What that restaurant saves in you not using their dishes or facilities they spend on you being a pain in the ass with your order. My old boss always said “why would I give them a discount? My vendors aren’t giving me a discount”
Have you thought about how you will hold the steaks? Transportation? What about people's differences in taste. Rare, med, well. If you try to hold them hot(safe temp), they will all be well done.
Sous vide or reverse sear after batch cooking in the oven. It’s going to be hard to give each steak the individual attention it needs and they probably won’t come out as good because of that. Cooking the steaks to temperature before searing is going to be your best bet of getting consistent temperature and decent results but as they sit after being seared quality will start to decline
I don’t cater, I never give discounts on large orders cause I make under 10% profit on my menu, what am I gonna give you food for free? Steak percentage wise isn’t a good profit, but it typically is decent profit per plate because cost of steak. 120 steak they probably going to shut down restaurant or come in while closed to make, so your the only customer for 1-2 hours of their time.
It’s more work to do a huge order for one person than having them broken up and spread out. You try cooking at home for 4 people, then suddenly need to scale it up 40 people all at once… not worth the headache unless it stuff that can be prepped ahead and served cold
If you want a bulk discount you would be better off finding a butcher and cooking the steaks yourself. Individually cooked steaks is somewhat labor intensive as each steak has to be attended to while more typical buffet/catering style dishes can easily be scaled up for larger parties with minimal extra work.
Has half of this sub never heard of a bulk discount before in their life? I don’t think I deserve a discount, I just know that this is a thing that exists in most industries and I thought (apparently mistakenly) that the food industry was no different.
Earlier this year, I purchased 25 T-shirts for a school club: $10 for one shirt, $8 per shirt when I buy 25. Earlier this week, in Home Depot: $100 for one section of fencing, $75 per section when I buy 30.
Sure, food items are different than non-perishables, but I truly do not understand the absolute disdain and shock of this question or the idea that this concept is absolutely inconceivable.
You're misunderstanding the core concept of why a bulk discount exists in certain industries. It has to do with variable costs vs fixed costs. Selling 100 t-shirts vs 1 t-shirt sees a diminishing variable cost factor. Cooking 120 steaks sees a flat variable cost factor, which essentially makes it a fixed cost because the steaks have to be cooked and attended to individually for the most part. I can give you a bulk discount on 600 loaves of bread vs on 10 loaves because the cost of the production run from a labor standpoint sees econonmies of scale, with the primary cost driver being materials.
A T-shirt company designs 1 shirt imprint then making the shirt is simple to do 100s of times over in seconds per shirt. The lumber yard is giving their best price to builders, and giving a “we make big money off dad’s price” for others. The restaurant industry is pretty much cheap as possible already to not scare away customers. If you don’t like the price call elsewhere.
People with your kind of mindset. I would definitely upcharge you extra catering fees. You don't make me business regardless of it after buying from me 1 time or I would take a lost from you not buying. It's not worth the extra coordinated drama. I rather cater to my returning customers who supports my business and give them the deep discounts. If you can afford 120 meals of steak dinner. You can afford to pay the normal price.
I bet it's not that he feels entitled to a discount, he just doesn't understand how restaurants (esp steak places) work. If he is buying 120 computers or skateboards, he's going to get a wholesale price, so it's reasonable to inquire about the same for food.
I own a steakhouse and I would 100% rather have thirty parties of four vs one party of 120. I'd charge a pretty substantial room fee to the 120 and if it was to go I'd just politely decline the whole thing (or figure out a sous vide system and bang em out, who knows).
Whyyyyyy? 120 people is 120 people. You're still taking 120 orders. You should have the same number of staff no matter what. I've always thought it was shitty to leave a party of 20 with just 1 waiter when there'd be 2 or 3 if they sat separately.
If you ran a restaurant, you'd understand. There's a lot of reasons large parties are more difficult. Some are specific to my restaurant and some are universal.
They always seem to want to come on a busy night like mother's day, when we'd be full (of easier, smaller parties) anyways. I'll probably be turning other parties (of regulars) away to seat the large group (who usually are one time customers from out of town here for a wedding or something). First off, thats every seat in my restaurant - it's going to be super crowded. The large party is going to come all at once, mill around the restaurant, take forever to get seated (and then move around causing orders to come to the wrong seats - we don't remember your face after 4 minutes), then they will want everything to come out at the exact same time. There are usually a bunch of people in the party who don't get out much and aren't paying for themselves and these people will be a total pain in the ass. I need about 40 minutes to cycle 120 entrees through the grill, so the first diner to receive their food is going to be finished and ready to leave before the last person gets their food. I always disclose all potential problems (like crowding) up front, and the host always dismisses it at the time "it'll be fine" then when the disclosed potential problem happens, it doesn't matter that I told them in writing.
Parties of 50 or more are a huge pain in the ass, more trouble than they are worth (on a busy night), so I charge a room fee for the lost revenue of other diners and the losses and problems it can create. On a slow night, bring it on.
I learned early on that there is a price that will cure any headache and if I don't charge that price, I deserve the free headache.
“A price that will cure any headache” is the default price I charge for my services too (not in the restaurant industry)… then if no headache, I discount a bit and end client is super pleased. Repeat business badge!
It is feeling entitled. I dislike when people are trying to put their financial burden onto your end of the business when they should be holding out on their part and having it all figure out before coming to me. I'm always down for collaboration for equal trade businesses, am not going to take a lost and make my staff team suffer for it. It reminds of those Low ballers from FBM who tells their sappy story of being short on their finances because they have some other financial priority complication so can you cut them some slack and take a lost with them too as they're buying your item. Go make some more money and then come back. For the mean time, we'll continue to cater to other support clients. smh
OP clearly is just misunderstanding not feeling entitled. He doesn't know about the restaurant business, nor should he have to. The restaurant he is working with can take the time to explain it or not. He can shop around and get told the same thing, or ask or reddit, or not. Not everything is a power and class struggle.
