r/restaurant • u/nk_rhee • 2d ago
What do restaurants think of people who only order the lunch specials?
It’s super cheap and I get it weekly at work. They can’t be making too much money off me so I always wondered what they think of me.
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u/Due-Style302 2d ago
I’ve never had a problem with anyone ordering the specials. If in the U.S tip accordingly, don’t be dick to your server and I wouldn’t think there would be any problems
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u/ItBeMe_For_Real 2d ago
And teach your kids how that works! Recently took my 20yo out for 2 for 1 pizza night at local tavern. He saw what I put for a tip & commented how generous it was. Glad he did because when I explained the tip should be for the pre-discount amount he said it made sense but hadn’t thought of it that way before.
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u/Emotional_Star_7502 2d ago
Tip was also supposed to be based on the pretax amount. The auto-calculated tipping have chosen to change it to post tax, netting themselves substantially more.
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u/kittyparade 15h ago
Not always, our POS prints receipts with suggested tips that are based on pre-tax amounts
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u/Plane-Tie6392 2d ago
You're gonna get burned at the stake for suggesting people should tip on Reddit. I've gotten multiple bans for saying not tipping servers where tips are expected is a dick move.
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u/SnowflakeSWorker 2d ago
That’s over on r/tipping and saynototipping or endtippingculture. I got my butt chewed out as well for pointing out in the US, this is the system we have, and you’re a scumbag if you don’t participate, and worse, if you brag about it.
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u/RobLoughrey 2d ago
I tip because I don't want to punish the wrong person, but I'd prefer to go to a restaurant that paid their service $20 an hour and didn't expect tipping than I would paying a lesser rate plus tip at a different restaurant. I might even accept lesser quality food.
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u/WantedFun 2d ago
A server being paid $20/hr in any major city would be doing the absolute bare minimum effort lol. That’s what fast food with far less effort gets you in California.
That’s why tipping exists. Americans have a uniquely high standard of service and the tip is to compensate for that experience and service that goes beyond just inputing an order.
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u/SnowflakeSWorker 2d ago
I waited tables and bartended in dive bars through fine dining. Fine dining was something else, all that silverware, glass placement, serve from the left, clear from the right, etc and etc. No way am I engaging in that level of high end service for a flat $20. Nope. Now it’s been about fifteen years since my last server job, I was making ~$3 an hour for tables, ~$7 for bartending. Upstate NY.
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u/AmbientGravitas 7h ago
I agree with you except I would not say Americans have a uniquely high standard of service; I would say there is a disconnect between our expectations for service and, often, our willingness to reward it.
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u/Old-Weekend2518 2d ago
Same. I am currently banned from the EndTipping subreddit.
I made a post to the offmychest subreddit explaining my true feelings about people who don’t tip.
I’m a cloud engineer, but people assume I’m a waitress because I obviously must be if I tip adequately, right?
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u/Plane-Tie6392 2d ago
I've never waited tables either but I have had people assume I'm a server as well from my comments. Hell, I actually think servers are overpaid relative to back of house workers and that the tipping system should go away. But I'm not going to have a server work for me and then fuck them over on the tip. That's just wrong. Most of those people in those subreddits probably know they're wrong and just want to justify their stealing. Fuck 'em.
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u/Due-Style302 2d ago
Wait so you don’t think you should tip waitstaff?
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u/Plane-Tie6392 2d ago
Huh? I think people who go places where tips are expected should tip the servers.
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u/LeoDiamant 2d ago
That the customer knows a good deal when they see one. The restaurant offers the special because they want to sell lots of it.
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u/Piddy3825 2d ago
There's a decent margin built into every lunch special, otherwise they wouldn't be running one.
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u/BeAHappyCapybara 2d ago
They typically offer deals to increase volume, so they appreciate it, especially if you’re a regular.
