Restaurant-hospitality.com - Because Chipotle Mexican Grill is a public company whose stock is red hot and whose customer base is vast, its recent move to raise prices got a lot of attention. Wall Streeters loved the idea of what turned out to be roughly a six percent boost. Many customers didn’t, and they went on social media to register their displeasure. If you’re thinking about raising prices to keep your restaurant’s food costs in line, get ready for strong reactions from your texting, tweeting and online-review-writing customers.

Of course, patrons have never liked paying more for any restaurant meal. But now they have a platform on which to publicly vent their spleen about higher prices and to publicly commiserate with other customers who don’t like them, either. Restaurant operators now have to carefully calibrate any price hikes. Otherwise, perception of the restaurant’s value proposition can turn negative in a hurry. Continue