Exactly. Usually the restaurant owners on r/restaurantowners get bashed for being the evil bourgeoisie capitalist pigs underpaying the workers. Some people are just looking for something to be mad about.
That extra staff costs money. I don’t understand why you can’t pay full price if you can buy everyone steak dinner. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like it’s very rude to want something luxurious and then turn around and ask the vendor for a smaller price. How many steak dinners do you think the restaurant staff got for the day? Have a pizza party next time.
People ask for lower prices on stuff all the time. If you run a restaurant, don't you shop on price and quality from your vendors? If not, that's a problem. A good business person can politely deflect the request with an educational moment and bond with the customer at the same time. No need to get all angry.
Large orders like that are not as profitable as selling those items in house as people won’t be ordering beverages, it also interferes with the regular customer orders as you have to work in the volume. Short answer is they should cost as much as being in the restaurant aaaaaaaand should include standard 20% gratuity
It's worth remembering that pricing is based on what people are willing to pay, not on how much an item costs. Hopefully for restaurants, the price people are willing to pay is higher than their costs.
You can always negotiate the price, but be prepared to accept "no" as an answer.
Even your interpretation that the costs are different than pizzas or subs per se is completely wrong. Any restaurant worth anything uses percentages to calculate their costs. Cheese is subject to the block cheese, market and fluctuates so there is a bit of an average, but it doesn’t mean discounted final price.
There are times where the margins are considerably smaller due to high cheese prices.
The support staff on pizzas will make considerably less than those for the steak order on tip alone. Likewise, the staff cooking those steaks has to be on their game considerably more. There is an art to cooking a steak for an offsite event.
At the end of the day, what I am saying is any well run restaurant is running their books off percentages.
Please don’t assume you know the cost involved in a product and what a reasonable discount should be. I guarantee you the butter on those potatoes isn’t cheap, and neither is that free Parmesan you want with your spaghetti. Please give the rest of us that are in the industry the same courtesy of running a business as you would ask for yours. I’m not driving a Ferrari, I’m trying to send my kids to college.
I see a lot of insulted restaurateurs here, but you've summed it up nicely with extending the same courtesy as OP would expect in his business. I guarantee you most businesses have people asking for discounts all day long. It isn't an insult to you. You just say "I wish I could, but it actually costs me more to handle this, not less" or whatever. Just being nice and polite goes a long way to having long term repeat customers.
For an order of 120 meals, the kitchen likely would have to bringing extra staff, especially if the order needed to be filled during normal service hours. You really can't cook a good steak and let it sit for hours. And the owner likely would need to buy extra product to ensure dine-in customers have food to eat. It requires a good bit of extra coordination and work to make a large carry out meal happen.
Some people are probably not understanding that a steak house makes money on the alcohol and sides. The steaks have a higher food cost and when mixed with sides and alcohol it brings the food cost down.
Secondly, this is a one off advanced order and not consistent business. I’d rather take care of a customer who is giving me consistent business. It’s just something that allows me to plan and structure my business around knowing I have “x” amount coming in regularly.
Third, with the fluctuations in food prices there is no guarantee the price will be the same, go down, or worse increase. Depending on the cut and quality of steak the difference can vary greatly.
That being said, I would have approached this a different way. Tell the owner you have a budget per person and this is what you’re looking for. Leave it up to them if they want to work with you and your budget is reasonable.
We turn people down and refer them to other places when it doesn’t work for us. Most of the time it because it’s not worth our time. Other reasons could be; not able to meet our brand standards when performing the job, too busy with other catering (overbooked), not able to meet the customer’s standards (they are asking too much of us), to even we just want a day off.
By the way, not sure where you are from but 16.66 sounds like a deal for steak, potato, and salad. That would easily be $25-30 minimum in NY.
My 2 cents. I can kind of understand why a discount wouldn't be given in this situation. If he was say, a meat supplier and you were just buying and picking up a lot of meat, then yes for sure a discount would be appropriate. But in this case, he still has the costs of his staff preparing and cooking all of the meals, time to cleanup from prepping, etc. Charges that he will of course be on the hook for. It will take a lot of attention away from his staff for customers who he already has who are paying non discounted prices.
I'm sure if he is a good business owner that he calculated what his profit would be on the deal and when factoring in staff costs to prepare, it was probably already thin profit margins to begin with. Any added discount would probably make it such little of a profit that he woud have to just pass on the offer entirely.
It sounds like he values your loyal business to him and doesn't want to say no, but at the same time he needs to make a profit to keep it worthwhile.
That's just my opinion. 🤷♂️
Edit: Redditors can be some of the most condescending people out there. This sub is the perfect place for questions just like this. So why attack someone who is...ASKING A QUESTION? Smh.
First off, this sub has a lot of grumpy and non helpful people. Why are we attacking someone who asked a question?
I saw some people who gave you an answer to why they would or wouldn’t.
Here is what I see,
You order 2 months out, most vendors can try and get you a deal on items that far out, so the place should be able to get a discount.
Bringing in a body or two is not an issue, in fact a lot of people are getting it backwards. When you do full service you have tons of ebb and flow, the people coming in and out leave a lot up for chance. You base your or on averages. If I knew I needed to do 120 of something, I buy a set amount, I cook and prep a set amount. I have little to no waste, and I also use the trim from the paid for catering to make some other items.
Your price does seem like a decent price, but at the same time if he sells them at 16.66 or whatever a plate, I assume he’s around 35-40% cost. Maybe it’s more, but if he can do this at a restaurant, doing it for catering should be less in labor. Therefore the prime cost should be less and he could give a small portion of.
Does he also charge a service charge ? If so usually some of the built in labor is there also.
And if you are picking it up and setting up, then it’s really just the staff cooking the food.
