Get a taste of these tricky tactics.
A woman who claims to be a psychology and marketing expert has revealed the common ploys restaurants use to manipulate you into spending more money.
Basia, known as @everupmarketing online, recently posted a TikTok video exposing some of the ways you may be unknowingly convinced to do exactly what restaurant staff wants you to.
“Think you’re making your own choices at a restaurant? Cute,” she quipped in the caption.
“You’re being nudged. primed and manipulated from the moment you walk in.”
She explained that everything from the menu design to the music’s tempo is set to “influence” your decisions.
For example, while there might be one menu item that’s priced much higher than the others, it’s not overpriced. It’s there to make the other costs seem like a good deal.
She also noted that if you walk up to the cashier’s counter and see that there’s money in the tip jar, a customer will likely feel obligated to add to it, thinking it’s customary. However, Basia claims the staff likely stuffed the collection box themselves to pressure you.
Another trick she revealed is that the daily special handwritten on a sign has likely been the “special” for several weeks. But the staff is hoping that the handmade sign will make you believe it’s “limited, fresh and rare.”
Has your server ever approached your table asking if you want still or sparkling water? That’s intended to lead you to choose one of the — likely costly — options instead of drinking free tap water.
Once you take a peek at the menu, you may not see currency symbols next to the price. While we all know we’ll have to pay that at the end of the meal, Basia shared that’s “because ‘£24’ screams money. But 24 just looks like a number.”
As you enjoy your food, you’re likely taking in the ambiance with every bite — which is exactly what the staff hopes you do.
Basia said that “they play slower music when it’s quiet – and faster music when it’s packed…because slow tempo makes you stay longer. Fast tempo makes you eat and leave.”
The self-proclaimed expert explained that “these aren’t coincidences — they’re psychological persuasion tactics,” which she claimed “the best restaurants use without you ever noticing.”
“Because when it feels like your decision, you won’t question it.”
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