RESTAURANT’S “ALL YOU CAN EAT” POLICY BACKFIRES

A hot pot restaurant in Chengdu, China, had to close after going nearly $80,000 into debt two weeks into a month-long all-you-can eat promotion. The Jiamener restaurant in Sichuan started a promotion June 1st where customers could pay about $19 for a membership card which entitled them to unlimited food for the whole month. The owners, Su Ji and Wang Mengfan, were hoping the special deal would earn them repeat customers, along with discounts from vendors because they’d be purchasing greater quantities of food. Over the 14 days the promotion was running, the restaurant had over 500 customers a day, with many lining up around 8 a.m. and others not leaving till after midnight. The owners blamed the uncivilized behavior of the diners, but said the main problem was their own poor management.
* “Sure, we lose money on every sale, but we make up for it in volume.”
* It really, really didn’t help that after you eat Chinese, in an hour, you’re hungry again.
* Can you believe we’re losing a trade war to these guys?
* “That’s all you can eat – because we’re closing.”
* They would have saved $60,000 if they’d just refunded everybody’s $19 on Day 5.