101号桌的麻烦（更新版）

本消息来自普希金工业公司。在《大空头》有声书中，作者迈克尔·刘易斯亲自讲述了他对美国经济如何被推向悬崖边缘的剖析。这部原著故事已被改编成奥斯卡获奖电影《大空头》，您可在任何有声书平台收听。

This message comes from Pushkin Industries. In The Big Short audiobook, author Michael Lewis narrates his account of how The US economy was driven over the cliff. Hear the original story that was turned into an Oscar winning film, The Big Short, available wherever you get audiobooks.

这里是NPR的《金钱星球》节目。

This is Planet Money from NPR.

大家好，我是尼克·方丹。你有没有过这样的经历——走进一家餐厅就觉得'这地方太完美了，我能在这里待上好几个小时，心甘情愿掏空钱包'？

Hey there. It's Nick Fountain. You know when you go into a restaurant and you're like, this place is perfect. I can stay here for hours. They can have all my money.

我想把每道菜都点个遍。有时候吸引你的不是菜单上的菜品，而是餐厅的整体氛围。每当我遇到这种情况，就会想起2020年我们做的那期节目——当时我们采访了一位餐厅老板和一位餐饮顾问，这位顾问整天研究如何从像我这样的顾客身上最大化收益，同时还要提供绝佳的用餐体验。节目很有趣，今天我们将带来节目中那家核心餐厅的最新动态。不过首先，让我们重温原版节目。

I just want all the dishes. And sometimes it has less to do with what's on the menu than how the restaurant looks and feels. Well, every time that happens to me, I think back on the show that we did back in 2020, where we hung out with a restaurateur and a restaurant consultant who thinks all day about how to squeeze the most out of people like me, the customer, while also trying to provide a great dining experience. It's a fun show, and today we have an update from the restaurant tour at the center of it. But first, we're gonna listen to the original show.

节目这就开始，你们一定会喜欢的。

Here it is. You are gonna love it.

丹·帕什曼。

Dan Pashman.

嘿，莎莉。

Hey, Sally.

你还记得那个场景。那是去年夏天，非常炎热的一天。

You will recall the scene. It is last summer, very hot day.

我本该穿短裤的。

I should have worn shorts.

当时你我出现在纽约市的一家小餐馆，确切地说是在皇后区的长岛市。

And you and I show up at a little restaurant in New York City, specifically in Long Island City, Queens.

这是家名为Ada的休闲印度餐厅，店名大致可译为'聚会点'，这正是创始人Rani Mazumdar想要营造的氛围。

It's a casual Indian place called Ada, which translates roughly to hangout spot. And that's the vibe founder Rani Mazumdar was going for.

你就是Rani？是的。我是Sally。

You're Rani? Yeah. I'm Sally.

你好吗？很高兴认识你。

How are you? Very nice to meet you.

Rani深谙餐饮业。他目前在纽约拥有三家餐厅，但也经营过两家已关闭的店铺，其中一家就在这个位置。

Rani knows the restaurant business. He currently owns three places in New York, but he's also run two that have closed, including one in this very location.

他告诉我们，Ada的整个概念就是一种冒险。

And he told us that the whole concept of Ada is a risk.

我们在这样的餐厅里冒了很多风险。在纽约供应羊脑并不常见，因为你会被吓坏，觉得这可能太具民族特色了。

We took a lot of chances in a restaurant like this. Serving goat brains isn't really a normal protocol here in New York because you're scared out of your mind, like, maybe it's way too ethnic.

当Ada获得好评并被提名高端的詹姆斯·比尔德奖时，生意突然发生了变化。出乎意料的是，Rani遇到了问题。问题不在于食物，而在于实体空间及其与资金的关系。

When Ada got noticed with some great reviews and a fancy James Beard Award nomination, suddenly the business changed. And unexpectedly, Rani had a problem. The problem is not the food. It's actually the physical space and how the physical space relates to the money.

