A family dining out in an Austrian pizzeria were left stunned after learning they would be charged €11 ($12.90) for sharing a single plate of food - as restaurants across the country clamp down on what they call 'freeloading' behaviours from customers. The unnamed father said he had taken his wife and children to a popular pizzeria in the Grieskirchen district this month, expecting a routine meal.
With the two children too young to finish a full portion of food, the parents planned to order one pizza for them to share. But after scanning the menu more closely, they noticed an unusual policy. 'Our pizzas are charged per person', the restaurant noted, effectively prohibiting shared meals.
But with pizzas at the restaurant starting at €11, and prices rising to nearly €20 ( $23.40) depending on toppings, the family would have faced a nearly €40 ($ 46.80) bill for two children to eat. The move is part of a broader shift across Austria, where restaurants are increasingly introducing surcharges for shared dishes - referred to as 'stolen dishes', 'thief's plates', or 'freeloader plates'.
Well, I personally hope they're out of business by Friday. What a completely jerked-off move. You're in the fuckin' PIZZA BUSINESS, not the 'per-person' meal business.
My wife and I try to eat out at least once a week, and nine times out of ten it's a shared entree, sitting at the bar kinda thing, usually a burger or a sandwich or something similar that's easy to split. If any joint - especially a pizzeria - ever tried that shit here, they'd be closed in two days. Tragic insurance fire kinda thing, if ya get my drift. Juss' sayin'...
Any business anywhere is free to commit financial suicide. And it's up to us, the consumer, to insure they succeed when they attempt crap like this.
ReplyDeleteNobody is FORCED to eat at your restaurant...YET. I'm sure once enough business is lost, they'll lobby like the auto and Healthcare insurance folks did here to FORCE purchase of their products.
ReplyDeleteI can understand the freeloader moniker if the facility is an "all you can eat buffet" or offers "bottomless" this, or that and multiple people are sharing one plate that is refilled multiple times. However, if the customer is ordering a single serving and that serving is shared, no freeloading is occurring. The facility is not losing anything except repeat customers. (Customers could also simply request the order as take out and then share with as many people as they wish).
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