near future this is one of
the finest psychological tactics a restaurant can perform since it says they're helping you
rationalize something you already crave for after all if you split the dessert it won't have as many
calories right restaurants tread carefully on this one since it may rapidly devolve into a monotonous
checklist for the staff would you like fries for that or even worse appear forceful and hostile
when done correctly you'll get the impression that the server has taken excellent care of
you you'll probably leave an extra large tip to show your appreciation for spending more than you
anticipated using combos to entice customers to spend more no you sure it's only 29 cents more
bundling menu items into combos is one of the most widely used restaurant techniques it's an obvious
psychological winner as it looks to provide far higher value for a relatively minor increase
in cost this works beautifully at all levels of eating you've had this at the low end if you've
ever ordered a combination at your neighborhood burger place or fried chicken restaurant
surprisingly it's also effective in fine dining combining a flight of numerous wines with a
dinner or opting for a bottle rather than a glass significantly increases the overall income from
your table they always set those things to pay out more so do those fantastic restaurant pairings
where you get to experience exceptional foods paired with certain wines spirits or craft brews
the simplest method to answer this issue is to decide what you want to order ahead
of time and stick to it this method works by allowing you to rationalize doing something
you already want to do similar to how wait staff who sell a lot of food do giving out merchandise
you can't eat the merchandise restaurateurs with inventiveness recognize that the restaurant's
name and brand are assets and they strive to maximize their value it's amateurish to
send you home with a complimentary calendar or match books with the bar's name on the cover
serious gamers will demand that you promote them everywhere you go and they will make you pay for
it businesses don't have to be the hard rock cafe to do well with products a brewery with a
good reputation for craft beers might be able to sell you the pitcher together with the brew for
a good price both the super special drinks served in a glass you get to keep and the souvenir shirt
that provides you personal delight as an opening week client are excellent examples this is free
okay fast food companies are constantly designing new merchandise that promotes their brand consider
your item purchases in the same manner you would a purchase at any merchant to prevent a side of
buyer's regret with tomorrow's hangover if the clothing looks nice on you if the barbecue
are masters at luring people in they advertise the most ridiculous bargains on banners posters and
television commercials you'll probably purchase a drink once they get you in the building for
some buy one get one free nuggets by adding fries for an extra dollar you can turn it into a meal
great fried potatoes yep french fries companies also use brand tie-ins like doritos locos tacos
and discounts that can often expire in a week like the ones on your receipt they also use mobile
reward points or unique daily deals available only through the app akin to the old-fashioned
punch card if each transaction takes you closer to free meals then logically assume you'll dine
at their restaurant more frequently making healthy options more expensive seizure salad with tater
tots instead of croutons oh that's me salad trying to eat healthy healthy fast casual options are
often much pricier than unhealthy fast food this can lead to a significant increase in spending
especially if you're feeding a family kfc will provide you with far more food for your cash than
an organic salad chain for example because fast food restaurants are less expensive than healthier
options they might induce customers to spend more money on excessively unhealthy portions fast food
is convenient but you must overcome all of the psychological traps used to get you to spend more
money you shouldn't have to pay a premium for low quality food junk is frequently promoted as being
cost effective and filling these preconceptions which are based on outdated information
may make it difficult to justify going to the grocery shop for healthy essentials
that's not to mention the time you'll spend making the dinner with the ingredients you've purchased
after all time is money however a parallel consensus appears to be challenging this viewpoint
yes those dollar menus may appear to be more cost effective now but the payment
made later in the form of chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease and the expenditures
associated with their management aren't some of the perception that fast food is less expensive
stems from a 2013 report that suggested eating properly costs roughly a dollar and fifty cents
per day more this equates to an additional five hundred and fifty dollars per person each year
or twenty two hundred dollars for a family of four however since their publication those
conclusions have faced opposition in 2017 a group of american academics released an
article stating that fast food isn't necessarily cheaper after all america may not be able to
solve its diet-based health problems overnight but we are on the right track in this regard
we might be at the end but we've got more so stick around and check out more great videos