Instead of boycotting Applebee's...
At first glance, our instinct is to boycott Applebee's because of what the owner said about laying people off to avoid paying for health insurance. However, if we do that we hurt the workers even more, and if Applebee's goes out of business, the story won't be the boycott, but that Obamacare drove them out of business. So I have an idea: instead of boycotting, we should eat at Applebee's and order in such a way that supports the workers more than the business, by ordering the lowest-profit margin items, drinking water, and leaving a generous tip.
I did a little bit of research on restaurant profit margins, and in most cases, items such as steak and seafood are "lost leaders", where the restaurant doesn't make very much but uses to draw people in. This is particularly true in recent years, with rising costs of raw materials. On the other hand, pasta dishes tend to be a big money-maker for restaurants, since pasta is so cheap. And it goes without saying that restaurants make much bigger profits on drinks than they do on food (including soft drinks). According to a friend who worked in a restaurant, appetizers tend to also be high profit items. Here is a list of which items in restaurants tend to be high or low margin.
One way to spot which items are the highest margin is where they are placed on the menu. Anything in a box is designed to highlight the highest margin. Additionally, items in the top-right corner or middle of menus tend to be high margin, because studies have shown that is where the eyes gravitate first. So if you eat at Applebee's, avoid anything in a box or the top-right corner. On some longer restaurant menus, the low margin items are often placed on the last page.
In some, my suggestion is that instead of boycotting Applebee's, we should go there and:
1) Order only water - no other drinks. If you must order another drink, order one with free refills and get several refills.
2) Not order appetizers
3) Order low-profit entrees such as steaks and seafood
4) Tip generously
5) Include a note that you are tipping an extra few dollars to cover the cost of health insurance for the workers, and would be happy to do so every time
I know it's a bit of an unconventional approach, and there are plenty of other reasons not to eat at chain restaurants. I also know some of you are vegetarians. But for those who currently eat at Applebee's, this might be a better approach than boycotting, because it will send a message without hurting the workers.
Thoughts? In particular, I would appreciate information from people who have worked in restaurants (especially restaurants similar to Applebee's) about what items are the most and least profitable.
ON EDIT: For Papa John's, I was thinking maybe we could start a campaign to add 14 cents to each order with a note that we support Obamacare and are willing to pay the extra 14 cents.
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