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The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

thehustle.co

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Re: The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

#2
Makes me wonder how the "Paradox of Choice" works in this situation since the customer is already committed to purchasing. Does this lead to more-than-usual consumption (cf. the usual shying away from purchase in a Choice paradox scenario)

Re: The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

#3
post #2

Makes me wonder how the "Paradox of Choice" works in this situation since the customer is already committed to purchasing. Does this lead to more-than-usual consumption (cf. the usual shying away from purchase in a Choice paradox scenario)

Isn't loss aversion more relevant to this? You already paid for all this, so you would "lose money" by not eating more.

Re: The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

#4
I saw a great solution to the over-eating problem in one sushi spot in Italy. Not exactly a buffer, but you could pay upfront and order as much as you want per person. The caveat is that you can only order four servings at once and you pay the full a'la carte price for everything you hadn't fully eaten.

Re: The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

#5
post #4

I saw a great solution to the over-eating problem in one sushi spot in Italy. Not exactly a buffer, but you could pay upfront and order as much as you want per person. The caveat is that you can only order four servings at once and you pay the full a'la carte price for everything you hadn't fully eaten.

This is the case with all you can eat sushi places in the US as well

Re: The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

#6
post #4

I saw a great solution to the over-eating problem in one sushi spot in Italy. Not exactly a buffer, but you could pay upfront and order as much as you want per person. The caveat is that you can only order four servings at once and you pay the full a'la carte price for everything you hadn't fully eaten.

then why not make multiple small trips?

Re: The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

#7
post #4

I saw a great solution to the over-eating problem in one sushi spot in Italy. Not exactly a buffer, but you could pay upfront and order as much as you want per person. The caveat is that you can only order four servings at once and you pay the full a'la carte price for everything you hadn't fully eaten.

They also serve a much higher ratio of rice to fish than a typical sushi restaurant

Re: The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

#9
The other technique not mentioned here is for buffets to just stop refilling the higher cost items on the buffet if a group of big eaters comes in. then let them sit empty while the diners fill up on potatoes or what not, before finally refilling them.

Re: The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

#10
While very occasionally a buffet can be fun, I usually consider them not so great an experience. Yes, it is nice to be able to decide yourself the relative composition of ingredients, like adding the extra piece of meat or a lot of your favorite vegetable, but too often you end out with a strange mix of stuff on your plate. A plate, which as described in the article, usually is to small of this. So while you might get a little bit more food, it is often less quality, than if you had ordered a prepared dish. And of course, many restaurants offer dishes which are smaller or lager.
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