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Panera Doesn’t Offer a Free Lunch—It Offers Caring

By Venessa Wong on January 28, 2013  

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-28/panera-doesnt-offer-a-free-lunch-it-offers-caring#r=nav-r-story

What happens when a business does not require customers to pay for its products? Panera Cares would know. The community-based, pay-what-you-want, nonprofit arm of bakery-cafe chain Panera Bread (PNRA) opened its fifth store, in Boston, on Jan. 23. While the restaurants list suggested prices for the items, customers can pay more, less, or nothing. They can also volunteer time instead.

“People want to contribute something” even if they can’t pay money, says Kate Antonacci, project manager of Panera Cares. So every now and then, diners will toss alternate forms of payment—or expressions of gratitude—into the donation bin.

Jimmy Hoppers, now general manager of Boston’s Panera Cares, recalls that at the Chicago restaurant a war vet in his 40s left poetry in the donation bin two to three times each week. “They were about everything under the sun, love poems, loss poems,” says Hoppers. “You could have put them in a collection book.” Sorry, no odes to Panera.

Others regularly brought flowers—bouquets of lilies, orchids, and daisies—for the lobby. Sometimes they were fished out of the dumpster from a nearby Trader Joe’s, though they still brightened up the space.

A few patrons tossed pen and pencil sketches into the donation bin. Pranksters left fake currency: kids’ play money, tiny toy money, photocopied bills, and even confetti. “It’s not uncommon. Half the time it’s wrapped up with more than a normal meal’s cost in real bills. They just think they are going to be funny,” says Hoppers. “Why would you try? We’re not [asking for money] anyway!”

Even the work lunch crowd isn’t predictable. When the first Panera Cares restaurant opened in St. Louis in 2010, a few nearby offices each sent one employee down to order for the entire floor—and leave only a few dollars. By day two, the restaurant implemented a one-entree-per-customer policy for those who weren’t paying the suggested price, says Antonacci.

On its first day, the new Boston store took in 109 percent of the retail value of 700 transactions. The percentage tends to decline after opening week. So far, the four stores in Portland, St. Louis, Detroit, and Chicago are collecting an average of 75 percent of the suggested price, enough to cover operating costs. About one-fifth of diners pay less than the suggested price.

Occasional oddities aside, Panera sees the program as a sustainable way for communities to feed themselves, including people that cannot afford to buy food. As of now, “There’s no intention to close any of these down,” says Antonacci.

요약

원하는 만큼 돈을 지불하는 비영리 베이커리 카페 체인 Panera Bread는 보스턴에 5번째 가게를 열었다. 또한 고객들은 돈을 지불하는 대신 자원봉사를 할 수도 있다. 어떤 이들은 Trader Joe 근처에 있는 휴지통에서 가져온 꽃을 가게 로비에 놓는다. 그리고 펜이나 연필을 모금함에 넣는 이들도 있고, 장난꾸러기들은 장난감 돈을 넣기도 한다.

직장인들의 점심은 예측하기 어렵다. Panera Cares가 세인트 루이스에 처음 오픈했을 때, 같은 층 직원들의 점심 식사를 주문하기 위해 직원 한명을 보내기도 했다. 단지 몇달러로. 그래서 돈을 지불하지 않는 이들을 위해 한 사람 당 한 식사 메뉴 정책을 실행했다. 

첫 날에는 새로 오픈한 보스턴 가게에서는 700번의 거래량에 상응하는 109%의 가치를 얻었으나 점점 그 비율은 하락했다. 지금까지 포트랜드, 세인트 루인스,디트로이트, 시카고 4지점은 운영하기에 충분한 비용인 가격의 평균 75%만을 모으고 있다. 고객들의 약 5분의 1만이 원래 가격보다 덜 내고 있는 셈이다. 

Panera는 이 프로그램은 지역 사회를 스스로 먹여 살리는 지속가능한 한 방법으로 본다.