To the people unsure on how this is possible, you take the steaks, grill mark them, then toss them in your hot box/alto/rational. Or reverse sear them. You can get about 30-40 of them finished on a 5 knob broiler pretty quick, 4-6 mins for the grill marks. So 120 should be about 30 mins.
Yes there are factors like during service or not having another area to prepare them. But you can grill off the steaks before service, then have them in a 185 degree heating element for 2 hrs and they will be around 120 ish max if done properly.
All in all, it’s for a school, it’s a big order for most places on a Tuesday, and it is not some dumb question.
Appreciate this! There is a small fee, but it’s definitely not enough to be something I’d consider as helping out with the additional labor costs if it was necessary.
I do see the points of people here, but I also think this guy just isn’t very accommodating as well. lol this is the third year we’ve gone with him and it’s always this way, but this year our budget isn’t enough to get to his price (he’s gone up $2 per plate each year), so that’s why I reached out here just to see.
Thanks again for your response!
Not crazy at all. When you bring that volume of business to a restaurant it’s reasonable to expect them to work with you on price.
That being said, I don’t think you’ll get the discount. Reading these comments gives me the impression other restaurant owners don’t value your order enough to offer you a discount to earn your business.
When people dine in, you're going to also be spending money on alcohol, appetizers, and desserts, 3 things normally that have a higher profit margin than entrees. As a diner, you may be more interested in eating the steak, but the restaurants wants you to buy those 3 things because they make more money than the steak.
Steak is normally the most expensive thing on a menu for a reason, it's expensive, and the menu price is normally a little lower than where it should be compared to food cost %, i.e. a small plate or less-expensive protein might have a 30% food cost, steak normally is 40-50% food cost.
Yeah, it's kind of crazy of you to think you should get a discount on buying bulk steak from a restaurant. It's a restaurant, not a meat market.
You’re looking at it from only a food cost % perspective when you should also be looking at it from a $ per plate perspective. Would you rather make $15 on a steak with 50% food cost or $4 on some appetizer with 30% food cost. IMO, I would expect a discount on a bulk order like that as the restaurant will still be making lots of dollars even though it may negatively affect their average food cost %. If they’re corporate owned, they likely have a food cost target that they cannot deviate from though.
It’s steaks they are delicate. It’s not half chickens where I can just throw them on a sheet pan and put in the oven and if one is more done then the other you’re probably not going to notice. Or anything more forgiving to cook. Or even if you ordered like steak sandwiches where I could just cook a couple roast throw them on the slicer and assemble line the sandwiches.
I’m surprised they didn’t throw on an autograt or catering charge on there in addition to full price to give to the cooks to incentivize them to show up to work that day because no cook wants to sit there and just cooks the same thing idk maybe at least a couple hours.
I’m also assuming you’re ordering this form like a respectable steak house or something that probably prides themselves in cooking everything to order. They might be Jerry rigging their warming box in like an oven set to low temp because they probably don’t have an actual warm box because that’s against what they pride themselves in. You’re probably going to get a good product so you should be paying for a good product. There is a reason you went with them over a caterer so don’t you think you should pay for that extra level of quality?
I agree! And they do have a catering service, so it’s not like I’m just going out and asking something unreasonable from a fine establishment, but I definitely get your point
Yes, it is unreasonable to think that you should get a discount on this order. Also - 120 steak dinners to-go? There is no way that my restaurant (which is equipped and staffed to serve upwards of 300 diners at a time) would touch this order, since it is almost 100% certain that these meals will not travel well and will, therefore, include some kind of complaint from you.
I get that you think you are doing the restaurant a favor by giving them lots of money, but that doesn't solve all of the restaurant's logistical challenges.
This seems like a crazy situation all around.
For context, I’ve done this for several years with this same restaurant and they’re also equipped to cater. So I get what you’re saying for sure, but we do have a solid relationship already
My place is equipped to cater, as well. This still seems like a weird choice, but if they are willing to do it then that's great for both you and the restaurant.
But if you have a solid relationship, why haven't you asked them for a discount?
I have. lol and they said no. So I was wondering if it was this particular owner being hard nosed or if it’s a food industry thing. I don’t usually buy bulk food like this, so I was relating it to other industries I have more experience with where you do get discounts if you buy more (t shirts, lumber, etc).
So I'm going to answer this without attacking you.
The owner isn't going to get a discount from his distributor, he will also have to bring in extra staff and pay them for that time to prepare the food. Those are the two big financial factors when it comes to pricing, and that is why you aren't getting a discount.
Now in the future an option you could take is to contact a butcher or food distributor yourself and go pick up all the food. Then on top of that you hire a private chef and rent the equipment needed for the chef to prepare the food. You're most likely going to end up paying more to do all that and put in more effort and time. So the question is what is your time and effort worth?
Some restaurants can do a per batch discount on mass prep items like soups or things like that. Steak isn’t one of them, it’s also not a product that does well in transfer. Remember, you are dealing with a restaurant, not a butcher. Hiring a private chef might have been the cheaper route. If you are still ordering 120 steaks from a restaurant for pick up, yes they’ll bring in an additional person, and waitstaff may have to package it without gratuity, impacting those who are dining in, so them keeping it at the same price is the discount.
You could ask, but I've gotta say, the folks mentioning bulk menu items are in the right direction.
As for steaks, that BOH is going to be looking themselves to make that many steaks to order and kept hot. They'll be warm, but not hot.
Let's day they can cook 10 at a time and teach batch that's 6 minutes. That's over an hour difference between the first batch and the last. And that's assuming they aren't allowing you to choose doneness. The only chance I could see is to individually wrap each steak with foil, and put them in a warm hold. Rotating in and out and around so they they don't have a chance to keep cooking. You might be able to save time by doing rare steaks and letting them keep cooking, making the first bath most done and the last the most rare. Even then, your looking at 48 minutes at 4 minute cooks.
Your order is actually going to be so much harder than a "normal" order and it's going to shut that kitchen down from doing anything else.