好的，要解释这一点，首先你得明白Ronnie当初设计餐厅时的初衷。我们

Okay. So to explain this, first, you got to understand that Ronnie designed his restaurant one way. We were

真的从未预料到会有超过五个街区半径以外的顾客。

genuinely never expecting people beyond a five block radius.

街对面有一所大学，该地区有很多年轻的专业人士工作。

There's a college across the street, lots of young professionals working in the area.

但现在，Uda已成为一个目的地。

But now, Uda is a destination.

世界各地的人们纷至沓来。这里已不再是快餐店了，顾客逗留的时间远超我们预期，这也带来了

People from different parts of the world are coming. This is no longer a quick bite restaurant. People are spending more time than we expected. That also creates

相当大的经济压力。

a lot a certain economic pressure.

确实如此。所以椅子才没有加软垫。

It does. That's why the chairs don't have cushions.

我是认真的。如果椅子太舒服，顾客可能会久坐不走。而罗尼坚持低价策略，这意味着要想盈利，就必须让顾客快速用餐后离场，为下批客人腾出位置。

I'm dead serious. If the chairs are too comfortable, people might stay too long. And Ronnie is set on keeping prices low, which means if he's gonna turn a good profit, he needs people to eat quickly, then leave and make space for more customers.

但也不能让顾客觉得太仓促。我是说，当然要让他们有足够好的体验才会再次光顾。平衡，对，这是所有餐饮经营者的关键。

But not feel too rushed. I mean, wants them to have a good enough time that they come back, of course. Balance. Yeah. That's the key for any restaurateur.

必须充分利用每张餐桌、每个座位和营业的每一分钟。为此餐厅需要平衡三要素：价格、时长和空间，每个因素都需要权衡取舍。

You gotta get the most out of every table, every seat, every minute that you're open. And to do that, a restaurant has to balance three things. Price, timing, and space. All of them come with trade offs.

没错。要么低价快周转，要么打造舒适环境让顾客愿意多花钱，但他们会停留更久。

Yeah. You can do low prices and quick turnover, or you can make it really comfy so that people are okay paying more, but then they stay longer.

当然，你希望餐厅能容纳尽可能多的客人，但也不能过度拥挤，否则没人愿意再来。我是说，没人喜欢在人群中挤着吃饭。

And of course, you wanna fit as many people in your restaurant as possible, but you can't go too far with that because then no one's gonna wanna come back. I mean, people don't like to eat literally in a human pile.

所以需要权衡。一家餐厅如何平衡这些取舍，决定了它的氛围和盈利。

So trade offs. And how a place balances these trade offs sets the tone and the profits for a restaurant.

这个行业的利润很薄。所以如果平衡不好，即使是获得詹姆斯·比尔德奖提名的餐厅也很脆弱。

And this industry operates on tiny margins. So if that balance is off, even a James Beard Award nominated restaurant is vulnerable.

罗尼做了很多正确的事，但他的问题就明摆在餐厅最显眼的位置，所有人都能看到。

Ronnie is doing a lot of things right, but his problem, it is right smack in the front of the restaurant for everyone to see.

尤达最差的桌子。

Uda's worst table.

这是哪张桌子？

What table is this?

101号桌。

One zero one.

你说这话时带着一种不祥的预感。这是

You say that with like an ominous. This is the

唯一一张高脚桌。

only table that's a high top.

因为它位置更高。它是从地面抬升起来的。

Because it's higher up. It's raised off the ground.

是的。我们选择它是因为

Yes. And we wanted that because

我们想要一个视野稍好的位置，让人们能真正看到外面。罗尼凭借多年经验，认为101号桌会是餐厅里最好的位置。我是说，这是靠窗座位对吧？通常人们都喜欢靠窗座位。

we wanted sort of a little nice vantage point so people can really see outside. Ronnie, with his years of experience, he felt that Table 101 was gonna be the best table in the house. I mean, it's the window seat. Right? And usually people love the window seat.

