flickr picture credit: J. Star.
Well, at long last, restaurants have decided to do the right thing. Start offering smaller portions, for a lower price. I really distaste eating out sometimes, when eateries have a tendency to give me mammoth sized entrees, frown at me when I want to share it with someone, and charge me a small fortune on top of everything.
In the linked article, it mentions that consumer choice increases consumption and brand spending. So, instead of ordering one large entree, does TGI Fridays expect that I order 2 small ones? I also find it fascinating that they are calling the portions “right size”– instead of healthy. Doesn’t this imply that the previous gargantuan entrees are absolutely the wrong size — and thus capable of being split with other diners at no penalty to the consumer? If the premise of the restaurant’s decision is that consumer choice expands, and increases brand loyalty, I contend that training is required, especially at these chain-establishments to welcome and embrace diners who, instead of ordering small portions, order large portions and split them.
I prefer not to eat at chains, but it is nice to know that they are striving for healthier portions. If only they had more transparency in the ingredients and methods of preparation I might be cajoled into visiting a (in the words of a friend) “TGI McChillibees”.
I muse at this paragraph in particular:
As colorful, ever-so-tempting photographs of the new “right portion, right price” menu options flash on the screen, the headline over the entrees serves up a particularly calorie-laden promise: “Smaller Portions Allow More Room for Dessert.“
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