|
Panera isn't alone. A restaurant known as One World Everybody Eats in Salt Lake City adopted the pay-what-you-want idea a decade ago. Cafe Gratitude, a small vegan cafe chain in California, offers a single payment-by-donation menu item each day. Software known as freeware is frequently distributed under this model. The rock band Radiohead released an album, "In Rainbows," in 2007 and let online buyers decide how much to pay. Humble Bundle releases video games as pay-what-you-want downloads, with a percentage of money going to charity. It doesn't always work. Yogaview, which operates three yoga studios in Chicago, tried a donations-only format at its Wicker Park studio for nearly two years before turning to a traditional payment method. Co-owner Tom Quinn said that while many customers were generous, too many others were not. "You'd get a class with six people and there would be 12 bucks in donations," Quinn said. "It got frustrating to see how some people weren't owning up to it." A study published in Science magazine in 2010 found pay-what-you-want customers will pay substantially more if they know a portion goes to charity. But that same study, led by Leif Nelson of the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business, found that inclusion of a charitable component made people less likely to buy
-- possibly, Nelson said, because they stressed over the appropriate amount of generosity. "There is some concern that turkey chili will simply become a little less popular," Nelson said of the Panera experiment. "On the other hand, I think that those who choose to buy it will be reluctant to pay low prices." Shaich is optimistic based on what he's seen firsthand. He worked at the opening of the Clayton store, making food and waiting on customers. He saw well-to-do frat boys leaving without paying a dime, but more often, he saw people being generous. Even those clearly in need dug into their pockets. "A lot of cynics think Americans are just gaming the system," Shaich said. "Our experience is very different. People do the right thing and are willing to take care of each other."
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2013 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching & Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries
Community |
Perspectives
|
Law & Courts |
Leisure Time
|
Spiritual Life |
Health & Fitness |
Teen Scene
Calendar
|
Letters to the Editor