但在Uda餐厅，这张靠窗桌的客单价却是全店最低的。罗尼无法理解。所以我们给罗尼带来了秘密武器——斯蒂芬妮·罗布森。她是餐厅心理学与设计专家，已同意来Ada进行实验。

But at Uda, this window table has the restaurant's lowest check average. Ronnie doesn't get it. That's why we brought Ronnie a secret weapon. Stephanie Robson. She's an expert on restaurant psychology and design, and she has agreed to come to Ada and conduct an experiment.

她能运用自己的研究，将101号桌变成餐厅里最受欢迎的座位吗？

Can she use her research to turn Table 101 into the best seat in the house?

同时，也请向我、丹以及其他人展示餐厅用来让我们消费更多的小技巧。大家好，欢迎来到《金钱星球》，我是莎莉·赫尔姆。

And also show me and Dan and everyone else the little tricks that restaurants use to get us to spend more. Hello, and welcome to Planet Money. I'm Sally Helm.

我是丹·帕什曼，《勺子》节目的主持人，这是一档关于美食与饮食的播客。今天节目中，我们将借鉴真人秀的手法，进行一次数据驱动的餐厅改造。

And I'm Dan Pashman, host of The Sporkful, a podcast about food and eating. Today on the show, we take a page from reality TV. We're doing a data driven restaurant makeover.

这是一场细节的较量，里面的一切都是可调整的目标。

It is a game of inches, and everything inside is fair game.

我们要彻底拆解你的整个餐厅。我太喜欢这个主意了。

We're totally dismantling your entire restaurant. I love it.

本消息来自《魔鬼经济学》电台。魔鬼经济学合著者史蒂芬·J·杜布纳揭示万物隐藏的真相——从人类行为的怪癖到污染与香蕉，《魔鬼经济学》发掘那些你从未想过自己会想知道的事。在任意播客平台均可收听。

This message comes from Freakonomics Radio. Freakonomics coauthor Stephen J Dubner discovers the hidden side of everything. From the quirks of human behavior to pollution and bananas, Freakonomics uncovers the things you never knew you wanted to know. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

我们在Uta餐厅外的街道上遇到了斯蒂芬妮·罗布森。

We meet Stephanie Robson in the street outside Uta.

你以前来过这里吗？

Have you been here before?

我没有。我花了好一会儿才找到它。

I have not. It took me a while to find it.

我们选择斯蒂芬妮是因为她是解决101号餐桌问题的完美人选。她为数十家餐厅提供过咨询，专长是研究设计如何影响消费。她在康奈尔大学教授这些内容。

We picked Stephanie because she's the perfect person to figure out the problem with table one zero one. She's consulted with dozens of restaurants. Her specialty, the way design affects how much we spend. She teaches this stuff at Cornell.

斯蒂芬妮做过一项研究，表明播放快节奏歌曲能让顾客提前7到8分钟离开餐厅。

Stephanie did one study that showed that playing fast songs got people out of a restaurant seven or eight minutes quicker.

其他研究指出，快节奏音乐还可能让人每分钟消费更多。斯蒂芬妮说这可能是超市总播放八十年代音乐的原因。

Other research suggests that if you play faster music, people might also spend more per minute. Stephanie says that could be why grocery stores play so much eighties music.

最近她把主要精力都放在研究餐桌上。

And these days, she is very focused on tables.

餐桌间距对顾客的影响——这话题和其他研究者交流时真有点难为情。有人钻研物理新理论，而我在研究餐厅餐桌距离。

How close tables can be and what effect that has on the guest, which is kind of mortifying, you know, when you talk to other people who do research. And some people will be coming up with a new theory of physics, and I'm studying the distance of restaurant tables.

不过斯蒂芬妮，郑重声明，我认为你的研究非常重要。

But Well, for the record, Stephanie, I think your research is very important.

好的，谢谢你，丹。

Well, thank you, Dan.

这很重要，尤其是对经营餐厅的人来说。餐厅真正卖的不是食物，而是空间。这就是他们的业务本质。

It is important, especially to someone running a restaurant. Restaurants don't really sell food. They they sell space. That's what they're in the business of doing.

你经营的是房地产生意。

You're running a real estate business.

这就是房地产生意。完全正确。

It is a real estate business. That's exactly right.