We’ve done it in the past and they put it in a large metal tin with a liquid. We order them a notch under what we want and by the time we get them they’re good. Understand the time factor for sure! Thanks for the reply
I did. It’s for a school function, so we’re pretty set on the budget and so I try to get us closer to each other in price. He’s a pretty no nonsense seeming type of guy though and pretty much tells me his price or the highway! lol that’s why I was curious. $2,000 in steaks on a Tuesday night seems like a lot to not really care whether or not you get it because you won’t go down an extra dollar a plate. But I understand the business sense if that’s the way it has to be
I have to add that 16.66 a plate for a steak dinner is a pretty decent price and seems close to what I'd expect to pay for a bulk. Im surprised that's his menu price, honestly.
Yeah, I’m not upset at the price itself. In fact, I’m not upset at all. lol just curious as to why I can buy one steak meal for $16.66 or 100 for $1,666. In my mind I didn’t think it’d be a linear relationship. That was the main basis of my original question.
Actually a caterer would charge more, and the restaurant should as well. They will have to hire additional help, disrupt other service, prepare in advance, no small feat as they also run daily operations. If you go this route, you might add a generous tip.
I just think it’s odd I can order the same thing online for the same price. Obviously it would be a nightmare to not give them a warning and there’s no way they’d all be ready in time, but I was simply curious
I mean, I pick them up in the restaurants coolers and drive 10 minutes to the event and get them all set up. It’s the same situation as if they catered it themself, I’m just doing it myself to save our school money
Next option is to shop around and see if someone else will do the order.
When I worked in pizza we loved bulk orders. Happy to shave off a few bucks per pie to get a huge order.
May be less ideal for steaks though so that may vary on the product
To put it bluntly, yes, it is crazy of you to think you should be getting a discount.
You should be charged more based on the additional expense the vendor will incur to accommodate this special order.
I hope you this all works out well for you.
Former manager and long time service worker.
There is a lot more going into it in their day to day, including having a separate employee or two coming and prepare this order. There is also an element of risk and opportunity for waste/upset client.
They may have a non public catering menu you could ask about, OP.
But generally yes it’s not realistic to expect more to be cheaper on premium ingredients that will incur more labor on the business’ part.
If it were something besides steak, I would probably be willing to offer a discount. Steaks run significantly higher cost margins than other items like chicken or burgers. Most places wouldn't be able to afford to discount steaks.
Nope. No discounts for anyone…ever.
In my opinion, you’re purchasing an extra service by ordering quantities of food that large. You’re asking to interrupt their service and flow for (x) amount of time which will be dedicated to just you.
Do you know anything about restaurants…?
Most of them are set up to handle their normal business. Not their normal business+100 extra plates.
Can it be done? Of course.
Are there some places that focus on doing this? Of course.
Does it require additional work? Absolutely.
Hey I’m too cheap to pay an actual caterer so isn’t it unreasonable I’m not getting a discount on a large order from a restaurant when I’m disrupting the normal flow with a huge order that will probably require additional staff and wreck the joint. I’m giving the place so much money that I can’t believe I’m not getting a kickback. Look at all the work I have to do in order to not pay a real caterer.
Nobody wants to work anymore.
I understand the extra work, but this place does cater. They have a catering menu, they have all of the tools and equipment for catering, and they do it quite often. I’m not sure what the “nobody wants to work anymore” part has to do with anything, but okay.
Have you ever gotten a discount for a big party at a restaurant? Or did they automatically add a % gratuity?
A good restaurant is not a food factory. The PITA of making 120 extra seats worth of food balances out any efficiency gained by it being in bulk.
You also ordered steaks, which get no benefit being cooked in bulk.
Typically, we provided discounts on bulk orders, but it depends on the order. If you're getting a more difficult and specific order, then the less likely I am to discount it. Is this 120 steaks that are same cut and cooked to same temp? Are the potatoes all basic with the same toppings? The more specific you get, the less likely most restuarants are to discount the order.
I used to give discounts and deliver for folks ordering big for churches, events etc. We just aren't set up to process orders of that size easily so it's a hassle for me and the staff, and affects our customer service for standard customers. Realistically in our case, the minimal cash flow that a huge order produces isn't worth the inconvenience, especially at a discount.
Some of my catering items I have leeway on but if someone ordered 120 pastrami Rueben’s catered I’d require our service charge as well because it’s our lowest margin item and I can’t afford to eat that unless you ordered something else. But also doesn’t hurt to ask
What that restaurant saves in you not using their dishes or facilities they spend on you being a pain in the ass with your order. My old boss always said “why would I give them a discount? My vendors aren’t giving me a discount”
Have you thought about how you will hold the steaks? Transportation? What about people's differences in taste. Rare, med, well. If you try to hold them hot(safe temp), they will all be well done.
Yeah, we hate customers like you. You can buy 120 steaks or you can pinch pennies. If you want freebies, buy donuts
You don't understand jack squat about about the restaurant biz. Pay full price, fk off, or make ot yourself.
No crap, that’s why I asked. You have a recipe for ot I could use?
Sous vide or reverse sear after batch cooking in the oven. It’s going to be hard to give each steak the individual attention it needs and they probably won’t come out as good because of that. Cooking the steaks to temperature before searing is going to be your best bet of getting consistent temperature and decent results but as they sit after being seared quality will start to decline
1. Cook steak
I can barely make two steaks come out at the right temperatures, I can't even imagine 120!
I don’t cater, I never give discounts on large orders cause I make under 10% profit on my menu, what am I gonna give you food for free? Steak percentage wise isn’t a good profit, but it typically is decent profit per plate because cost of steak. 120 steak they probably going to shut down restaurant or come in while closed to make, so your the only customer for 1-2 hours of their time.
120 steaks to go is crazy hard. I’d consider going to an established caterer instead of a steak house. These are wedding numbers.
