NYC Eatery Charges 3 Percent For Food You Waste

[RamboLiberal]

Source: WCBSTV

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Your mother may have told you to clean your plate. Well, now one local restaurant is taking that a step further.

They're charging customers for food they don't finish.

At Hayashi Ya Japanese restaurant on the Upper West Side it's all you can eat for $26.95, unless your eyes are bigger than your stomach and then -- like the sign says -- it will cost you extra.

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The manager told CBS 2 HD the main motivation for the charge is to eliminate waste.

And cost.


Read more: http://wcbstv.com/seenon/food.waste.charge.2.882636.html

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Ok, I'd like to see how this works first. I could see this causing a lot of arguments. How much do you have to have left on your plate for the charge to be added? What if you didn't like that particular item?

Personally I'm not a huge fan of most buffets and I'm not one to usually waste food when I go to one. I'd also like to see non-buffet restaurants cut down on portions (and price) or offer smaller portions for those who want less and to pay less.

[KurtNYC]

1. this is pretty standard at "all you can eat" sushi places

Most charge the full rate for everything left on your plate.

[maddezmom]

2. oops, sorry about that

I removed the wrong one :hi:

[RamboLiberal]

3. You were faster than me

Great work.

[Citizen Number 9]

4. On the "American Diet Plan"

shouldn't the surcharge be more like 50% for the wastage?

[dmallind]

5. The concept has merit, but conflicts with a buffet

The whole point of a buffet to a customer seems to me to be the ability to try a wide variety of foods. Unless the restaurant offers free samples of everything, it is setting up a scenario where it could offer pastry wrapped shit and charge those who were expecting fruit and won't eat shit. Mostly metaphorical of course - but it really would be an easy way to foist interesting looking but horrible food on unsuspecting patrons.

[snooper2]

7. It only works with a buffet

You have control over how much goes on your plate...

Otherwise the portion is carved out for you

[dmallind]

11. So a buffet should now be only for people who are familiar with every item offered?

That's the while point of a buffet (for everyone that is except terminal gorgers who simply want to maximize intake, and they must be few indeed as the only appeal of a buffet to me is variety and I'm not exactly on the left hand side of the weight scale at 290). Especially for less familiar/recognizable foods. There's a reason McDonalds doesn't do buffets - because everyone interested in their food already knows what everything tastes like. There's a reason most Indian and Sushi etc places do - because it's a way to get people hooked on the food and have them find new favorites. So what's the point of saying 'if you try something we made and don't like it we'll charge you double!"

I suppose were it manageable a scenario where a buffet charged you extra for every piece on your plate EXCEPT for the first of a particular menu item would make sense, but try it and pay double if you don;t like it? Suicidal business practice for a restaurant.

[snooper2]

18. Do you need a spoonfull to try something new?

five spoonfulls? or a full portion...

Usually when I stick something in my mouth I realize pretty quickly if I like it or not :rofl:

[dmallind]

19. As I said

that would not be accommodated by such policies unless the restaurant offered free samples. I made no claims for how big the samples should be. But if the buffet only offers serving size portions (this would be especially true with sushi - where a part or a piece would not give you any idea of the taste - it would have to be a whoile piece) then you would have to allow at least one portion of any given item to not be charged for twice.

How exactly do you decide you like a particualr sushi offering without trying the whole thing? Can you tell with just the seaweed wrap? just the rice? Just one of the contents? Isn;t the whole point of sushi the combination of flavors in a piece?


Agian - if somebody takes five pieces and nibbles one to find it not to their tatse, then yep charge em for the four, but charging them for the one piece they took and did not like is simply saying "we want only repeat customers who will never try anything new - otherwise we charge you double".

[Nickster]

6. One of my favorite buffets has had this practice for quite awhile. I think it's mainly used as a

deterrant. I've never heard or seen anyone at the buffet actually getting charged, but I'm sure many people have thought twice about being wasteful.

[scytherius]

8. Yeah the do that a a couple of all you can eat sushi places near me n/t

nt

[blue_onyx]

9. I don't go to buffets

but if I did, I would never go to one that charges for the food I didn't finish.

[drmeow]

10. I totally agree with this:

"I'd also like to see non-buffet restaurants cut down on portions (and price) or offer smaller portions for those who want less and to pay less."

When I go for dinner, I usually bring about 1/2 home for lunch the next day - and sometimes the next day after that, too (which limits me to dishes that make for good leftovers) but if I'm not going home after eating (lunch, going to a movie or show after dinner, etc) it leaves tons of food wasted. It irritates me to no end more because of the environmental impact than the cost.

[HopeHoops]

12. $26.95 for one meal??? Of course, that is New York. Geeze.

[wtmusic]

13. Sushi buffets are pretty amazing

This is a good idea. Encourages customers to try a little before they take a lot.

[NYC Liberal]

17. LOL...well the place by me is $20 for all-you-can-eat

And they charge for not finishing either

[Dorian Gray]

28. That's cheap, right?

For a restaurant.

[onehandle]

14. Standard practice for Sushi Buffets. Our local one charges $1 per piece of nigiri, if you...

...eat the fish and leave the rice.

And their buffett is only twelve bucks, but this isn't NYC.

[dipsydoodle]

15. $1 per piece of nigiri

Hope that's not as rude as it sounds. :rofl:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

24. It's the same thing in Brazilian sushi buffets. (R$ 2 = a bit less than US$ 1)

But not only for nigiri, it's for makis and other... uh, things that come in pieces too.

[WiMu]

16. This sounds like they are charging customers for food they would have

to throw out regardless if it went on your plate or not. I have worked in the food service business and I am well aware that you must keep a strict time on how long you let food items sit. I worked in fast food were we assemble the product to order, but still you must have some cooked product on hand to be able to even accomplish this. Unless you want to make customers wait until next week to get their burgers, you are going to cook more food then you can use in the time that food is allow to sit around. Considering a buffet they always have to have food at the ready, and are going to create a huge amount of waisted food. So whether that extra bit of food goes on your plate or you leave it on the buffet it is more then likely going to be dumped in the waist bucket. So they have just figured out a way to charge, a public that does not know any better, for the cost their waist.

[gravity]

20. But they could make less food to begin with

if they don't have to factor in people wasting it.

[GRLMGC]

21. There's a restaurant that does that here

Midori's in the San Fernando Valley has an all-you-can eat sushi and they charge you for sushi you don't eat. I've never had a problem finishing my food though, ha ha. It's just best to order a little at a time so you don't get overwhelmed by too much food.

[blue97keet]

22. What happened to doggie bags?

[llmart]

23. What about all the waste that's the fault of the restaurant?

Say they make too much one evening thinking they'll get a big crowd and don't. They should get fined for that unless they donate it to a food bank or shelter. I have never worked in food service but I'll bet there's plenty of waste that can't be attributed to the diners.

[pinniped]

25. I question the quality of raw fish at these all you can eat joints.

And if the servers try to charge people for this uneaten food, they risk sacrificing their tip.

[Quantess]

26. Or, they could stand over you and yell "EAT IT!"

"FINISH YOUR PLATE!!!" and not let you leave the table until you clean the plate. That would really win customer approval.

[sarcasmo]

27. 26.95? Think of all the groceries I could buy for that price.