To charge or not to charge......

Pizza Shop Talk The Think Tank
1

What do you all do in these scenarios:

  • Water to go. Do you charge for the cup? Wonder if you are in a park by a wave pool and 15 kids come in and want water, that’s it, to go?

  • We have free refills…the parents want a kids cup to share with Jr…charge for the cup?

  • Customer orders, pays, then asks for _____ another kids cup, more dressing, ranch for their fries, etc… Do you say that’s 30 cents, or 80 cents?

I want to charge for it as it doesn’t get dumped on my door stop for free. If I giveaway $10 worth of product a day, that’s over $3000 a year I’m eating. Husband thinks we shouldn’t nickel and dime the customer. He thinks it’s bad business. I want to keep our business by getting money for stuff we pay for.

What’s happening is people are catching on they can get stuff for free if they ask after they are rung up for something. Husband thinks we look like cheapskates asking for 30 cents or 80 cents. He told me some guy said he wasn’t coming back because I charged him for the extra dressing he wanted.

Your thoughts are welcomed!
Thanks!

2

Well we usually don’t charge for water if it’s for dine-in but we do charge 25 cents if its to go. For our dressings we usually give out 1 for our small salads and 2 for our large ones and if a customer asks for more we charge 50 cents. We have things like that listed on our menu so that customers are aware of it ahead of time to cut back on the confusion and complaints.

3

While there certainly are some people that will take advantage of someones generosity, I certainly doubt your cups of water/dressings that are ordered after payment is received are costing you $10 per day. Think about how many drinking cups or dressing packets or soda syrup it takes to cost you $10. My suggestion is to actually track the freebies for a week or two and see what your cost on those items were. Without actually knowing this, you are just making an emotional decision based on your feeling that you are being taken advantage of.

4

Jeez sweetpea are you sure we aren’t related. I could have written that post… :lol:

We are right next to the park and several elementary schools and when we first opened we didn’t charge for water…but found some days we would have literally 20 kids walking through wanting water. So now we charge 25 cents for the cup. When they ask do you charge for water we say no we charge 25 cents for the cup. If they bring a cup they get water for free. If they want a quick drink of water or don’t have the 25 cents I give them a quick drink out of our regular cups.

We don’t charge regular carry outs for water or cups…if they are ordering something…The kids just got overwhelming. But we also offer these kids a special for dine in so after school or the pool they can come in and get a pizza for a good price.

As for the dressing when they order…and we have totaled the ticket and then they say ohhh can you bring some extra ranch we say…it comes with 3 how many extra do you need…and give them a new total.

If they are at the register all paid and walking out the door…turn around and say can I have an extra ranch we say it came with 3 they are 33 cents how many extra do you want? or something like that.

I am an extra dressing person…I also get dressings when I go out to dip fries etc in. I just want the dressing…I don’t care if I am charged…I just want to know they gave it to me. I think most people are that way.

We have a philosophy at our store if they want extra it costs extra. Do I feel bad about charging…only if we charge and forget to send it :oops:

We have bigger fish to fry so make a decision and get everyone doing it. Explain to those that feel funny about charging that it is better to be consistent than to sometimes charge and sometimes not. It ticks customers off. Let your employees know that it is worse to be hap hazard and sometimes charge and sometimes not. So if johnny calls and talks to you it is the same price as when he calls and talks to your hubby.

Kris

5

I would see if there is a cheaper cup out there (with no lid) for both scenerios you can give them the cheaper cup, if they want your regular drink cup with the lid tell them you will have to charge your soda price for it because it’s how you keep track of inventory.

I ran into this a couple of years ago, where people would order a pizza and a 2 liter and then want plates, napkins and cups so they could go to the park or beach to eat. I was half tempted to start making packages up and sell them, but instead I bought real paper plates and 8 0z translucent cups, they don’t cost that much and when people ask I just hand them over with a smile.

As for the dressings, I charge 60 cents per cup. I don’t feel it’s fair that because they ordered it before they paid that they get charged for it, and the person that orders it after they paid doesn’t. But, I also make sure that all employees know to tell them that it’s 60 cents a cup before they get it.

