17 Self-Service Secrets That Mislead Customers Around the World

Any successful restaurant tries to ensure that the cost of food does not exceed 30% of the amount charged and self-service establishments are no exception. A large chain in this segment, for example, produces 85 million loaves of bread, 21,000 tons of chicken and 2,700 tons of steaks per year. But how do they manage to serve so much food without going broke?

we, from awesome.club, we evaluated this system and discovered so many secrets that we even forgot about our lunch. Don’t miss the bonus we added at the end: we’ll reveal some secrets that won’t let restaurants profit at your expense.

Manufacturers make smaller plates for those restaurants that charge a fixed amount, allowing customers to eat as much as they like. Unlike places with service à la cartewhere the customer chooses one or more dishes, in the restaurants serf service we want to try everything at once and we often exaggerate in the amount of food we choose. Restaurants, in turn, try to reduce visitor waste. As has been proven, the use of large plates in fixed-price restaurants leads to customers overeating and managers try to avoid this at all costs.

Restaurants also seek to base their menus on products that can be bought in bulk for real bargains. This is the case with vegetables, which are cheap. A bag of potatoes, for example, costs around R$5. Therefore, the trays at the buffet are full of recipes involving potatoes and rice, while fish and meat are specially cut into small pieces or placed on a tiny plate, so that the customer eats few expensive products and fills his stomach with the cheaper ones.

A study has shown that the price of dishes affects visitors’ impression of the quality and taste of food. At a pizzeria, different customers were asked to pay R$16 or R$32. Those who paid R$32 rated the dishes higher than those who saved. Scientists have concluded that people set their expectations of a particular food based on different characteristics, including price. Therefore, the larger the bill, the tastier the food will look.

restaurants self service benefit when customers have less appetite. Therefore, they often position themselves as a “place for the family”. After all, families are often made up of young children and grandparents, who are likely to feel satisfied quickly. In addition, children often prefer the most profitable products for the restaurant, such as sweets, chips or pizzas, which offer a good opportunity to make a profit.

Have you ever noticed that the platters with side dishes are always full, but the meat or seafood trays are always half empty? The secret is this: waiters are sometimes told not to rush to restock expensive products, but all cheaper dishes should always be available.

Not all visitors will expect staff to bring more crab or shrimp and settle for pancakes, for example, which is more profitable for the restaurant. And you know that dirty plate that takes a long time to be removed from the table? This is sometimes done on purpose as it makes it less likely that the customer will take another serving.

in restaurants self service, instead of complaining about the lack of a product, the customer simply picks up another dish that appeals to him. This allows the house to have a “flexible” menu and save on meat and fish. So you can serve tilapia instead of expensive salmon or buy cheaper types of meat. Sometimes, part of the beef is substituted for pork (when it is cheaper), since, with the seasoning, not everyone feels the difference.

The point here is that the higher the temperature, the less the customer will want to eat meat or seafood, for example. Most people will be more willing to order fruit and drinks, which are not always included in the price.

“We don’t have WiFi. Talk to each other, pretend it’s 1995″

These restaurants don’t make much money if visitors stay in the establishment for a long time and serve themselves a second and then a third time. So you are unlikely to see a TV on your walls or be able to use Wi-Fi.

In some places you may notice that trays with pasta, salads or rice have huge shells, but that next to the fish and red meat are placed small tongs, which are difficult to use. This is done so that customers eat more calorie carbs and cheaper protein. After all, it’s inconvenient to delay the line trying to get a piece of salmon on your plate.

The placement of products in the buffet line is a true science. A study proves that 75% of customers will get their food from the first tray. And overall, 66% of the food they will eat will be on the first three trays. Therefore, restaurant owners are likely to make sure that cheap food is placed on these trays. Even expensive restaurants, which charge amounts equivalent to R$400 for the entrance, try to hide dishes with truffles and foie gras in their lounges.

Restaurants save good amounts of money by the fact that customers serve themselves. In some establishments, customers even cook their own food and get their drinks. In addition, dishes are usually prepared in advance. Then these dishes are heated, so the kitchen staff is not necessarily big. In a regular restaurant, the chef can cook for 25 people per hour, while in the per-kilo buffet system (or in the fixed-price one) it is possible to feed up to 200 people in the same time.

We are referring here to the “pay a fixed amount, eat as much as you want” style restaurants. On average, a visitor to this type of establishment eats about four dishes, but to get close to the amount you paid, you would need to eat more than seven. Statistics show that only one in 20 people will be able to eat that much and that four in 20 will feel full before the four courses.

Even if you eat until you can’t anymore, you’re unlikely to be able to defeat the system: if the manager sees that a customer is hurting the establishment, he’s likely to throw him out. This is what happened to a German triathlete who managed to eat 80 plates of sushi. The same happened with a woman who managed to eat all the cakes on a restaurant table and with a man who ate 12 fish fillets.

in the restaurants self service We always want to try everything and leftovers are almost unavoidable. But some restaurants have come up with a solution to this, introducing fines for leftovers on plates. In some places, for the food left on the plate, it is necessary to pay the equivalent of R$5 and, in others, something around R$10. But even so, these restaurants have to throw away about half of the food prepared.

Drinks are usually sold separately from food. In these cases, the profit margin on them can reach 90%. Sometimes owners may choose to include drinks in the price, but even then, they will still make a profit. After all, the cost of drinks is low and the more customers drink soda, the less they can eat.

Have you ever wondered why food is covered by a glass top? This is a “sneeze guard”, a special system that was invented by a famous restaurant owner named Johnny Garneau. He was afraid of bacteria and couldn’t stand the thought of someone sneezing in their food.

So he designed a glass top and patented it right away. As a result, he managed to revolutionize the food industry, and by the 1960s “sneeze protection” had become a near-mandatory norm for restaurants. self service🇧🇷

Food trays must be changed every four hours, but during that time several generations of bacteria can develop and die. According to a study, foods that are stored at a temperature of 4 °С to 60 °С are more prone to the fastest growth of microbes.

In addition, the utensils used by visitors to put the food on the plate can be a real source of infections. It is not safe to eat fruit and vegetables that have been exposed for a long time, but the most contaminated product on the menu is old lemons, as their juice is often very attractive to microorganisms.

It’s better to have lunch than dinner. Lunch is much cheaper than dinner. Want to save money? have lunch. Have a good breakfast. The stomach shrinks if you don’t eat for a long time. To better prepare for the feast, eat a high-fiber breakfast. Don’t wear tight clothes. Pants with an elastic waistband are best.

Do exercises. This will help you speed up your metabolism.

Avoid carbonated drinks. They will make you feel full faster.

Choose more fish and meat products. They are more expensive. The most valuable food is usually located on the small trays.

It is better to choose chocolate for dessert. Chocolate dishes are the best choice for those who want the best value for money possible.

As you’ve already noticed, don’t eat lemons.

Share with us in the comments which self-service restaurants you liked the most and which were a bad experience. We’re curious.