I really enjoyed the distinction between guiding choice and setting a trap.
The best menu engineering still has to feel like hospitality, not a card trick performed too close to the table. That balance is where the trust lives.
Can't agree more! Trust has terrible ergonomics that way.
It is built slowly, almost invisibly, through small repetitions — tone, timing, consistency, follow-through. And then one careless moment can make the whole structure suddenly visible for the wrong reason.
That is why communication is never just about what is said. It is also about what the other person learns they can safely expect from us.
I like this, especially the point about guiding choice rather than setting a trap.
The part I would push slightly is this:
menu engineering should not only ask, “How do we move the guest toward the profitable item?”
It should also ask, “Does the guest still feel the choice was theirs?”
That matters more than we admit.
Anchors, decoys, and placement can lift spend. But if the guest later feels they were managed too neatly, the restaurant may win the check and lose a little trust.
The best menu engineering does not feel like selling.
It feels like help.
The guest spends more, but leaves feeling smart, not steered.
Menu engineering is really just empathy in disguise....anticipating what a guest needs before they even know it. Love the focus on boosting spend through better experience design rather than just price hikes.
I really enjoyed the distinction between guiding choice and setting a trap.
The best menu engineering still has to feel like hospitality, not a card trick performed too close to the table. That balance is where the trust lives.
Absolutely! And you know what they say about trust, it takes a lifetime to build and a second to lose
Can't agree more! Trust has terrible ergonomics that way.
It is built slowly, almost invisibly, through small repetitions — tone, timing, consistency, follow-through. And then one careless moment can make the whole structure suddenly visible for the wrong reason.
That is why communication is never just about what is said. It is also about what the other person learns they can safely expect from us.
I like this, especially the point about guiding choice rather than setting a trap.
The part I would push slightly is this:
menu engineering should not only ask, “How do we move the guest toward the profitable item?”
It should also ask, “Does the guest still feel the choice was theirs?”
That matters more than we admit.
Anchors, decoys, and placement can lift spend. But if the guest later feels they were managed too neatly, the restaurant may win the check and lose a little trust.
The best menu engineering does not feel like selling.
It feels like help.
The guest spends more, but leaves feeling smart, not steered.
Menu engineering is really just empathy in disguise....anticipating what a guest needs before they even know it. Love the focus on boosting spend through better experience design rather than just price hikes.