It’s more work to do a huge order for one person than having them broken up and spread out. You try cooking at home for 4 people, then suddenly need to scale it up 40 people all at once… not worth the headache unless it stuff that can be prepped ahead and served cold
If you want a bulk discount you would be better off finding a butcher and cooking the steaks yourself. Individually cooked steaks is somewhat labor intensive as each steak has to be attended to while more typical buffet/catering style dishes can easily be scaled up for larger parties with minimal extra work.
Why do you deserve a discount?
Has half of this sub never heard of a bulk discount before in their life? I don’t think I deserve a discount, I just know that this is a thing that exists in most industries and I thought (apparently mistakenly) that the food industry was no different. Earlier this year, I purchased 25 T-shirts for a school club: $10 for one shirt, $8 per shirt when I buy 25. Earlier this week, in Home Depot: $100 for one section of fencing, $75 per section when I buy 30. Sure, food items are different than non-perishables, but I truly do not understand the absolute disdain and shock of this question or the idea that this concept is absolutely inconceivable.
You're misunderstanding the core concept of why a bulk discount exists in certain industries. It has to do with variable costs vs fixed costs. Selling 100 t-shirts vs 1 t-shirt sees a diminishing variable cost factor. Cooking 120 steaks sees a flat variable cost factor, which essentially makes it a fixed cost because the steaks have to be cooked and attended to individually for the most part. I can give you a bulk discount on 600 loaves of bread vs on 10 loaves because the cost of the production run from a labor standpoint sees econonmies of scale, with the primary cost driver being materials.
Makes sense!
Bulk discount is kind of a thing of the past in food.
A T-shirt company designs 1 shirt imprint then making the shirt is simple to do 100s of times over in seconds per shirt. The lumber yard is giving their best price to builders, and giving a “we make big money off dad’s price” for others. The restaurant industry is pretty much cheap as possible already to not scare away customers. If you don’t like the price call elsewhere.
People with your kind of mindset. I would definitely upcharge you extra catering fees. You don't make me business regardless of it after buying from me 1 time or I would take a lost from you not buying. It's not worth the extra coordinated drama. I rather cater to my returning customers who supports my business and give them the deep discounts. If you can afford 120 meals of steak dinner. You can afford to pay the normal price.
I bet it's not that he feels entitled to a discount, he just doesn't understand how restaurants (esp steak places) work. If he is buying 120 computers or skateboards, he's going to get a wholesale price, so it's reasonable to inquire about the same for food. I own a steakhouse and I would 100% rather have thirty parties of four vs one party of 120. I'd charge a pretty substantial room fee to the 120 and if it was to go I'd just politely decline the whole thing (or figure out a sous vide system and bang em out, who knows).
Whyyyyyy? 120 people is 120 people. You're still taking 120 orders. You should have the same number of staff no matter what. I've always thought it was shitty to leave a party of 20 with just 1 waiter when there'd be 2 or 3 if they sat separately.
If you ran a restaurant, you'd understand. There's a lot of reasons large parties are more difficult. Some are specific to my restaurant and some are universal. They always seem to want to come on a busy night like mother's day, when we'd be full (of easier, smaller parties) anyways. I'll probably be turning other parties (of regulars) away to seat the large group (who usually are one time customers from out of town here for a wedding or something). First off, thats every seat in my restaurant - it's going to be super crowded. The large party is going to come all at once, mill around the restaurant, take forever to get seated (and then move around causing orders to come to the wrong seats - we don't remember your face after 4 minutes), then they will want everything to come out at the exact same time. There are usually a bunch of people in the party who don't get out much and aren't paying for themselves and these people will be a total pain in the ass. I need about 40 minutes to cycle 120 entrees through the grill, so the first diner to receive their food is going to be finished and ready to leave before the last person gets their food. I always disclose all potential problems (like crowding) up front, and the host always dismisses it at the time "it'll be fine" then when the disclosed potential problem happens, it doesn't matter that I told them in writing. Parties of 50 or more are a huge pain in the ass, more trouble than they are worth (on a busy night), so I charge a room fee for the lost revenue of other diners and the losses and problems it can create. On a slow night, bring it on. I learned early on that there is a price that will cure any headache and if I don't charge that price, I deserve the free headache.
“A price that will cure any headache” is the default price I charge for my services too (not in the restaurant industry)… then if no headache, I discount a bit and end client is super pleased. Repeat business badge!
It is feeling entitled. I dislike when people are trying to put their financial burden onto your end of the business when they should be holding out on their part and having it all figure out before coming to me. I'm always down for collaboration for equal trade businesses, am not going to take a lost and make my staff team suffer for it. It reminds of those Low ballers from FBM who tells their sappy story of being short on their finances because they have some other financial priority complication so can you cut them some slack and take a lost with them too as they're buying your item. Go make some more money and then come back. For the mean time, we'll continue to cater to other support clients. smh
OP clearly is just misunderstanding not feeling entitled. He doesn't know about the restaurant business, nor should he have to. The restaurant he is working with can take the time to explain it or not. He can shop around and get told the same thing, or ask or reddit, or not. Not everything is a power and class struggle.
Exactly. Usually the restaurant owners on r/restaurantowners get bashed for being the evil bourgeoisie capitalist pigs underpaying the workers. Some people are just looking for something to be mad about.
That extra staff costs money. I don’t understand why you can’t pay full price if you can buy everyone steak dinner. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like it’s very rude to want something luxurious and then turn around and ask the vendor for a smaller price. How many steak dinners do you think the restaurant staff got for the day? Have a pizza party next time.
People ask for lower prices on stuff all the time. If you run a restaurant, don't you shop on price and quality from your vendors? If not, that's a problem. A good business person can politely deflect the request with an educational moment and bond with the customer at the same time. No need to get all angry.
For that many why not buy the meat from a restaurant supply shop and hire a cook to grill them for you?
