Replacing eggs hits dining rooms: experts say consumers should be more afraid of the menu price increase ncvrs.com

Consumers are affected by temporary surcharges due to the lack of eggs in the American food system. However, experts told Fox Business that these surcharges were the smallest of the two wickedness, compared to the increase of the menu.

Michelle Korsmo, CEO of the National Restaurant Association (NAR), said that these surcharges are temporary measures and can be removed from menus when macroeconomic conditions improve.

“When a restaurant operator gives a surcharge to the menu in this situation, it is usually because they are optimistic to be solved quickly and because they want to be transparent with their customers about their growing costs,” Korsmo told Fox Business.

For example, Waffle House, the Southern Breakfast Food Chain, gave a temporary 50 cent surcharge on Monday to all of its menu.

Waffle House, other companies add the egg surcharge

The company has blamed the dramatic increase in egg prices due to dramatic growth of egg prices due to the extremely pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) or avian flu, saying “consumers and restaurants are forced to make difficult decisions.”

Although the company did not determine when the fee was removed, it claimed to set or remove the surcharge when market conditions allow.

Changing the price of the menu often increases the cost of the operator. This does not allow the same transparency to provide customers about why the price changes, Korsmo added.

The proposed tariffs of Trump can increase food prices, according to experts

“I think that is usually what we see with other types of inflation … It never returns as low as a tougher economy in an inflation period,” Korsmo said.

Sylvain Charlebois, professor and senior director of the AGRI-Food Analytics Laboratory, emphasized that surcharges can be adjusted or removed because costs are fluctuating, while menu changes are more durable and noticeable.

“Customers generally react more negatively to visible price increases than separate charges, even if the net cost remains unchanged,” said Charlebois. “While consumers cannot love additional fees, surcharges provide transparency by determining specific costs such as the supply chain disorder, labor costs or credit card processing fees.”

Get FOX Business by clicking HERE

Forrest Leighton, Vice President of the Customer News Platform Chatter Marketing, told Fox Business that many restaurant customers are questioning the value of higher-priced menu items.

Chatmeter helps restaurants analyze customer feedback to inform the menu items, prices and operations decisions. His data show that the number of pricing opinions, which “overpriced” for restaurants increased by more than 40% in 2024, while the “cheap” word “cheap” dropped by 10%.

However, surcharges can provide clients with transparency as to why the price goes, which will help to get tastier, said Leighton, adding that loyal customers are less likely to leave the price increase, which they consider temporary and are outside the brand. , which are the surcharge often.

Max Chodorow, one of the owners of New York -i Jean, told Fox Business that he wanted to give a surcharge but could not legally in the city.

“Our costs are constantly increasing and we can only raise prices with consumer psychology,” Chodorow said.

He said that the surcharge could be made easier, as people are primarily responding to the menu price sticker. The only surcharge is that restaurants can apply in New York State, motorways at a certain or special event, and Chodorow says some guidelines have to be published to the customer under certain guidelines.

They can’t allow them to do nothing for “over -going workers,” he said.