Believe it or not, there are sneaky ways restaurants do to make you spend more money. While they do want you to have a good experience, of course, they’d also want you to splurge on your meal. After all, a restaurant is still a business, and they would need to keep their lights on and pay their staff well. Today, we will be unveiling some of the sneaky tricks that restaurants use to make their diners spend more.
10. They Control Your Eating Speed with Music
If you feel rushed even when no one is rushing you, it might be your restaurant’s playlist. This is especially true during busy lunch hours, when people are waiting to be seated. Restaurants carefully curate their playlists to control your dining pace. Why? Studies show that fast-paced and high-energy music makes you chew faster. Meanwhile, slow and calming music at dinner encourages you to relax and order more drinks or dessert.
9. Dessert Menus Are Strategically Left Behind
You’re probably not thinking about dessert after your full-course meal, and restaurants know about it. With that, servers often leave the dessert menu on your table even if you’re not asking for it. Sometimes, they would even hold the menu, asking you if you’d like some. It’s a simple but highly effective trick that will easily make you impulsive.
8. Your Server’s Appearance Affects Your Order
Studies have pointed out that the physical appearance of a server can impact what diners order. While restaurants don’t typically hire staff based on this psychological quirk, it highlights how easily our decisions are swayed by visual cues. It’s fascinating but also uncomfortable information about how our brains make choices without our conscious mind speaking.
7. Fancy Menu Language Boosts Sales by 27%
You’ll likely order a pan-seared Atlantic salmon with saffron-infused risotto rather than a salmon with yellow rice. Why? It sounds more appealing, so restaurants use a more descriptive language to make their dishes appear desirable to a hungry customer. Studies have shown that this tactic can increase sales by as much as 27% as it paints a vivid picture of the meal.
6. Open Kitchens Make You Hungrier
Ever wondered why many new restaurants have an open kitchen? That’s a powerful tool of persuasion. A customer can see and smell their food being prepared, and the increasing saliva production makes them feel hungrier than they already are. Thus, it makes you more likely to order more food, such as an appetizer, while waiting for your main meal.
5. Colors Manipulate How Long You Stay
Colors of a restaurant aren’t just about the aesthetics; they also influence customers’ behavior. We commonly see red and yellow in fast food to create a sense of urgency, which means eat quickly and leave = quick table turnover. Meanwhile, fine-dining establishments use calming colors like blue and warm browns for a more relaxed atmosphere. Likely, this would encourage you to order more and enjoy your meal.
4. Removing Dollar Signs Increases Revenue by 8%
It’s not a design choice you thought it was. That’s a psychological trick that points to studies showing 8% increase in revenue. Why? Seeing the dollar sign reminds you that you’re spending money. By removing it, restaurants create a mental distance from the act of spending, making you more likely to splurge on a single meal.
3. The Golden Triangle Catches Your Eye
When you look at a menu, your eyes don’t read it like a book. Studies actually show that we scan menus in a zig-zag pattern. It means our attention is naturally drawn to the top right corner, the middle, and the bottom right. This is known as the “Golden Triangle,” and restaurants use it by placing their most expensive dishes in the triangle. Likely, you’ll get to see and order these items with all of the fancy food language.
2. Plate Size Tricks Your Brain
As a customer, your brain judges the amount of food you’ve eaten based on the amount of empty space left on your plate. That’s why buffets often provide small plates to make you feel like you’re eating more than you are, so you’ll take less food. In contrast, many restaurants use large plates for their main courses. This makes the same portion of food seem smaller, which leaves you feeling less satisfied, so you’ll order more food.
1. Curved Glasses Make You Drink Faster
No, this isn’t an aesthetic like you think it is. Many restaurants use this trick to misjudge how much liquid is inside. With a curved glass, you’re more likely to drink faster because you can’t really see how much is left. If restaurants used straight glasses, you’d be able to pace yourself better. This simple switch in glassware encourages you to finish your drink more quickly and order another one.