deceptive ordering

Something else those of you not in the Bizz need to be made aware of is the ever popular
"Fuel Surcharge" that some distributors have started...

What REALLY makes me mad about this is that I can't "Write this off"... For example...

If I order say xxxxx.xx a week in groceries and they tack on xx.xx in fuel surcharges then at the end of the year If I have 2 deliveries a week and each truck costs $xx.xx; Where do I put that in terms of figuring my actual food cost?....
It's not like this is an item that I can count in my inventory(I work on a yearly budget that was approved by committee and there is no allowance for this). I have to absorb this into my food cost even though I have no choice but to have this stuff delivered.

At the end of the quarter that means I have spent $xxxx.xx on just getting the delivery to show up! In the grand scheme of things it may seem insignificant to you, to person who feels that they are getting "gouged" for paying $3.00 for a bottomless soda but these are real dollars being spent that have to be made up!

You should order a truckload or two of empty beer bottles. We pay a "energy surcharge" on the glass production that is pegged to the price & future price of sweet, light crude. When the bottles ship we have to pay a "fuel surcharge" on the shipping.

Dan fuel surcharges are a part of food cost. This cost has always been there but they have never spelled it out. In some cases, especially shipping charges, we request they put it in the orginal price of the item so that, like you say, conduct business as normal. Everyone has complied with no issue what so ever. I would say also make sure they tell you what the charges are and how they are going to manage it. This makes it a lot eassier to calculte food cost and prepare tax documents as you see fit.

Or worse yet why is the price of iced tea and coffee the same as that for soft drinks since I'm sure soft drinks are a lot more expensive to provide than iced tea or coffee? It's kind of like pricing a chicken breast the same as a lobster tail.

Stabbing in the dark here, but i'm pretty sure tea and coffee are likely to cost more than fountain drinks.
The bulk syrup for soda fountains is relatively inexpensive per portion when put up against coffee.
Especially when you figure in that most coffee drank domestically is made from beans sourced internationally.
Higher fuel costs and surcharges, imported items... The cost would already be higher, and even more so nowadays.

I'm with Ethan on this one, Mark...also- again, as I said earlier...the vast majority are guzzling. You are the minority. I think we would have a lot more complaints moving to your model than we already do sticking with the one we have.

How much do you all tip for to-go orders? I will admit I didn't think one was taken until I googled it recently

It's never occurred to me to tip for to-go. I didn't realize it was done. Table service and delivery have a definite service component which I don't really see when you pick up your own food.

Then again, we tip baristas and bartenders, so my position here may be inconsistent.

I don't tip for carry out, because the wait staff isn't involved. It is mainly the cooks making and boxing the food, and as we all well know, the cooks don't get tipped for making the food great.

How much do you all tip for to-go orders? I will admit I didn't think one was taken until I googled it recently

It's never occurred to me to tip for to-go. I didn't realize it was done. .

There was a thread about this some time ago.

For me, it depends on the situation. At many Chinese restaurants - and some others - the cashier opens the carry-out bag and double checks the order. I will always tip this, and will often tip if the cashier after payment will go in the back to get the order. If they hand me a stapled or sealed bag with no chance to check, I don't, or (more often) will just tip a token amount (say 10%).

the c/o tips really depend on how difficult i am being as a customer and how much effort the wait staff has to put into my order

if i'm ordering a big order that has to be split into several checks - i should tip because i'm taking the server away from their normal table duties
if i ask for additional items at the last minute (can i get an extra sauce and an extra roll) i should tip, because i'm wasting the server's time
if i just walk in grab my order and walk out, i probably won't tip, because it should be short and sweet, exchange cash for food and its over

at the pizza company, if a c/o tips we usually hand that money off to the kitchen staff (unless we had to be on the phone with them for 10 minutes explaining our entire menu, then we'll take a % relative to our time invested in the order)

shawn

In the interest of prolonging an argument, I'd just like to say that over the weekend I added up and averaged the amount of softdrinks and refills the average customer consumed. Mark R, I can see your frustration in paying $2-3 for 1 glass of soda, but the average customer in my experience drinks 3.7 glasses of soda. Our glasses are 14oz so that equals out to nearly a half gallon, or just over 1.5 quarts of soda!!! I'd say the price of soda makes perfect sense in that light and especially when you include the other costs that are rapidly squeezing independent restaurants in these times.

Jeremy,
The funny thing is that I have been watching the same thing in restaurants recently. Although my "watching" didn't rise to the level of counting or anything close to as scientfic as your study, I do have one question. Are these refills at the customer's request? I noticed at our table that the server would automatically refill the glass when it got low. I watched my husband as he drank more and more diet coke and asked him if he actually wanted it. He stated he didnt and I asked why he was drinking it. His response? "Because its there." So, why doesnt your establishment stop being proactive with refills and refill a soda glass only when requested then see how much people order. I think we can get a better picture of how much people actually want to drink. If you keep automatically refilling the glass, don't complain when people drink it. I think we are all guilty of consuming something just "because it's there."

I think we are all guilty of consuming something just "because it's there."

This is why I have 40 pounds to lose.

Jeremy,
So, why doesnt your establishment stop being proactive with refills and refill a soda glass only when requested then see how much people order.

Oh my, then we would be reading a thread right here complaining about the terrible service at (fill in the blank) and the inattentiveness of their service staff, isn't it the hight of cheapness not to give refills without asking, service was so much better at the old reataurant- you know the one close to the old Sears Bldg.
It all goes to prove that you really can't make everybody happy all the time. Which isn't to say restaurant shouldn't keep trying. It's a rough business.

I refill waters automatically. I NEVER refill soda automatically, just on request. And to be frank, people frequently seem really annoyed with me that they have to ask for soda refills so I've considered changing my policy. Not saying you or Mark R are wrong, just that you're in the minority. MOST people want to drink a half gallon of freaking soda...its nuts.

i'll side with Jeremy on this one
in my own customer/drink counting obsessiveness 9 of 10 customers say yes when asked if they would like a refill of their soda/tea

we usually ask the customer if they would like a refill of their soda/tea, rather than let the customer ask us
9 out of 10 times they do want a refill and occasionally a cup of soda/tea to go

Jeremy,
The funny thing is that I have been watching the same thing in restaurants recently. Although my "watching" didn't rise to the level of counting or anything close to as scientfic as your study, I do have one question. Are these refills at the customer's request? I noticed at our table that the server would automatically refill the glass when it got low. I watched my husband as he drank more and more diet coke and asked him if he actually wanted it. He stated he didnt and I asked why he was drinking it. His response? "Because its there." So, why doesnt your establishment stop being proactive with refills and refill a soda glass only when requested then see how much people order. I think we can get a better picture of how much people actually want to drink. If you keep automatically refilling the glass, don't complain when people drink it. I think we are all guilty of consuming something just "because it's there."

When I went to Meridian Cafe for brunch last Saturday, I was sorely tempted to drink like five glasses of mango iced tea to see if Heather Y would notice, but I decided against it and only had two... Good stuff, and the Big Dave's Pastrami Hash was as good as ever! The place was packed too, and service was extremely smooth!