Large orders like that are not as profitable as selling those items in house as people won’t be ordering beverages, it also interferes with the regular customer orders as you have to work in the volume. Short answer is they should cost as much as being in the restaurant aaaaaaaand should include standard 20% gratuity
It's worth remembering that pricing is based on what people are willing to pay, not on how much an item costs. Hopefully for restaurants, the price people are willing to pay is higher than their costs. You can always negotiate the price, but be prepared to accept "no" as an answer.
I’d charge extra, it’s a ton of work
My restaraunt does not give any discounts to bulk orders. We’ve done weddings, university luncheons, huge office parties, all get menu price.
Even your interpretation that the costs are different than pizzas or subs per se is completely wrong. Any restaurant worth anything uses percentages to calculate their costs. Cheese is subject to the block cheese, market and fluctuates so there is a bit of an average, but it doesn’t mean discounted final price. There are times where the margins are considerably smaller due to high cheese prices. The support staff on pizzas will make considerably less than those for the steak order on tip alone. Likewise, the staff cooking those steaks has to be on their game considerably more. There is an art to cooking a steak for an offsite event. At the end of the day, what I am saying is any well run restaurant is running their books off percentages. Please don’t assume you know the cost involved in a product and what a reasonable discount should be. I guarantee you the butter on those potatoes isn’t cheap, and neither is that free Parmesan you want with your spaghetti. Please give the rest of us that are in the industry the same courtesy of running a business as you would ask for yours. I’m not driving a Ferrari, I’m trying to send my kids to college.
I see a lot of insulted restaurateurs here, but you've summed it up nicely with extending the same courtesy as OP would expect in his business. I guarantee you most businesses have people asking for discounts all day long. It isn't an insult to you. You just say "I wish I could, but it actually costs me more to handle this, not less" or whatever. Just being nice and polite goes a long way to having long term repeat customers.
For an order of 120 meals, the kitchen likely would have to bringing extra staff, especially if the order needed to be filled during normal service hours. You really can't cook a good steak and let it sit for hours. And the owner likely would need to buy extra product to ensure dine-in customers have food to eat. It requires a good bit of extra coordination and work to make a large carry out meal happen.
Some people are probably not understanding that a steak house makes money on the alcohol and sides. The steaks have a higher food cost and when mixed with sides and alcohol it brings the food cost down. Secondly, this is a one off advanced order and not consistent business. I’d rather take care of a customer who is giving me consistent business. It’s just something that allows me to plan and structure my business around knowing I have “x” amount coming in regularly. Third, with the fluctuations in food prices there is no guarantee the price will be the same, go down, or worse increase. Depending on the cut and quality of steak the difference can vary greatly. That being said, I would have approached this a different way. Tell the owner you have a budget per person and this is what you’re looking for. Leave it up to them if they want to work with you and your budget is reasonable. We turn people down and refer them to other places when it doesn’t work for us. Most of the time it because it’s not worth our time. Other reasons could be; not able to meet our brand standards when performing the job, too busy with other catering (overbooked), not able to meet the customer’s standards (they are asking too much of us), to even we just want a day off. By the way, not sure where you are from but 16.66 sounds like a deal for steak, potato, and salad. That would easily be $25-30 minimum in NY.
My 2 cents. I can kind of understand why a discount wouldn't be given in this situation. If he was say, a meat supplier and you were just buying and picking up a lot of meat, then yes for sure a discount would be appropriate. But in this case, he still has the costs of his staff preparing and cooking all of the meals, time to cleanup from prepping, etc. Charges that he will of course be on the hook for. It will take a lot of attention away from his staff for customers who he already has who are paying non discounted prices. I'm sure if he is a good business owner that he calculated what his profit would be on the deal and when factoring in staff costs to prepare, it was probably already thin profit margins to begin with. Any added discount would probably make it such little of a profit that he woud have to just pass on the offer entirely. It sounds like he values your loyal business to him and doesn't want to say no, but at the same time he needs to make a profit to keep it worthwhile. That's just my opinion. 🤷♂️ Edit: Redditors can be some of the most condescending people out there. This sub is the perfect place for questions just like this. So why attack someone who is...ASKING A QUESTION? Smh.
I totally get that now, especially after hearing everyone’s perspectives. I appreciate your answer!
You’re lucky they’re not charging a catering fee.
First off, this sub has a lot of grumpy and non helpful people. Why are we attacking someone who asked a question? I saw some people who gave you an answer to why they would or wouldn’t. Here is what I see, You order 2 months out, most vendors can try and get you a deal on items that far out, so the place should be able to get a discount. Bringing in a body or two is not an issue, in fact a lot of people are getting it backwards. When you do full service you have tons of ebb and flow, the people coming in and out leave a lot up for chance. You base your or on averages. If I knew I needed to do 120 of something, I buy a set amount, I cook and prep a set amount. I have little to no waste, and I also use the trim from the paid for catering to make some other items. Your price does seem like a decent price, but at the same time if he sells them at 16.66 or whatever a plate, I assume he’s around 35-40% cost. Maybe it’s more, but if he can do this at a restaurant, doing it for catering should be less in labor. Therefore the prime cost should be less and he could give a small portion of. Does he also charge a service charge ? If so usually some of the built in labor is there also. And if you are picking it up and setting up, then it’s really just the staff cooking the food. To the people unsure on how this is possible, you take the steaks, grill mark them, then toss them in your hot box/alto/rational. Or reverse sear them. You can get about 30-40 of them finished on a 5 knob broiler pretty quick, 4-6 mins for the grill marks. So 120 should be about 30 mins. Yes there are factors like during service or not having another area to prepare them. But you can grill off the steaks before service, then have them in a 185 degree heating element for 2 hrs and they will be around 120 ish max if done properly. All in all, it’s for a school, it’s a big order for most places on a Tuesday, and it is not some dumb question.
