Experts Reveal 10 Ways to Stop Being Tricked by Restaurants

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There are a few ways you could get your local restaurant to spend more money than you should. Sometimes you are convinced to buy food at a price higher than it really is worth. Some times, you’re buying more food than you usually can eat. What might shock you is that some of these places have found true ways to get you to spend money right under your nose. And you’d never think they’d try to manipulate you.

1. The Delboeuf Illusion

You’ve undoubtedly seen the images in which two forms are the same size, but look different. Restaurants take advantage of this illusion: serving portions on large plates makes customers feel they get a big meal, even though the same amount of food can easily fit on a smaller plate. The fact that there is still space, on the other hand, can make you think you have room for more meat. Even the reverse is true: buffets can offer small plates to trick you into eating less food slowly.

2. Size tricks

Let’s assume that while you’re eating soda, the drink may be served in a thin glass because people are associating small stuff with being tall. Because of this correlation, they may believe that they will get more for their dollar if they could really get more if they had a wider cup. In other terms, make use of them if you get free refills.

3. Making food seem fancier than it really is

When eating food, it may seem to taste better, despite being the same food, when using silver cutlery instead of plastic. The more sophisticated the food is presented, the better it may seem to you to taste.

4. “Optional” service charges

For some locations, if they provide excellent service, it is common courtesy to leave a tip for the server. What you may not realize is that some places are already paying the bill for “free” service. Not only would customers be too embarrassed to question it if they were going to pay less, but most also wouldn’t realize there’s an extra charge and add an extra tip. In some cases, servers are known to ask if you would like to add a tip when you have already paid the service charge.

5. Recycling free bread

Most restaurant workers accept this habit: when customers finish the free bread that served as an appetizer, it will be saved and heated up for the baskets of tomorrow. Many places become a little more innovative to their credit, creating the bread croutons and similar food items.

6. Menu tricks

Getting a preview of the menu normally helps people choose what they want when they go out to eat, but restaurants use some tricks to exploit clients. Second, higher-priced products could be promoted or highlighted. Prices could also be listed without a sign of the dollar that was found to cause people to miss the price.

7. Purchasing and selling frozen meals

Everyone loves the convenience of ordering food rather than cooking it… Including restaurants. Some chain restaurants have admitted they’ve ordered their dishes from vendors over the years that they’re just heating up for their patrons. In other words, you might have just bought a frozen dinner of high quality.

8. Playing classical music

The type of music that a restaurant plays might have a greater impact on people than you would expect. For example, classical music can help people feel more comfortable, making them more willing to buy more food.

9. Artificially coloring your food

Salmon is delicious and healthy, so when people go out, it’s a popular dish that is often prepared. It may get a little too popular for restaurants, though. Some places buy their salmon from farms to make it easier to have on hand, which could feed an unhealthy diet on the fish, causing them to grow a gray color. That’s why many places paint the fish pink to make it look fresher than it really is.

10. Giving food “special” names

It helps build brand loyalty with customers when the menu is filled with “cool” names. Nearly every place sells sandwiches, and they’re often the same thing wherever you get them, but you’re going to your favorite place just because you like to go there. You pay for the atmosphere as well as the food when you go to a restaurant. Colorful names were found to increase sales by a third, even in a foreign language. “Chicken Française” sounds more classy than cutlets of chicken… Let’s not get into the fact that it’s not even English.

What are some other ways you think that restaurants might trick you? Please share it with us in the comments!

Preview photo credit Pixabay

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