那么食客就像是在租桌子？对，对。想想看，当你去

And the diners are like renting tables? Yeah. Yeah. Think about it. When you go to

一家消费均价很高、价格昂贵的餐厅时，他们可以给你

a restaurant that has a really high check average, really high prices, they can give you

更大的桌子。他们能提供更大的桌子是因为你付了更高的租金，他们负担得起。

a bigger table. They can give you a bigger table because they can afford to because you're paying more in rent.

而花这笔钱，这笔额外的钱，你实际上是在用空间换取时间。

And for that money, for that extra money, you are quite literally getting more space for more time.

没错，正是如此。如果你去的那家餐厅没有这样的平均消费水平，想想你去过的快餐店。在麦当劳可没有舒适的卡座，这是有意为之，因为他们不想让你久留。

Yes. That's exactly right. And so if you're at a restaurant where they don't have that kind of a check average, think about fast food restaurants you've been to. You don't get a comfy booth at McDonald's. That's on purpose because they don't want you to stay.

斯蒂芬妮准备好接手101号桌了。

Stephanie is ready to take on Table 101.

所以我们一会儿进去时，你会主要关注什么？

So when we walk in here in a sec, what are you gonna be looking for?

我首先会看他们有什么样的座位风格。但光是看桌椅的搭配和摆放位置就能形成第一印象。你也是这样吗？当你走进一家餐厅时，你的目光会——

First thing I'm gonna look for is what style of seating they have. But I get a first impression just looking at the mix of tables and where they are. Is that always what it's like for you? When you walk into a restaurant, do you your eye

直接看向餐桌？

go straight to the table?

我单身是有原因的，莎莉。

I am single for a reason, Sally.

斯蒂芬妮以前无论去哪儿都会在包里带把卷尺。她说自己从没在初次约会时拿出来过，但有一次在华盛顿特区外的五角城购物中心美食广场被赶了出来，因为她当时正在画餐桌的小示意图，保安觉得这很可疑。

Stephanie used to bring a tape measure in her purse everywhere she went. She says she has never whipped it out on a first date, but she did once get kicked out of the food court at the Pentagon City Mall outside DC because she was drawing little diagrams of the tables, and the guards thought that was suspicious.

我觉得这完全正常啊。

It sounds totally normal to me.

我们要不要做？要不要进去？就这么定了。好吧。

Should we do it? Should we go inside? Let's do it. Alright.

好吧。斯蒂芬妮，给我们描述下你看到的情况。

Alright. Stephanie, describe to us what you're seeing.

我看到一组非常有趣的餐桌组合。这家餐厅的布局很特别。

I am seeing a really interesting mix of tables. This is an unusually shaped restaurant.

艾达餐厅是狭长型的。从门口就能一览无余。前窗位置是问题桌101号，然后沿长墙排列着一排双人桌，配有几乎贯穿整个餐厅的长条软座。

Ada is long and narrow. From the door, we can see the whole thing. There's the problem table one zero one in the front window. Then it's a row of two person tables against a long wall with a banquette. That's like bench seating that runs almost the whole length of the restaurant.

房间另一侧还有个小角落，像个壁龛。

And on the other side of the room, there's a little nook, an alcove.

在Stephanie看来，餐厅的每个细节都是对用餐者行为与期待的微妙暗示。

In Stephanie's mind, every part of the restaurant is a subtle clue for diners about how we should behave and what we should expect.

比如研究表明，使用沉重的餐具会让你更愿意消费。你会想'天啊，这叉子拿在手里这么沉，这份三文鱼肯定值30美元'。

Like if you have heavy cutlery, research suggests you are willing to spend more. You're like, oh my god. This fork is so heavy in my hand. This salmon must be worth $30.

没错。而如果用纸盘配塑料叉，你就会觉得'这显然是养殖的三文鱼'。

Right. Whereas if it comes on a paper plate with a plastic fork, you're like, clearly, this salmon has been farmed.

我在这里吃过劣质三文鱼。好，首先Stephanie环顾四周。

I did low quality salmon here. Right. So first, Stephanie looks around.