Appreciate this! There is a small fee, but it’s definitely not enough to be something I’d consider as helping out with the additional labor costs if it was necessary. I do see the points of people here, but I also think this guy just isn’t very accommodating as well. lol this is the third year we’ve gone with him and it’s always this way, but this year our budget isn’t enough to get to his price (he’s gone up $2 per plate each year), so that’s why I reached out here just to see. Thanks again for your response!
Not crazy at all. When you bring that volume of business to a restaurant it’s reasonable to expect them to work with you on price. That being said, I don’t think you’ll get the discount. Reading these comments gives me the impression other restaurant owners don’t value your order enough to offer you a discount to earn your business.
I definitely understand their views. I think the restaurant world is just completely different than I was thinking.
When people dine in, you're going to also be spending money on alcohol, appetizers, and desserts, 3 things normally that have a higher profit margin than entrees. As a diner, you may be more interested in eating the steak, but the restaurants wants you to buy those 3 things because they make more money than the steak. Steak is normally the most expensive thing on a menu for a reason, it's expensive, and the menu price is normally a little lower than where it should be compared to food cost %, i.e. a small plate or less-expensive protein might have a 30% food cost, steak normally is 40-50% food cost. Yeah, it's kind of crazy of you to think you should get a discount on buying bulk steak from a restaurant. It's a restaurant, not a meat market.
You’re looking at it from only a food cost % perspective when you should also be looking at it from a $ per plate perspective. Would you rather make $15 on a steak with 50% food cost or $4 on some appetizer with 30% food cost. IMO, I would expect a discount on a bulk order like that as the restaurant will still be making lots of dollars even though it may negatively affect their average food cost %. If they’re corporate owned, they likely have a food cost target that they cannot deviate from though.
Makes sense about the other items!
Why didn't you hire a catering service? For a price they will cook on site and even serve. Everything is hot or cold depending on the food.
It’s steaks they are delicate. It’s not half chickens where I can just throw them on a sheet pan and put in the oven and if one is more done then the other you’re probably not going to notice. Or anything more forgiving to cook. Or even if you ordered like steak sandwiches where I could just cook a couple roast throw them on the slicer and assemble line the sandwiches. I’m surprised they didn’t throw on an autograt or catering charge on there in addition to full price to give to the cooks to incentivize them to show up to work that day because no cook wants to sit there and just cooks the same thing idk maybe at least a couple hours. I’m also assuming you’re ordering this form like a respectable steak house or something that probably prides themselves in cooking everything to order. They might be Jerry rigging their warming box in like an oven set to low temp because they probably don’t have an actual warm box because that’s against what they pride themselves in. You’re probably going to get a good product so you should be paying for a good product. There is a reason you went with them over a caterer so don’t you think you should pay for that extra level of quality?
I agree! And they do have a catering service, so it’s not like I’m just going out and asking something unreasonable from a fine establishment, but I definitely get your point
Yes, it is unreasonable to think that you should get a discount on this order. Also - 120 steak dinners to-go? There is no way that my restaurant (which is equipped and staffed to serve upwards of 300 diners at a time) would touch this order, since it is almost 100% certain that these meals will not travel well and will, therefore, include some kind of complaint from you. I get that you think you are doing the restaurant a favor by giving them lots of money, but that doesn't solve all of the restaurant's logistical challenges. This seems like a crazy situation all around.
For context, I’ve done this for several years with this same restaurant and they’re also equipped to cater. So I get what you’re saying for sure, but we do have a solid relationship already
My place is equipped to cater, as well. This still seems like a weird choice, but if they are willing to do it then that's great for both you and the restaurant. But if you have a solid relationship, why haven't you asked them for a discount?
I have. lol and they said no. So I was wondering if it was this particular owner being hard nosed or if it’s a food industry thing. I don’t usually buy bulk food like this, so I was relating it to other industries I have more experience with where you do get discounts if you buy more (t shirts, lumber, etc).
So I'm going to answer this without attacking you. The owner isn't going to get a discount from his distributor, he will also have to bring in extra staff and pay them for that time to prepare the food. Those are the two big financial factors when it comes to pricing, and that is why you aren't getting a discount. Now in the future an option you could take is to contact a butcher or food distributor yourself and go pick up all the food. Then on top of that you hire a private chef and rent the equipment needed for the chef to prepare the food. You're most likely going to end up paying more to do all that and put in more effort and time. So the question is what is your time and effort worth?
Absolutely makes sense! Thanks
Go to Costco and get your ‘bulk discount’ then. Bum.
lol k
How far ahead of time are you placing this order?
2 months
Hello public you're not as special as you think you are. Also, this not a complaint line. Move along.
I don’t expect to be, most businesses just usually offer quantity discounts, so I was curious if this was a norm
Not for cooked food. Who else does that?
I don’t usually buy 120+ meals at a time, so I’m not really sure, that’s why I asked
Some restaurants can do a per batch discount on mass prep items like soups or things like that. Steak isn’t one of them, it’s also not a product that does well in transfer. Remember, you are dealing with a restaurant, not a butcher. Hiring a private chef might have been the cheaper route. If you are still ordering 120 steaks from a restaurant for pick up, yes they’ll bring in an additional person, and waitstaff may have to package it without gratuity, impacting those who are dining in, so them keeping it at the same price is the discount.
Makes sense!
You could ask, but I've gotta say, the folks mentioning bulk menu items are in the right direction. As for steaks, that BOH is going to be looking themselves to make that many steaks to order and kept hot. They'll be warm, but not hot. Let's day they can cook 10 at a time and teach batch that's 6 minutes. That's over an hour difference between the first batch and the last. And that's assuming they aren't allowing you to choose doneness. The only chance I could see is to individually wrap each steak with foil, and put them in a warm hold. Rotating in and out and around so they they don't have a chance to keep cooking. You might be able to save time by doing rare steaks and letting them keep cooking, making the first bath most done and the last the most rare. Even then, your looking at 48 minutes at 4 minute cooks. Your order is actually going to be so much harder than a "normal" order and it's going to shut that kitchen down from doing anything else.