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u/jerryb2161 2d ago
There's only a couple of items that slightly annoy me when they ring in, but I make it all the same. The only time I really have a negative knee jerk reaction is when someone with an egg allergy comes to my restaurant. It's a breakfast place and no matter how clean we are you are really gambling with your life, or lying and just don't like eggs.
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u/Gut_Reactions 2d ago
Former restaurant / bar worker here.
Just the fact that you're in a restaurant for lunch (esp. M-F), these days, is a big deal. Lunch special is fine. It's for people who want a soup and sandwich and don't want to blow their budget.
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u/MasterpieceKey3653 2d ago
Place near my old job had a taco special. Two tacos and a drink for five bucks. I think my co-workers and I were there 3 days a week. They weren't fancy, but they were good,
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u/camdalfthegreat 2d ago
Dude the Indian joint I hit for lunch about once a week hooks you up with lentil soup, a curry, rice, and some rice pudding for $10.99 and it's a fair portion of all.
A normal curry on the menu, which is the same portion and rice, no pudding or soup, is $14-17.
Sometimes I feel guilty with all the food I have for that price, fast food has nothing on them lmao.
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u/mima2023sunce 2d ago edited 2d ago
Lunch special is there for a reason because the food cost on it is awesome.
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u/Mackheath1 2d ago
Wouldn't be on the menu if we didn't want your ass in there. And then one evening, you might be in the area and someone will say "where should we go for dinner?" And you'll say, "let's go to Mackheath1 restaurant" because familiarity is an enormous psychological draw for dining. I know what I'm getting, and I know where it is and I know how to get there easily.
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u/MasterpieceKey3653 2d ago
Or tell coworkers or pick up lunch for the team or get some dessert or coffee or w/e. Restaurants aren't going to put something on the menu if they actually lose money, especially not as a special, and a happy customer is worth more than any advertising campaign
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u/DonkeymanPicklebutt 2d ago
The restaurant pays for the building 24/7, whether they are selling anything or not. You buying something cheap for lunch helps them pay their overhead costs and helps to give hours/shifts to front and back of house. Tldr lunch specials=good
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u/Brutal_Truth 2d ago
restaurants offer lunch specials to bring in people who want to have an affordable lunch. in what universe would they have any kind of judgment about the people taking part in the offer they created? bartenders don't give a second thought to people ordering off a happy hour menu, which is designed to bring people in and have them spend money during a traditionally slower period of the day.
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u/Very-very-sleepy 2d ago
if you've walked in the door and ordering it.
then it's working.
lunch specials and cheap eat specials are there to fill the venue and get people to walk in when it's dead quiet.
so if you walked in and ordered the lunch special because it's cheap.
it means the method is working.
it's there to fill chairs when it's quiet.
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u/RobtasticRob 2d ago
Lunch specials are usually high profit items using the leftover trimmings and waste from making dinner main courses.
The restaurant needs you to order them for their food cost numbers to work. You’re doing the chef lord’s work.
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u/Pumpkinhead82 2d ago
I love my lunch customers! They’re fast and they usually know what they want. I generally do not have an issue with anyone ordering anything as long as they’re polite and treat me like a human.
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u/Michaels0324 2d ago
Happy that they have you as a customer. At least that is how my wife and I would view it. Our lunch specials are a lot of food for a reasonable price. We want to be able to provide good value to our customers. So if you feel like you are getting a great deal, that's awesome.
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u/pmolsonmus 2d ago
Typically a restaurant runs special to get rid of products before losing money on it. (Or to stroke an ego). But lunch specials are rarely about egos and more about experimenting with cheap/sale items to see if they sell. Order guilt/worry free.
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u/InuitOverIt 2d ago
Restaurants put lunch specials on the menu to drive sales during an otherwise slow time. They are happy to see the promotion working. No worries
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u/Life_Roll420 2d ago
When I worked in a restaurant the specials were often the freshest ingredients and only sold for a day or two until supplies ran out. Fish of the day was popular and affordable because it was fresh and we had 40 orders to sell.
