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califpizza

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Hi. Just wondering what you guys do with this. If someone orders a half cheese and half something more expensive, what do you charge? We charge for the higher half - no discounted prices. We have a lady come in to order just cheese as she said she goes someplace else because they don’t charge her the higher price. They give her a discounted price. Just wondering what the “norm” is. Thanks.
 
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I charge the whole pizza as if it were the higher priced half when I can’t change the customers mind into getting 2 smaller pizzas rather than a 1/2 and 1/2.
 
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we charge half of the topping price when they only get half. for example if a specialty topping is $6.00 and they get 1/2 cheese and half Specialty, they get charged $3.00 for the 1/2 specialty topping.
 
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GT:
we charge half of the topping price when they only get half. for example if a specialty topping is $6.00 and they get 1/2 cheese and half Specialty, they get charged $3.00 for the 1/2 specialty topping.
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Same here.
 
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When customers order one of our recipe pizzas 1/2 and 1/2 we charge the higher price pizza as a whole then 1/2 of the lessor value pizza as an itme comment.

When customers create their own pizzas we charge half the price of the topping desired on each side.
 
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i know its not the norm but we charge 75% of the cost of the entire pizza when customers order 1/2…thankfully our POS does the math…I feel 100% is a bit much, but only 50% is not enough

we have only had a handful of complaints in 20yrs but it is clearly labeled on our meny the pricing for 1/2 toppings
 
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I might sound a bit arrogant the way we handle 1/2 and 1/2 but here it goes.

We charge the higher price plus $1 surchage. We restrict them menu pizzas only meaning we don’t do 1/2 & 1/2 on “make your own”. With 30 odd variants on our menu if they can’t find halves that they wnt then too bad. We have about 8 pizzas with base sauce other than tomato and these are excluded from 1/2 & 1/2 as is when people ask for one sauce on one half and another on the other. Small sizes (10") are also excluded from 1/2’s.

We find 1/2 & 1/2 a pain in the butt and slow the make bench down. Also portion control can go out the window very easily.

The cardboard taste franchises (the dots and PH etc) have a $2.50 surcharge on 1/2’s but their prices are the same for all pizzas, but they slug $2 for additional toppings and $2.50 for seafood and chicken toppings.

The whole 1/2 & 1/2 setup gives me the willies. Try going to Maccas or Burger King and asking for 1/2 of one burger and 1/2 another, or go to a restuarant and ask for 1/2 a steak and half a piece of fish etc. But the pizza industry remains to be a slave to consumers who want 1/2’s. Gee we even get people asking for 3/4 of one and 1/4 of something else and even 1/3’s. Where do they get off ? Give them an inch and they will try and take a mile.

Like Daddio said try to get them to order 2 individual smaller sizes.

If you think I get a pi$$ed about 1/2’s … :x

Dave
 
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we charge full price for 1/2 orders …so a large pepperoni is the same price as a large 1/2 pepperoni, rarely have i gotten any complaints and if we did our staff simply explains ‘since our toppings are pre portioned what we normally put on the whole pie we put on half the pie’ also discourages our guests from weird orders
 
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stebby1:
GT:
we charge half of the topping price when they only get half. for example if a specialty topping is $6.00 and they get 1/2 cheese and half Specialty, they get charged $3.00 for the 1/2 specialty topping.
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Same here.
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We went this way as well. Even with our pre-determined specialty pizzas, we just half the cost. Sure, it is a potential item for added revenue, but we are focused more on the availability and convenience angle in our market. We will make it your way for no added cost. OUr guys are REALLY good at it, and family customers are more likely to come to my place where they can get 1/4 cheese for the kids and the rest set for the adults (we charge full on price of the 75% side, though).
 
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wa dave:
The whole 1/2 & 1/2 setup gives me the willies. Try going to Maccas or Burger King and asking for 1/2 of one burger and 1/2 another, or go to a restuarant and ask for 1/2 a steak and half a piece of fish etc. But the pizza industry remains to be a slave to consumers who want 1/2’s. Gee we even get people asking for 3/4 of one and 1/4 of something else and even 1/3’s. Where do they get off ? Give them an inch and they will try and take a mile.

Like Daddio said try to get them to order 2 individual smaller sizes.

If you think I get a pi$$ed about 1/2’s … :x

Dave
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i think what seperates us from chains and what not is our ability to be flexible. I only charge for a half item in these situations. Helps to build a happy and healthy customer/operator relationship whenever you can say yes as apposed to being the “pizza nazi.”
 
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I think customers appreciate the value that comes with a fairly priced half and half pizza. To me, this has always meant charging only for each half. In fact, I often suggest a large half and half over two mediums when there are multiple ingredients involved, as it will save them money. (There is a certain amount of goodwill and trust built over nearly 15 years.)

I realize this probably sounds dumb, but I’m pretty sure at times such as these, that my business model has survived and will continue to thrive because of the VALUE we offer (quality+quantity divided by price).