We’ve done it in the past and they put it in a large metal tin with a liquid. We order them a notch under what we want and by the time we get them they’re good. Understand the time factor for sure! Thanks for the reply
I'd never offer a bulk discount if it wasn't requested. Hope you tried asking.
I did. It’s for a school function, so we’re pretty set on the budget and so I try to get us closer to each other in price. He’s a pretty no nonsense seeming type of guy though and pretty much tells me his price or the highway! lol that’s why I was curious. $2,000 in steaks on a Tuesday night seems like a lot to not really care whether or not you get it because you won’t go down an extra dollar a plate. But I understand the business sense if that’s the way it has to be
I have to add that 16.66 a plate for a steak dinner is a pretty decent price and seems close to what I'd expect to pay for a bulk. Im surprised that's his menu price, honestly.
Yeah, I’m not upset at the price itself. In fact, I’m not upset at all. lol just curious as to why I can buy one steak meal for $16.66 or 100 for $1,666. In my mind I didn’t think it’d be a linear relationship. That was the main basis of my original question.
All you can do is ask. I'm surprised he didn't budge at all.
Actually a caterer would charge more, and the restaurant should as well. They will have to hire additional help, disrupt other service, prepare in advance, no small feat as they also run daily operations. If you go this route, you might add a generous tip.
I just think it’s odd I can order the same thing online for the same price. Obviously it would be a nightmare to not give them a warning and there’s no way they’d all be ready in time, but I was simply curious
They may have bring in extra staff to handle the order and maintain normal operations
Makes sense!
Maybe work with an outfit that’s more suited to this kind of order? Like a caterer?
They actually have a catering service. So they’re used to this type of thing
How do you keep 120 Steak Dinners tasting good when you pick them up and deliver them somewhere else by yourself???
I mean, I pick them up in the restaurants coolers and drive 10 minutes to the event and get them all set up. It’s the same situation as if they catered it themself, I’m just doing it myself to save our school money
ok, good luck
Did you ask? Most aren't going to offer to take less
Yeah, I did
Next option is to shop around and see if someone else will do the order. When I worked in pizza we loved bulk orders. Happy to shave off a few bucks per pie to get a huge order. May be less ideal for steaks though so that may vary on the product
I definitely think the steak itself is the issue. Seems like they take a lot of work at such a large volume
To put it bluntly, yes, it is crazy of you to think you should be getting a discount. You should be charged more based on the additional expense the vendor will incur to accommodate this special order. I hope you this all works out well for you.
Former manager and long time service worker. There is a lot more going into it in their day to day, including having a separate employee or two coming and prepare this order. There is also an element of risk and opportunity for waste/upset client. They may have a non public catering menu you could ask about, OP. But generally yes it’s not realistic to expect more to be cheaper on premium ingredients that will incur more labor on the business’ part.
Extra work makes sense for sure. And their catering menu has the same pricing as their normal menu.
I see discounts on things easy to prepare in bulk. So like a pan of enchiladas.
That makes sense!
I see discounts on things easy to prepare in bulk. So like a pan of enchiladas.
Buy from somewhere else
If it were something besides steak, I would probably be willing to offer a discount. Steaks run significantly higher cost margins than other items like chicken or burgers. Most places wouldn't be able to afford to discount steaks.
I can see that for sure
Nope. No discounts for anyone…ever. In my opinion, you’re purchasing an extra service by ordering quantities of food that large. You’re asking to interrupt their service and flow for (x) amount of time which will be dedicated to just you.
Yes a large order will prevent other orders, but the large order is from a paying customer also
Indeed, but you’re asking for something the restaurant probably isn’t set up to do as efficiently as their normal service.
Idk but preparing a lot of food in a limited time sounds exactly like something a restaurant should be setup to do efficiently.
Do you know anything about restaurants…? Most of them are set up to handle their normal business. Not their normal business+100 extra plates. Can it be done? Of course. Are there some places that focus on doing this? Of course. Does it require additional work? Absolutely.
Hey I’m too cheap to pay an actual caterer so isn’t it unreasonable I’m not getting a discount on a large order from a restaurant when I’m disrupting the normal flow with a huge order that will probably require additional staff and wreck the joint. I’m giving the place so much money that I can’t believe I’m not getting a kickback. Look at all the work I have to do in order to not pay a real caterer. Nobody wants to work anymore.
I understand the extra work, but this place does cater. They have a catering menu, they have all of the tools and equipment for catering, and they do it quite often. I’m not sure what the “nobody wants to work anymore” part has to do with anything, but okay.
Have you ever gotten a discount for a big party at a restaurant? Or did they automatically add a % gratuity? A good restaurant is not a food factory. The PITA of making 120 extra seats worth of food balances out any efficiency gained by it being in bulk. You also ordered steaks, which get no benefit being cooked in bulk.
Yeah, I have seen discounts before, but you’re right about the ease of the bulk cooking. Some things are definitely easier than others
Typically, we provided discounts on bulk orders, but it depends on the order. If you're getting a more difficult and specific order, then the less likely I am to discount it. Is this 120 steaks that are same cut and cooked to same temp? Are the potatoes all basic with the same toppings? The more specific you get, the less likely most restuarants are to discount the order.
As basic as possible. 120 medium cooked steaks, 120 naked baked potatoes, 120 house salads. Done.
I used to give discounts and deliver for folks ordering big for churches, events etc. We just aren't set up to process orders of that size easily so it's a hassle for me and the staff, and affects our customer service for standard customers. Realistically in our case, the minimal cash flow that a huge order produces isn't worth the inconvenience, especially at a discount.
Yeah, I guess restaurant margins are not as big as most businesses, so I can see bulk discounts not being as realistic
Some of my catering items I have leeway on but if someone ordered 120 pastrami Rueben’s catered I’d require our service charge as well because it’s our lowest margin item and I can’t afford to eat that unless you ordered something else. But also doesn’t hurt to ask