New billing styles

Current economic situation is throwing up new billing styles in restaurants and hotels. There are news reports that a few restaurants in the UK and USA are now asking customers to patronise them and pay as they please. Yes they have hid away their menu cards with astronomical prices. The ostensible idea to get the crowd back and appeal to their good sense to pay as much as they think their service and serving is worth.

Have we not heard this before in Annalakshmi group of restaurants in Coimbatore, Chennai and Singapore? I remember when they first opened their restaurant in Chennai in Mount Road, it was a very novel concept. It used to freak out some people who are terribly conscientious. They would err on the safe side and pay more than they think the restaurant would have charged them. I had gone there once where a friend was hosting a lunch for a few of us and she was terribly embarassed as to how to settle the bill, where the bill was nonexistent. We pooled our heads together and spent unbelievable amount of effort in arriving at a fair value. But then it lasted for only a very short while; it appeared that it was becoming unviable as Chennaites were notorious for having a virtually free meal and that was not what the owners had in mind.

Now these restaurants abroad are trying out the same idea.They really need to bring back the crowds and cutting the fares is an obvious choice. Offering superior value is another choice. Perhaps they have done this and are in the third step. There are also hotels in Singapore which offer the guest accomodation without mentioning the price tag. They believe the guests will pay them commensurate with their service.

Hotel tariffs are notoriously exorbitant and never have we settled a bill without feeling if it is really worth the fare charged. Perhaps the hospitality industry is into 'prayaschitha' mode!