Thread by @finshots

Ever wondered how buffet restaurants like Barbeque Nation offer unlimited food at such low prices?

A thread👇 (1/10)

Let’s start with their first offering - drinks. Soft drinks are one of the cheapest supplies for any restaurant, and these are offered in many ways - either as a complementary option or as a bottomless option where you pay for a glass but get unlimited refills. (2/10)

The idea is to make you drink them as much as possible so that you’re eating less food. (3/10)

Next up is the food itself. The food placement in buffets is such that the cheap, filling stuff like salads and appetizers are at the front of the line.

The purpose of this is to fill you up on the less costly items from the menu. (4/10)

Studies suggest 75% of buffet customers select whatever food is in the first tray, and 66% of all the food they consume comes from the first 3 trays. (5/10)

Other tactics to save money are hidden in plain sight, like using smaller plates to control your portion size, or using small containers to serve expensive dishes. (6/10)

Moreover, a buffet does not require cuisine-specific chefs, as they have select items that are prepared in bulk at once. Self-service allows them to hire less staff, so reducing labour cost saves them a lot of money.
(7/10)

What’s interesting is that their underlying principle is derived from economics i.e. the law of diminishing marginal utility- implying lesser satisfaction with successive consumption of a food item. (8/10)

Sure, there are many customers who eat more than they can handle, but the losses due to these consumers are far less than the profit made from others.
(9/10)

So the equation is simple - profits are derived not just by increasing revenue but also by decreasing costs. Flat pricing ensures that customers keep going there, and they keep using tactics to keep their overheads to a minimum. (10/10)

Sources:
~How All You Can Eat Restaurants Make Money- Business Insider

~Buffet Hacks To Really Get Your Money's Worth - Mashed

~How All-You-Can-Eat Buffets Really Make Their Money- Mashed

~How All-You-Can-Eat Buffets Use Psychology to Make Money -Psychologytoday