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Restaurants Trick You Into Staying
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Aug 4, 2025
Restaurants have existed for many many centuries! Some might say there is an art to running a successful restaurant. Its a very fine tuned operation. Join us today as we delve deep into just how subtle (and NOT so subtle) restaurants can be when psychologically getting you to stick around a bit longer so hat more of hat hard earned cash can flow into their coffers!
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Today, we're serving up all the ways restaurants trick you into spending more
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A restaurant's ambiance may be the most important part of getting folks in the door
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Fast food is all about getting customers in and out, spending money, then rinse and repeat
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To do that, buildings will draw folks in with the colors we've subconsciously come to associate with fast food and empty bellies, namely red and yellow
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It's almost the exact opposite at a sit-down eatery like a restaurant or a tavern, where the idea is to keep you in your seat and spending money
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The layout of a restaurant is usually such that the kitchen can be smelled from wherever customers sit, making mouths water the whole time
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Dark shades of red, orange, and brown can be found throughout this more comfortable eating experience
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And if there's a classical or low-tempo music playing, you may as well be putty in that chair
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Studies have shown that mellowed-out music, less distracting than up-tempo pop songs, keep people dining for longer and pouring more out of their wallets for the entire concerto
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Wait staff will occasionally stroll through the dining area with a fancy drink or delicious
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looking dessert. Maybe someone ordered it, maybe they didn't. The point is, to get your eyeballs
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on something, you may well end up asking your server to bring you post-haste. Another long-time
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service industry tactic is upselling. For instance, asking if you want to add a side to your meal or
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letting you know which wine pairs best with that steak you ordered. And while we're here, would you
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like to see the dessert menu That menu in your hands has likely been engineered and re over and over again sometimes for months or even years in order to maximize the amount of money you spend The font typeface and colors are all strategically chosen in order
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to draw your eye to the higher-ticket meals. If you want to move a dish, you need to give it a good
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name. The more superlatives, the better. Descriptions like world's best burger and grandma's homemade
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cookies can evoke feelings of familiarity, comfort, and hunger simply by the choice of words
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Another thing you may notice, or specifically not notice, are dollar signs
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Most menus don't use the dollar symbol because it discourages customers from spending money
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Menus will also often employ a decoy item, an expensive item on the same page as a less expensive but still profitable alternative
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The idea is that most patrons will make a decision between these two items
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and ultimately decide on the less expensive option, even if it's still relatively pricey
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Once dinner is decided, there's the customary waiting period before your food is delivered
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During this purgatory between empty and full stomach, subliminal cues are buzzing just outside of your perception
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Your wine glass may be filled several times. Suddenly, the tiny stand-up menu on the table with bar foods and handheld appetizers is calling out
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When the food finally does arrive, the game is still on. Heavier plates and silverware trick your brain into thinking you're receiving more food, even if the portion is smaller than usual
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Finally, when the meal is over, the dessert menu arrives. Offerings of small, bite-sized treats tend to do better than full portions or overly decadent
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options, since customers aren't usually that hungry anyway. After all, it's wafer thin
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