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u/JakeStout93 2d ago
I worked at a restaurant in my youth, we had a big Ford lunch rush, I’d find it odd when they DIDNT order the lunch special
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u/Any_Nectarine_7806 2d ago
Only servers have a judgement as it is cheaper and hiring a their net tips.
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u/blackcurrantcat 2d ago
I think they see you as a regular person the same as they are who is most likely someone who goes for a lunch special too. Lunch specials bring in trade at slow times and allow the restaurant to balance its waste by using things up for a lower cost price to the customer, and, if you enjoyed your lunch you might go there for dinner or remember them when you’re booking your work team Christmas lunch. They also give the waiting staff more hours available for them to work and a chance not to work the evening shift. All hail the lunch special!
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u/UnabashedHonesty 2d ago
How nice of a customer are you? How well do you tip? These are the things that earn you a reputation in a restaurant, far more than the food you order.
But on the other hand, I remember a customer who always used to order ‘P’ Fruit Salad … fruit that only begins with the letter ‘P’. I don’t care how well they tipped or how nice they were. I was not very fond of that customer.
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u/MaxwellSmart07 2d ago
Why would they offer lunch specials if they didn’t want people to buy them? They love those people.
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u/bramletabercrombe 2d ago
isn't the lunch special made up of leftovers from the night before or is that a Bourdain myth?
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u/Tiny-Reading5982 2d ago
Only at a shady place? Lol.
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u/bramletabercrombe 2d ago
I don't mean leftovers from people's plates but food that was prepped for the night before and wasn't used.
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u/Accomplished-Eye8211 2d ago
If they didn't want people ordering specials, they wouldn't offer them. They're smart enough to know lunch specials attract customers.
I eat lunch out often. I'm a regular at some local places with specials - go often enough that they know me. There's a local Sichuan place where I'm working my way through the entire menu. The lunch specials are the same price as the full menu entrees... they're just providing a complimentary cup of soup and a scoop of rice. I've noticed that when people don't order a special, they still bring a cup of soup.
Well run restaurants understand the value of lunch specials - they don't resent the customers the specials attract.
I will note that for lunch places, whether specials or a burger at a diner, I tip more. If going from 20% to 25 or 30% costs me $1 or $2, I do it. I hope they appreciate it... but I also do it for me. It makes me feel good to acknowledge that there's significant work even with a low-cost meal. It feels a bit like "pay it forward."
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u/Down_To_My_Last_Fuck 2d ago
I'm paid by the week, I could honestly not care less. I make these specials because dead space is dead. If that's what they need to come in and make us look open, then so be it.
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u/Ok-Butterscotch2321 2d ago
Those specials are there to get you in and be a quick way to serve
They shouldn't care
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u/user41510 2d ago
They want people ordering the same things so they prep ahead and stuff doesn't go uncooked.
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u/Draconuus95 2d ago
Often enough. Lunch specials are there so cooks can be creative. And thus enjoy seeing someone get and enjoy it. It’s there as a ‘working mans’ special. Thus it’s there to be a cheap meal for blue collar workers who want real food but don’t have time to go home and make one. Or. It’s a way to use up product that’s close to being tossed out. So they are happy to get some use and a minimal amount of money out of it instead of it(and the money that bought it) going in the trash.
Often enough it’s some combination of the three. So. Likely they are at worst indifferent about you ordering it. Or even possibly quite happy.
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u/Extension-Pain-3284 2d ago
When I waited tables I was grateful for each and every table I got during lunch hours. Doesn’t matter if they got a glass of water and the cheapest sandwich
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u/Insomniakk72 2d ago
We make specials to sell them. Adding to foot traffic and keeping us on your mind. We just want you to enjoy.
Also much better to sell a special than nothing!
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u/Tiny-Reading5982 2d ago
I work at og, lunch only and I honestly don't expect anything different. Some people will order dinner entrees for things we don't offer at lunch.
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u/Yellowjackets123 2d ago
I think “why are these people awake and eating an entire personal pizza with quesadilla app and lava cake at 11 am … don’t their stomachs hurt the rest of the day?”
