I marvel, as I'm sure you do, at the more and more tempting and wallet-loosening restaurant deals being offered now by the newspapers. For example, The Times's "Eat out from £5". Some even include a glass of wine. I must declare that Maison Blanc is participating in The Times scheme, which seems to me appropriate enough for our café-type operation, as we are not full-fledged restaurants.
But at Brasserie Blanc We have not joined any of these arrangements and I'll explain why. Instead, we are rewarding our existing guests by giving them what is virtually a £10 note to spend with us in January. Our "Banque de Blanc" is handed to the guest along with their bill by the manager. We like this because it not only is a thank-you to our customers, but also an incentive to return.
Times are tough for everyone, and it is only natural that as restaurateurs we should react by offering an inducement to continue to eat out, when this item of expenditure is in danger of being excluded from the family budget.
On the face of it, there are no problems here at all; participating eateries are simply offering great value for hard times. But what is the real cost of these offers?
I am of course not talking about lower profits. It still feels like we are in recession, whatever the figures say; belts need to be tightened, and that is natural. My real issue is with the harm it is doing to the hard- fought victories we have made when it comes to the sourcing of quality, sustainable and ethical ingredients. Unrealistically low menu prices can make a mockery of all that. Good food is not cheap, and it never really has been. There is a price for quality, and for those of us who care about what we put on our guests' plates, there is an even higher price for ignoring this fact.
After all, the staff costs remain relatively the same. I know of no altruistic landlord who has reviewed the rent downwards to reflect the times. Most of every restaurant's fixed costs are up, and, of course, so is VAT.
But at Brasserie Blanc We have not joined any of these arrangements and I'll explain why. Instead, we are rewarding our existing guests by giving them what is virtually a £10 note to spend with us in January. Our "Banque de Blanc" is handed to the guest along with their bill by the manager. We like this because it not only is a thank-you to our customers, but also an incentive to return.
Times are tough for everyone, and it is only natural that as restaurateurs we should react by offering an inducement to continue to eat out, when this item of expenditure is in danger of being excluded from the family budget.
On the face of it, there are no problems here at all; participating eateries are simply offering great value for hard times. But what is the real cost of these offers?
I am of course not talking about lower profits. It still feels like we are in recession, whatever the figures say; belts need to be tightened, and that is natural. My real issue is with the harm it is doing to the hard- fought victories we have made when it comes to the sourcing of quality, sustainable and ethical ingredients. Unrealistically low menu prices can make a mockery of all that. Good food is not cheap, and it never really has been. There is a price for quality, and for those of us who care about what we put on our guests' plates, there is an even higher price for ignoring this fact.
After all, the staff costs remain relatively the same. I know of no altruistic landlord who has reviewed the rent downwards to reflect the times. Most of every restaurant's fixed costs are up, and, of course, so is VAT.
So to offer such prices, where do you look for cost savings? At the food costs, of course. Suddenly formerly discerning customers, we must suppose, are now turning a blind eye: it's a gift chicken on the plate so they're not going to ask where it came from or how it was reared. That's years of work down the drain with simple ring of a till. Years of changing people's habits, of opening their eyes to the facts of farming and restaurant life, wiped out with a simple promotion.
Sustainability now seems to be about turnover, not just about dwindling fish stocks; quality has to be measured by its price; and ethics are out the window.
This is short term-ism at its worst, on so many levels. Good, conscientious producers risk going out of business as sales dry up. Large mass producers are encouraged to use any means available to get whatever they produce to us as cheaply as possible. The public are fooled into continuing to believe that good food is magically cheap. Add to this that customers are now looking for a bargain, and are prepared to bargain hard.
And if anyone should accuse me of elitism, I'll give you a final purely business based argument. If you discount your menu radically for a promotion such as we're talking about, the road back is likely to be treacherous, perhaps impossible. Your guests will get used to the low price, and when, with the return of better times, you go back to the price that you consider normal, you'll hear your once-happy customers screaming "rip off" as they take their money to your competitors.
Best
RB
Sustainability now seems to be about turnover, not just about dwindling fish stocks; quality has to be measured by its price; and ethics are out the window.
This is short term-ism at its worst, on so many levels. Good, conscientious producers risk going out of business as sales dry up. Large mass producers are encouraged to use any means available to get whatever they produce to us as cheaply as possible. The public are fooled into continuing to believe that good food is magically cheap. Add to this that customers are now looking for a bargain, and are prepared to bargain hard.
And if anyone should accuse me of elitism, I'll give you a final purely business based argument. If you discount your menu radically for a promotion such as we're talking about, the road back is likely to be treacherous, perhaps impossible. Your guests will get used to the low price, and when, with the return of better times, you go back to the price that you consider normal, you'll hear your once-happy customers screaming "rip off" as they take their money to your competitors.
Best
RB
You are quite right Raymond - the trouble is if people can't afford quality, they have to trade down or go without.
Your idea of a voucher after a meal is clever in that you are giving an incentive to return without discounting your prices, but in reality you will still be losing out when the voucher is redeemed.
As the producer of an independent local magazine for Thame/Aylesbury area I have the same problem, I have produced a quality product with unique and effective distribution at minimal cost, as I have hardly any overheads - but having set my rates at a minimum - offering excellent value, I still find customers want an additional discount and claim that they can get cheaper deals elsewhere. This can only be possible if 'elsewhere' is losing money on the deal!
The newspaper industry has been struggling for a while with falling sales, they have sacked a high percentage of their skilled employees and now produce inferior products and wonder why sales are still falling.
It is important to keep the quality of your product as you say. I had a coffee and croque in your Henley branch last year, it was good and the restaurant was buzzing, but I can't afford to eat a £10 lunch everyday and I earn above the national average!
What can we do?!
Bravo, Raymond! So true, and eloquently expressed.