My Two Cents

Yesterday, Nation’s Restaurant News’ Ron Ruggless reported that P.F. Chang’s Bistro will institute a “modest” price increase to offset some significant profit decreases. This is a good time to reinforce some points about pricing decisions and critical information needs.

I just booked a flight to Chicago, thanks to Spirit Airlines. I didn’t plan to book it, but realized I should while perusing Spirit’s website after reading about its impending carry-on baggage fees.

It’s difficult to concisely summarize last week’s WFF Conference in Las Vegas, but I'll try.

Here’s another preview of my upcoming talk at next month’s National Restaurant Association Show, where I’ll speak about restaurant pricing.

A Tale of Two Restaurants

As week two of Restaurant Week nears its end, it’s time for restaurants to weigh in on this event. I spoke with representatives of two of Boston’s finest restaurants, L’Espalier and Salts, on their decisions to participate or not. With several high end favorites participating this year, it was difficult to find restaurants abstaining from the promotion.

Free this, all you can eat that. 2 for $20; 15 under $15; starter, entrée and dessert for $12.99. Small cravings. Small plates and snacks. $1 coffees; $1.00 menu;  $5 lunch. And the list goes on - you can’t turn around without reading about specials at restaurants everywhere. It’s deal madness.

At long last, I got to try Pei Wei, the Asian Diner little sister of P.F. Chang’s, and it far exceeded my expectations. Pei Wei exemplifies the value equation with a great customer experience at a very fair price. Most commonly, the restaurant value equation is Experience/Price = Value, but I’ve rearranged the components for Pei Wei to this: Tasty Food + Reasonable Prices + Pleasing Portions + Great Service + Nice Environment = VALUE.

At this year’s NRA Show, I will be giving an educational session on pricing, which will cover strategies for a successful pricing process, lessons learned during my tenure in restaurant pricing, and tips for anyone who has anything to do with managing pricing. But why limit the fun to NRA Show attendees? This blog is another forum where I’ll share some advice in hopes of helping any operators who would appreciate some guidance. The first lesson I’ll impart: my take on talking about pricing in the restaurant environment.

My mother will be disappointed to learn this, but I once told a valentine not to buy me flowers on Valentine's Day, and if he must, not to buy me roses. Despite Mom’s best efforts, my practical nature sometimes gets the better of me. I know roses cost more around February 14th, and I just can't tolerate the price hike.