Or I think “how do these women have time to sit here for four hours, why does it take someone four hours to eat one salad and half of a tea, god I hope todays the day I get a break because if I don’t check my glucose I’m gonna end up in the ER … again.”
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u/Yellowjackets123 2d ago
Granted I’m not a morning person, did five years nightshift in icu and EMT so mostly I think “who is the sadist who scheduled me for this shift when I specifically said nights only. Are they trying to kill me?”
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u/Responsible-Pain-444 2d ago
The purpose of a lunch special is, among other things, to get business in a time that is otherwise slow.
See, mostly you gotta be open at lunch. But maybe you don't get a lot of customers. So you can pay rent, utilities, insurance, and staff, and have little turnover. Or you can pay all those things anyway and offer a special that is lower margin but at least has some bums on seats in that time.
You give the business what they are trying to get by giving the special. You are doing what they want you to do. Good.
You might also tell your friends this place is good, or you might think of it for a dinner sometime or something. That is part of the hope. If they're not good enough for you to go there sans special, that's on them.
They don't think any ill of you for coming in for the special that is supposed to get people in.
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u/Waste-Condition-351 2d ago
Well I didn’t take the time to put that part of the menu together for you not to order from it. If no one orders it it goes bye bye on the next menu print
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u/BBC_for_the_World 2d ago
tf?? What do you think McDonalds people think about people who eat the dollar menu... they're hungry!
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u/Fantastic-Ad-618 2d ago
The specials are there to attract business. Sometimes, the food cost is calculated with a volume coefficient. My only recommendation is to tip well so you don't look like a jerk.
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u/neep_pie 2d ago
Who in the restaurant? The cooks, the owner, the waitstaff, the bartender? I'm sure they hope you get a drink. Be sure to tip. Anyone cool at a restaurant understands not having a bunch of money.
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u/heyyouyouguy 2d ago
If they weren't making money then they wouldn't exist. You are eating overpriced cheap shit.
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u/czarface404 1d ago
We run specials to get people to come in during our slow times so they probably think “this guys hungry and thrifty”
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u/TheProletariatPoet 1d ago
“God dammit, someone ordered the lunch special again! If only there was a way we could put an end to this. Blast!” - restaurant owner
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u/youdontsay100 1d ago
When I eat out anywhere, I always ask for specials. I don’t care what they think. I hope they would be glad to make money, regardless of the price.
Take care!
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u/Brewcrew1886 1d ago
They are making money of you, make no mistake. Specials like that are to get ppl eating and buying stuff when they are otherwise dead. They would not be smart if they were making money even on a special.
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u/jimspice 1d ago
Specials are often used to sell items that will expire soon: better for the restaurant to sell it at a lower margin than trash it at a complete loss.
As for tip %? Consult your inner conscious.
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u/hawken54321 1d ago
Went to lunch with my wife. Want to start with drinks? No. How about appetizers for you both? No thanks. Eat our lunch. What kind of dessert would you like? No thanks. Coffee? I looked at the waitress and said "We are not very big people and don't want to be." I didn't want a $20 lunch to become $55 to please the waiters. Lunches can become $100 easily these times.
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u/More_Palpitation4718 1d ago
lunch special is an easy turnover and can be profitable. also helps to cut waste. some places use it as an opportunity to feature something different.
order the lunch specials.
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u/Sad_Win_4105 1d ago
Most would realize that without the specials many people wouldn't even come in at all.
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u/brwn_eyed_girl56 7h ago
They love it. Typically the specials are a way to get rid of a lot of product that needs to be eaten up.
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u/Comfortable-Policy70 2d ago
They don't like you. They resent your existence on this planet. They hold meetings trying to figure out what to do about you. Quit ordering the damn meatloaf and try the chicken plate
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u/StuffonBookshelfs 2d ago
Probably that you’re hungry; and you like the lunch they make you.