Like every other comp’ed meal, it is accounted for ultimately in the the pricing of the meals. More so in the big chains, since a comping a meal sometimes is good overall for business, it’s accounted for in the pricing model. For the consumer it’s a wash, as they will get some meals comped, and pay for some which includes a amount extra to account for the comps they receive.
Liquor is regulated by the state (at least it is in Pennsylvania). By law, a bar cannot comp beer/wine/liquor in excess of one standard drink per 24 hour period.
Pennsylvania is absolutely anal about alcohol. A bar-owning friend of mine was fined by the state for posting on Facebook “Mix-six pack; buy five the sixth is free”. He had previously been fine with “Mix-six pack; buy five the sixth is a penny”. He can sell a beer for a penny, but giving it away for free is a big no-no.
Tyop. :smack: Sometimes my thoughts go faster than my fingers.
Oh, I agree. I said “Just buy 90 next time” as an example but my point was that it is worth recording what happens to your stock just so you can make the kind of analysis you are describing.
Maybe GQ answer. How involved in the waiter/ress? I’ve had this happen to me twice, overcooked steak, in the same restaurant, on two different occasions. Although I left a good tip by USA standards (and this was in Canada) both times, I could have justified discriminating. The first time, having shown the waitress, she agreed, “oh, yeah, that’s not medium rare” and took care of the situation. The second time, she either didn’t quite believe me, or didn’t know what to do, and had to call her manager to help out. I didn’t fault her for this in the tip, but it left a bad impression, to the point that I remember it today. Based on the first experience, I knew that she was obviously empowered and had some degree of ownership over the situation, so defaulting to her boss was weak.
Oddly, on the first one, they took care of it, and gave me a new steak, making me happy and satisfied. For the second one, they tried to comp me new steak. I actually refused, because that was stupid; just make me whole. In the end, it was my birthday, so I requested a dessert instead of the comp’d steak, and that was to make them happy and not me.
This the “The Keg,” a kind of regional chain in Ontario.
COGS?
Did I miss where you spelled out what that is? If so, sorry about that. If not, why didn’t you say what it means?
Cost of goods sold
It is an accounting initialism for Cost of Goods Sold, which is a category of all of the costs that go into a…good that is sold. It includes materials (food, in this case) and direct labor (the cooks and servers) that go directly to making the good. It does not include overhead, like paying the electric bill.
It’s an Accounting 101 term so Joey P may be so familiar with it that it didn’t occur to him that others might not be.
Yes, when my wife managed a restaurant, she could “comp” meals for goodwill - complaints, errors, etc. She would even comp part of the meal (without telling the customer) to reduce the amount of the bill because certain ethnic groups were noted for not tipping and with a big group, the server deserved a tip. (Being fair and keeping staff happy is as important as happy customers)
Who pays for that? As others note, the restaurant has accumulated the expense of the COGS (components of the meal) and the labour and other overhead to prepare and serve it, and received no money for it. So those costs are essentially paid out of reducing the total the profits, which are made from other meals. If the restaurant screws up you meal and apologizes and tries to give you a replacement, done right, for free, you are more likely to keep coming back than if they tell you “It’s still a steak. Quit complaining.” fixing problems is a cost of doing business, like the inevitable waste. The management or owner may comp meals for friends or celebrities - if the owner does, that’s him giving away his profits. If the manager does, it’s theft unless the owner says they can. One problem, especially with fast food is employees giving stuff to their friends. Celebrities can be good for a restaurant… “Let’s eat there. May we’ll see Snookie from Housewives…”
As for alcohol, the problem is that some people will try any trick in the book to get free booze because it’s an addiction. Plus, there’s a lot of money flowing for limited effort, so an incentive to steal or cheat. (It’s a lot easier and less noticeable to pour an extra shot than prepare a full course steak meal).
(Also note that with McD’s - my wife worked where they instituted a rule that all leftover food at closing goes in the trash. This was necessary when she saw that if the staff could take home the precooked but unsold food, they would be incentivised to make too many mcNuggets or burgers close to closing time… abusing a privilege. Cooked but unsold food is waste, which also cuts total profits.)