Cha-ching: these tricks make you order more at a restaurant
The plan was to grab a quick bite, but reality turned into a late evening in a restaurant with all the trimmings. How does it get so out of hand? Behavioral scientists know exactly why: these psychological tricks are used in restaurants to make sure you order much more than you intended (and therefore spend as much money as possible).
The smell of the food, the lighting, the music in the background… every aspect of your restaurant visit has been carefully considered and designed. There are experts for that, and they certainly don’t earn peanuts. What tricks do they use to make sure every guest stays in a restaurant for a long time, orders more and has a higher bill?
Zero euro signs
The first trump card: the menu. It isn’t just thrown together; a great deal of thought goes into it. Take the prices, for example: the idea is that you don’t feel like you’re going to spend a lot. That’s why most restaurants don’t put euro signs next to the prices, and sometimes use only whole euros without any numbers after the decimal point. Somehow, that number on the menu then looks less like money, so your inner penny-pincher doesn’t object when you start ordering.
Lovely lighting
The lighting in a restaurant plays a major role. Warm lighting—yellow, orange and red—whets your appetite. Cooler colors such as blue and silver do the opposite. No wonder many big chains have red and yellow in their logos (McDonald’s and Burger King, we see what you’re doing!). When you’re hungry, you’re more likely to choose dishes with lots of calories, extra side dishes, perhaps a starter or a bread board. Cha-ching, thinks the restaurant owner.
Look to the left too
We’re used to interesting information appearing on the right-hand page, and not on the left. So healthy options are placed on the left side of the menu. Looking for a salad, small dishes or side dishes? They’re often on the left.
Desserts are on the right anyway. So you don’t notice that healthy salad as quickly, because it’s on the left, while your eye automatically falls on the lemon meringue pie.
Does the server ask, while clearing your main course, whether you’d like to look at the menu again for dessert? Smart move, because it takes your stomach twenty minutes to signal to your brain that it’s full. If your dessert order is taken quickly, you’ll choose that deliciously warm chocolate cake before realizing that you’ve actually eaten enough.
Dragon breath
Behavioral research showed that people gave more tip when they had received something free from the serving staff. Do you get mints with the bill? That isn’t a hint that you have dragon breath; it’s an invitation to leave an extra tip.
Also read:
- The trick to perfect falafel
- 7 things you need to know when dining out in West Friesland
- 7 restaurant reviews written while drunk
Source: Reader’s Digest