Right now, with the national mood being what it is, I really wouldn’t care to try to explain why a patron gets to pay the whole price of a topping, when they’ve only received half.
 
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I agree that half and halfs are a problem. Portion control, likelihood of mistakes, different topping loads causing uneven cooking, slows the ordering and make table and cutting way down. We charge 100% for the most expensive half and have just added a $1.50 surcharge on top of that. We never discount or have “specials” so our customers are used to paying a fair price for what they order.
 
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Half toppings are half price except that a single half topping is full price.

So…

1/2 plain cheese, 1/2 pepperoni = 1 topping

1/2 sausage, 1/2 pepperoni = 1 topping

1/2 sausage, 1/2 pepperoni and mushroom = 2 toppings

1/2 sausage and onion, 1/2 pepperoni and mushroom = 2 toppings

Our POS settings allow for this, so we do not actually have to do anything while taking orders to make this happen.
 
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1/2 cheese 1/2 pep is cheese plus 1/2 topping charge here my competitor does it 1/2 cheese 1/2 pep is cheese plus 1 topping
 
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We do it the way bodge does on single toppings.

If they were to buy a specialty pizza and half of it is cheese they still pay for a specialty.

Kris
 
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I should add the following to fully explain how we do it:

1/2 plain cheese, 1/2 pepperoni and mushroom and onions and pinapple = 2 topping pizza (4 halves equals 2)

1/2 plain cheese, 1/2 pepperoni and mushroom and onion and pineapple and green pepper = 3 topping pizza (5 halves equals 3)

1/2 ham, 1/2 pepperoni and mushroom and onion and pineapple and green pepper = 3 topping pizza.

We add up all the halves and make wholes out of them. If there is one left over we round up to the next whole.
 
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bodegahwy:
1/2 ham, 1/2 pepperoni and mushroom and onion and pineapple and green pepper = 3 topping pizza.

We add up all the halves and make wholes out of them. If there is one left over we round up to the next whole.
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Does your POS handle this? How do you set it up?
 
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ddariel20:
wa dave:
The whole 1/2 & 1/2 setup gives me the willies. Try going to Maccas or Burger King and asking for 1/2 of one burger and 1/2 another, or go to a restuarant and ask for 1/2 a steak and half a piece of fish etc. But the pizza industry remains to be a slave to consumers who want 1/2’s. Gee we even get people asking for 3/4 of one and 1/4 of something else and even 1/3’s. Where do they get off ? Give them an inch and they will try and take a mile.

Like Daddio said try to get them to order 2 individual smaller sizes.

If you think I get a pi$$ed about 1/2’s … :x

Dave
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i think what seperates us from chains and what not is our ability to be flexible. I only charge for a half item in these situations. Helps to build a happy and healthy customer/operator relationship whenever you can say yes as apposed to being the “pizza nazi.”
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If being the “pizza nazi” is directed at me then so be it. In the end of the day we have a wide and varied menu that they can choose from.

I am in the business to run it at a cost effective as possible manner and 1/2 & 1/2 are not cost effective. Bite my head of if you will but I’m talking reality and operating a business to make money. If I seem distant to my customer service then that may be your opinion but the fact is we have built the business by close on 50% (from a solid base) in the 3 years I have had the shop. People come to us for the quality, variety and outstanding service. Sure we do 1/2’s but they remain a pain in the butt and always will. I run the business to make money and not to be a slave to unrelenting requests outside of our published menu.

I guess a big difference to our market here and that of the US is that we are not driven to the point of giving everything to get our buisness from your highly competitive and crowded marketplace. After my wife travelled the US last year and my daughter spent 5 months there I understand how crowded your market is and that you have to sharpen the pencil all the time. She marvelled at the quality of service in just about every aspect of retail and hospitality and said that a lot of places here should aim to your levels (she sid our service levels were on par to that in the US, something we have worked extremely hard to achieve).

Luckily for us we are not so driven by adverse competitor activities that drive customers to expect more and more for less and less, but are able to direct our marketing to our plans without having to reduce our efficiencies or open up a whole cauldron of actions outside of what we do.

I HATE 1/2 & 1/2 !!! Always have, always will : :twisted: P

No pizza for you (pizza nazi) Dave
 
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wa dave:
I HATE 1/2 & 1/2 !!! Always have, always will
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I agree 1000%. It is trouble waiting to happen. I had a customer order a 1/2 veggy 1/2 meat lover and called back angry that there was some meat on the veggy 1/2 of the pizza. I explained there was no way to be absolutely certain when cutting the pizza that all the meat would be isolated from the veggy side. She cussed me out and said she would never order from me again. By the way she had used a gift certificate from a real estate agent so it was free to her.
 
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Nick,

Yes, the POS takes care of it.

We have people asking for 1/4s which we have declined to do. We also do not split sauces like half red/half BBQ. Half/Half on deep dish is also challenging since you can’t see the toppings, but will do it on request.

Yes, splitting toppings is a paid and an opportunity for mistakes, but so far I find it to be an important service issue.
 
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