On a business trip the other day, I ordered Indian takeout. When I got to my hotel, I found that the restaurant hadn’t included any utensils. I called the hotel to ask for a knife and fork to be delivered to my room; by time it arrived, my meal was cold.
I came back the next day for more takeout (it was the only restaurant in walking distance to the hotel). After I had paid, I checked the bag, saw no utensils, and asked for some. “That will be an extra fifty cents,” I was told (it’s worth pointing out that this was no hole-in-the-wall, but a nice upscale restaurant). I didn’t pay the fifty cents, came back to the hotel and again called for a knife and fork while watching my meal cool.
Think about the work involved in putting together a restaurant. Develop the concept, design a menu, hire the cooks, train staff, buy ingredients, manage costs, market and promote the business…. The list goes on. It’s amazing to me that, after all of that work, they would be willing to shut down a customer for a few cents. All I will ever remember about the restaurant was that extra fee.
Why was this so irritating? It all comes back to framing and expectations. As consumers, we’re not really paying for the absolute value of the products and services we purchase… we’re paying for their perceived value. I wouldn’t have batted an eye if my chicken kebab was an extra fifty cents, because it still would have been in my acceptable cost range. I would have reacted to any fee the restaurant tried to charge for the knife and fork, however, because I’ve been trained through hundreds of interactions with restaurants that they should come with the meal.
Bottom line: customers will unhappy if you ask them to pay for something they feel should be free. It’s why businesses need to think twice before adopting a ton of “add-on” fees. If you do so, be prepared to waive them early and often.