她把注意力集中在家具上。

She zooms in on the furniture.

我看到的所有椅子都是金属的，这种椅子不适合久坐。我们常根据舒适时长来讨论餐厅椅子，你可以选择两小时椅或三小时椅。

The chairs that I see are all metal. You're not gonna sit in these for a long time. We sometimes talk about restaurant chairs based on how long you're comfortable. You can order a two hour chair or a three hour chair.

从餐厅供应商那里订购。比如你是牛排馆，牛排定价很高还卖昂贵红酒，就可以订购带扶手的舒适三小时椅。目的是让客人待更久，好推销鸡尾酒和甜点。

Order them, like, from your restaurant supplier. So say you're a steakhouse and you're gonna charge a lot for your steaks and sell expensive bottles of wine, you can order the nice, cushy three hour chairs with the armrests. Your plan is to have people stay longer so you can sell them an extra cocktail, some desserts.

但Uda的这些金属椅子是怎么回事？

But these metal chairs at Uda?

这是什么，三十分钟的椅子吗？

What is this, like a thirty minute chair?

这大概是一把四十二分三十秒的椅子。哇。

This is probably a forty two minute and thirty second chair. Wow.

我觉得Stephanie说三十秒是在开玩笑，但如果她说对了，我也不会惊讶。

I think Stephanie was kidding about the thirty seconds, but it wouldn't shock me if she was right.

正说着这事，能告诉我们这些椅子详情的人Ronnie走了过来。

As we're talking about this, up walks the guy who can tell us all about these chairs, Ronnie.

所以Stephanie，Ronnie，Ronnie，Stephanie。

So Stephanie, Ronnie, Ronnie, Stephanie.

嗨，Ronnie。是啊。

Hi, Ronnie. Yeah.

好的。罗尼和斯蒂芬妮，我们直接开始吧。其实我想问你们几个关于你们餐厅的问题，如果你们不介意的话。

Nice. Ronnie and Stephanie, get right into it. Actually, I wanted to ask you a couple questions about your restaurant, if you don't

不介意，当然可以。

mind. Sure.

于是她一开始就问，墙上那个酷炫的小凹室是怎么回事？

So she starts off by asking, what's up with that cool little alcove in the wall there?

那原本是个拖把间，我们把它改造成了一个小角落，结果却成了店里最受欢迎的座位。

That was a mop closet, which we turned into a a little nook, but that turned out to be the best seat in the house.

我正想问为什么那里会有这个，但你刚刚已经回答我了。原来是个拖把间。

I was gonna ask you why it's there, but you just answered that for me. It was a mop closet.

就整体消费金额而言，这个拖把间改造的餐桌是餐厅里最赚钱的座位。

The mop closet table is the top table in the restaurant in terms of overall check average.

斯蒂芬妮听到这话后表示，啊，没错。我早料到了。她的一个重要研究发现是顾客喜欢有依靠的餐桌——要么靠墙要么在角落。我们都不喜欢暴露在开放空间的感觉。

Stephanie hears this and is like, ah, yes. I thought so. One of her big research findings is that customers like tables that are anchored. That means they're up against a wall or in a corner. We don't like feeling exposed.

我们希望能够捍卫自己的空间。

We like to be able to defend our space.

我们本质上还是穴居人。

We're still basically cave people.

实际上ADDA餐厅有很多固定式餐桌，这很符合我们大脑中原始的那部分需求。其中许多都靠着那张带长条软座的长墙摆放。不过当然了，窗边还有张特别的桌子。

And actually, there are a lot of anchored tables at ADDA, good for the caveman part of our brains. A lot of them are up against that long wall with the banquette. But then, of course, there is the table in the window.

那我们回到这张桌子——101号桌。

So let's bring it back to this table, Table 101.

哦，天哪。

Oh, boy.

我们走向101号桌。记住，斯蒂芬妮的目标是实现心理和财务上的最优解，而罗尼给了她完全的自由。

We walk over to Table 101. Remember, Stephanie's goal is to make it psychologically and financially optimal, And Ronnie has given her free rein.

