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The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

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

#31

Post by lotsofpulp »

joegahona wrote: post #29
d33 wrote: 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.

Interesting exercise, but why not just throw the uneaten food under the table, or covertly take it to the restroom and toss it in the toilet?

The purpose is to incentivize people to think twice about what they are ordering and how much they can eat, not to prevent people who are already intent on abusing the system. For that, you simply have to observe and ban people.

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

#33

Post by PopeDotNinja »

I sometimes drink a stupid amount of diet soda. I know drinks are usually high margin, but I wouldn't be surprised if some places lose money on me. I went to a Denny's recently and tried to count the number of refills I got, but I lost count. This is the same Denny's I went to in college, where the waitress knew me. She'd drop two pitchers of Diet Coke on the table before she took my order.

The epitaph on my tomb stone should probably be "Didn't do an autopsy. We just assumed he was one giant tumor artificial sweetener induced cancer."

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

#34

Post by graeme »

chrisseaton wrote: post #28
katzgrau wrote: post #16

The only thing I found more interesting than all-you-can-eat buffets actually turning a profit is that there are business people who are apparently content running a business with such slim margins. This article quotes a 5% margin. I know food industry margins are low in the first place, but as a business owner in a different field I'm left wondering why anyone would even bother. The same business prowess and attenti…

> there are business people who are apparently content running a business with such slim margins ... I'm left wondering why anyone would even bother A percentage margin is expressed relative to the value of the sales. Low margin on high value sales is as good as high margin on low value sales, in terms of how much money you make. Low margin is only a problem in low value sales. Why shouldn’t people running a business…

My expectation would be that if you’re used to operating in a high margin business you have ample room for error or fluctuation in conditions.

In a low margin business, you don’t have such room for error, and you actually have to fluctuate with conditions. This isn’t a deal breaker: most business operate this way!

But it’s scary for someone looking in from a high margin business.

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

#35

Post by swalsh »

_ph_ wrote: post #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 ge…

I vehemently disagree, buffets are glorious experiences. It's everything that is great about the modern world in a single place. Sure a cohesive dining experience can be nice, but a buffet offers you the ability to have it all. To eat like a king, a little bit of this, and a little bit of that. Or heck, it can be a mound. If you've ever looked a menu, and had a moment of FOMO while making a decision, you should be able to appreciate the magic of the offers available in a buffet.

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

#36

Post by WilliamEdward »

PopeDotNinja wrote: post #33

I sometimes drink a stupid amount of diet soda. I know drinks are usually high margin, but I wouldn't be surprised if some places lose money on me. I went to a Denny's recently and tried to count the number of refills I got, but I lost count. This is the same Denny's I went to in college, where the waitress knew me. She'd drop two pitchers of Diet Coke on the table before she took my order. The epitaph on my tomb sto…

I know you are joking but artificial sweeteners do not cause cancer. Current literature does suggest they are bad for your teeth though.

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

#37

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

chrisseaton wrote: post #28
katzgrau wrote: post #16

The only thing I found more interesting than all-you-can-eat buffets actually turning a profit is that there are business people who are apparently content running a business with such slim margins. This article quotes a 5% margin. I know food industry margins are low in the first place, but as a business owner in a different field I'm left wondering why anyone would even bother. The same business prowess and attenti…

> there are business people who are apparently content running a business with such slim margins ... I'm left wondering why anyone would even bother A percentage margin is expressed relative to the value of the sales. Low margin on high value sales is as good as high margin on low value sales, in terms of how much money you make. Low margin is only a problem in low value sales. Why shouldn’t people running a business…

We're talking about all-you-can-eat buffets. I don't think they're selling a jumbo-jets worth of food a day.

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

#38

Post by CPLX »

katzgrau wrote: post #16

The only thing I found more interesting than all-you-can-eat buffets actually turning a profit is that there are business people who are apparently content running a business with such slim margins. This article quotes a 5% margin. I know food industry margins are low in the first place, but as a business owner in a different field I'm left wondering why anyone would even bother. The same business prowess and attenti…

This may come as a shock but software is the exception. The vast majority of the business world operates this way.

The fun part comes when you realize that absent monopoly conditions this is the natural stable state of a mature market, and think about what the future of software might look like, and what the current public policy fights are about.

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

#39

Post by ddlatham »

0x445442 wrote: post #32

If I do go to a buffet I only eat protein because it seems to be the only way to get my money's worth.

If I go to a buffet I fill up my plate with all the food I most enjoy even if that includes the cheap stuff. Then I feel like I got my money's worth, even if they made a profit.

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

#40

Post by dylan604 »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #30
katzgrau wrote: post #16

The only thing I found more interesting than all-you-can-eat buffets actually turning a profit is that there are business people who are apparently content running a business with such slim margins. This article quotes a 5% margin. I know food industry margins are low in the first place, but as a business owner in a different field I'm left wondering why anyone would even bother. The same business prowess and attenti…

>but as a business owner in a different field I'm left wondering why anyone would even bother. Because they don't have a choice.

Or that they have specifically chosen that particular field. If your heart and skill set is being a chef, then the running a restaurant is going to be your path.
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