Who exactly pays for the meal when its “on the house”?

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Who exactly pays for the meal when its “on the house”?

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10 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

If the owner or manager said it, the store pays for it. If a waiter or similar says it, that person personally is paying for it out of their pocket

Anonymous 0 Comments

Sometimes as a server/bartender I’ll say that to a customer and then pay for it myself, usually when my boss is more concerned about the bottom line than customer service. I’d rather pay than give bad service.

Anonymous 0 Comments

If it’s a big reataurant or chain they have a budget for that, including refunds and such from mistakes. But smaller restaurants just take the cost, or the owner pays for your meal. They just mark it down as am expense or make a note of the cost.

Think of it this way. They have costs (what they spend money on to run their business), and they have income (the money they make from selling the food and service). Each os made up of a bunch of little events that are marked and noted in some record, then added up at some period (like the end of the month).

If it’s “on the house” the food used is marked as a cost, but it’s noted that there was no income, or that the income for that particular transaction was $0. And then that just gets added on to the monthly total.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Businesses have expense accounts. Restaurants are a business. They either have their own account or the owner puts up their own money. The money to pay the staff and buy the food should come from these accounts. However, even the staff sometimes may be donating their labor for the success of the restaurant to make money later.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Just curious, what happens if the owner invites a group of people to try the menu, the servers have been told that *they* can try the menu and then suddendly tells them that they can, in fact, try the menu as they said but they also have to serve the group of people whom they invited? Like, the staff was there, got something to eat but had to be the server for the “friends of the owner” and didn’t get any money for working, the case being they didn’t even know they had to work while being able to try the menu.

I understand that the food was “on the house” but it kinda wasn’t since the workers didn’t get any money for doing this. Also, the food was way cheaper than what they would’ve paid on a normal workday for the hours that the servers where there.

Anonymous 0 Comments

No one pays, but your missing payment will cost profit to the owner and tax to the state.

So basically it’s like the owner and the state are paying.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Most restaurant managers budget for a certain dollar value in ‘comps’ (free food) they can give away each week / month. Some of this food might go towards someone who’s food was messed up, or a birthday sundae, or just towards employee meals.

Anonymous 0 Comments

In Vegas you end up paying for it many times over at the blackjack tables. Then the government takes your family, house and garnishes your waiges. Even your side piece Laurain won’t see you.

All because you got a “free” steak medium rare with a baked potato side and bacon bits. Its always the bacon bits.

Anonymous 0 Comments

It means no price to you. The house is the “establishment” so the owner of the restaurant isn’t charging you. But it still cost him to buy three ingredients store them have someone prep them, make them to order clean the dishes etc so it’s not “free”.

Also if you’re in a service restaurant it reminds you that even though you’re getting a deal it’s still a transaction so don’t forget to tip the server.

Anonymous 0 Comments

The restaurant covers the cost. Typically restaurants have budgets for food waste, so it will come out of there and they’re allowed to do so.

That meal that costs you like $12, may cost the restaurant $2-3