I found there is no use trying to explain to a customer that it costs you money, most of them don’t understand food costs. Instead I use the line free—I’ve found that saying “we put that much in the wings for free, would you like to purchase extra?” works like a charm.

6
  • Water to go. Do you charge for the cup? Wonder if you are in a park by a wave pool and 15 kids come in and want water, that’s it, to go?

The only water I have is bottled water which I sell. I also sell cups of ice. I do not sell cups, nor do I give them away.

If 30 kids came in asking for water, I’d offer them 30 bottles of water. If they declined, I’d offer them 30 cups of ice. If they declined, I’d welcome them out the door. If they asked for free water, I’d reply that its not on the menu, and offer them bottled water or cups of ice, which are on the menu.

  • We have free refills…the parents want a kids cup to share with Jr…charge for the cup?

One cup size only, and you must purchase either a soda or ice to put in it. Cups aren’t on the menu and they aren’t free, neither are they for sell.

  • Customer orders, pays, then asks for _____ another kids cup, more dressing, ranch for their fries, etc… Do you say that’s 30 cents, or 80 cents?

**Once the order is repeated back to the customer (before its paid for) the customer is asked if they would like extra sauce, extra dressing, extra accessories… if they do, the charge is added on. *If they come afterwards, they must pay for all extra items.

I want to charge for it as it doesn’t get dumped on my door stop for free. If I giveaway $10 worth of product a day, that’s over $3000 a year I’m eating. Husband thinks we shouldn’t nickel and dime the customer. He thinks it’s bad business. I want to keep our business by getting money for stuff we pay for.

You’re exactly right!! Nothing is for free! You can either factor in the cost of ‘freebies’ to your menu prices, or you can sell them individually. If you think its important to give away free water (sauce, pizza, or whatever else), then do so, but factor the cost into your menu items. You pay for everything in your store, and the trick is how to get a return on those payments. Perception is the key. Make customers perceive they’ve discovered a value, whether its price, quantity, quality or service, and they’ll be satisfied.

7

“Water to go. Do you charge for the cup? Wonder if you are in a park by a wave pool and 15 kids come in and want water, that’s it, to go?”
You could charge or you could use a cheap water cup. Like the 4 oz cup you find in coolers. If you don’t get any other business from them I would tell them I only have bottled or charge for the cup.

“We have free refills…the parents want a kids cup to share with Jr…charge for the cup?”
No charge. This is the type of expense you should factor into your menu prices, especially if you offer free refills.

“Customer orders, pays, then asks for _____ another kids cup, more dressing, ranch for their fries, etc… Do you say that’s 30 cents, or 80 cents?”
Again extra dressings you be factored into your prices. People who are dressing people will always want more and they generally get offended if you tell them that will be 30 cents. However if you factor the cost of two or three dressings in your menu and someone asks for more than what you factored in, then charge for them. We make our own dressings and we use to have a customer that would come in and ask for enough salad dressing to feed the entire state of New York. When we asked him why so much, he said he save it and uses it later. So we factor in a couple of extra dressings for all items that use dressings and charge for anything over.

If you are giving away $10.00 a day in free product you really need to take a look at what you are doing and start tracking your give aways.
You have to charge for everything, if someone comes into your restaurant and says give me a cup of coffee and 45 sugar packets you should have factored in 3 or 4 sugars into your price for a cup of coffee, if they more than what you factored in, then you have to charge. You can avoid upsetting customers by factoring in all costs. When you factor in a the cost of a cup of soda, factor in two cups instead of one, then when mom or dad ask for an extra cup to share you look like a hero instead of cheap

8

‘extra dipping sauce?, sure, they’re .35 each or 4 for 1.00 how many would you like?’

9

I would just like to add that these water customers are future customers and employees. To not give them or even charge them a bit for cups of water is what I perceive as a huge error when it comes to business. As a child I can rembember stopping at a local place wanting a cup of water and we were rudely chased off…as an adult I have never been back…come to think of it they may be out of business. I think you offer it for your cost…enjoy their company…engage in conversation and move on.

Just something to think about…cuz I plan to be around when they are adults. All children are future customers and employees.

Kris