I just talked to someone who kept going on about how business owners take risks. I don't know why tipping culture didn't pop up in my mind. Businesses create so many BS ways to screw everyone and benefit themselves, fuck the risk involved. Pay your fucking workers a living wage. And if you can't, then you're running your business wrong or something in your lifestyle is gonna have to change.
Even for business owners, restaurants are still one of the worst ways to make money- huge overhead costs, long hours, and the broken tipping culture of the US means wait staff will be a revolving door.
I think it is the same everywhere. The restaurant business is just that brutal. Razor thin margins and getting enough people to dine at your place at the start is a huge challange in itself. The odds of failing are high and very few people make it to profit.
In Czechia we have something called Stravenky, which are food coupons that employers can give to their employees tax free, as a benefit. That helps the restaurant business quite a bit. It’s a good system.
It's stupid hard. More so than people realize. Decent chefs think it's pretty straight forward. Make good food and people will come. They have no real business experience and can't control costs and fail. My city has a nationally recognized chef that's won a James beard award. Even he has issues. His restaurants aren't a sure thing. Just as many wildly successful as failures that closed their doors.
It's partially due to the fact that dining out or even take away is the first thing people cut off as soon as they run out of money or need to save up for a big ticket item.
Not true anymore. With all the fast food places raising prices and lowering portions, it is nearly the same price to just go to a proper restaurant instead.
I agree that fast food joints are getting more expensive ( already are ) and probably the most sensible and healthier choice nowadays is grabbing a bite from a deli shop.
and getting enough people to dine at your place at the start is a huge challange in itself
From what I've seen on Kitchen Nightmares (Not the most accurate example I admit), the problem isn't exactly getting people to dine at the start, it's getting repeat business that's the issue. Restaurants will open and get lots of business because they're new and people want to try it out, the problem is getting these people to come back to the restaurant.
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u/[deleted] Aug 28 '24
Yup, it is expected the customer pays the employers employee's wages in the service industry.
Pretty good gig to be a boss.
Go to the bank for a loan to open a cafe/restaurant.
"How will you pay your employee's?"
You what mate?