Make Marketing History

The views of a marketing deviant.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Stowe Boyd brilliantly solves an annoying social phenomenon The Only Way To Solve Restaurant Squabbling by personalising the transaction and trusting the "customers."

Steve Purcell said...: Here in Germany it's normal for the waiters to ask whether a bill is to be paid together or individually. If the latter, the waiter will take payment from each person in turn. Although it seems like a lot of work for the waiters, it's accepted as part of the service.

Even better is the tip routine, which is a miracle of teutonic efficiency. The customer pre-calculates his tip, and hands over the total amount, which he has rounded to a convenient figure. One might round up 18 Euros to 20, but rounding 19 to 20 or 13.50 to 15 is equally acceptable, because nobody wants a pocketful of coins. A 10% margin is used as a loose guide.; 11:24 PM, July 17, 2007
Anonymous said...: I think people are too self-absorbed.
If the differences between one person and the next are huge, here in London people either divide up equally or offer in cash/credit what they consumed and top it a bit up. The second is easier in a small group, so I would accept it only from close friends. When it's a large group and a bunch of strangers, they should just get a life and don't kill the good karma... or stay home and eat pot noodles....shame; 8:03 AM, July 20, 2007