斯蒂芬妮看了一眼就立刻表示：没错，我们可以把它改造得更好。

Stephanie looks at it and immediately she's like, oh, yeah. We can make this better.

我现在很想拿出一张纸来，我在想如果丹有卷尺的话，我们

I'm tempted to pull out a piece of paper right now and maybe I think if Dan has a tape measure, we

可以把这个东西画出来。绝对没问题。

could draw this thing up. Absolutely.

我们开始吧。

Let's do it.

我们要进行测量了。

We're going to take measure.

好的。把蓝图拿出来。

Alright. Break out the blueprints.

斯蒂芬妮说，好吧。听着。首先，高脚桌的设计对你已经不管用了。现在餐厅不再是那种快餐店了。坐在这张桌子的人会觉得自己不属于这家餐厅。

Stephanie says, okay. Look. First of all, the high top thing isn't working for you. Not now that the restaurant isn't that quick bite place anymore. People at this table feel like they're not part of the restaurant.

他们可能只想点些饮料和小吃就离开。所以我们需要把这张桌子降到和其他桌子一样的高度。

They might be tempted to just order drinks and appetizers and then head out. So we need to bring this table down to the level of the others.

然后她又补充道，还记得那个很受欢迎的拖把柜桌吗？人们喜欢那种身处自己空间、舒适温馨的感觉。但这边这张桌子，它就紧挨着门。

And then she adds something else. She says, remember that mop closet table that's doing so well? People love to feel like they're in their own space, snug and cozy. But this table over here, it's right by the door.

我会在门道旁边加一堵小矮墙，差不多与主墙垂直。

What I would do is then add a little stub wall sort of perpendicular to the wall right by the doorway.

你觉得这堵墙应该多高？

How high do you think the wall should be?

42英寸。怎么了？你不

42 inches. Why? You don't

想要一堵这么

want a wall that's so

高的墙让人看不到对面。当人们看不到整个餐厅时，他们会感到有点不自在。但你也要确保高度足够，让人感觉舒适且有安全感。

high that people can't see over it. They kind of feel a little uncomfortable when they can't see the whole restaurant. But you also want it high enough that it feels like you're comfortable and anchored.

好吧。首先，莎莉，你注意到斯蒂芬妮说42英寸时有多快了吗？

Alright. First off, Sally, did you hear how quickly Stephanie said 42 inches?

她知道了。

She knows.

她太硬核了，我喜欢。总之她说如果罗尼加这堵小墙，就能把这张桌子改造成更好的餐桌。

She's so hardcore. I love it. Anyway, she says that if Ronnie adds this little wall, he can turn this into a much better table.

好的，我们这里有本笔记本。罗尼，不如你来描述下你想怎么做？

Okay. So we have a notebook here. So why don't you describe for me, Ronnie, what do you'd like to do?

在人力可及范围内最大化座位数。

Maximum number of seats, humanly possible.

很快就很明显看出斯蒂芬妮和罗尼各怀心思。

It becomes clear pretty quickly that Stephanie and Ronnie have different agendas.

罗尼想要更多座位接待更多顾客。本质上就是在不过度牺牲舒适度的前提下，尽可能快速地为更多人提供餐食。

Ronnie wants more seats for more customers. Basically, feed as many people as possible as quickly as possible without sacrificing too much on comfort.

你觉得桌子之间到底需要留多少空间？

How much space do you really think we need between tables?

所以，如果你从心理角度考虑餐桌间距，我认为16英寸是最佳距离。16英寸，那相当于整个餐厅的宽度。没错。

So if you if you're thinking about table spacing psychologically, you want, I'm gonna say 16 inches between tables. 16 inches, that's a whole restaurant. Exactly.

斯蒂芬妮的研究表明16英寸是最优间距，这是个恰到好处的距离。我们既不想感到太孤立，也不愿觉得太拥挤。但并非所有餐厅都能负担得起这么多不产生收益的空间。

Stephanie's research shows that 16 inches is optimal. It's the Goldilocks distance. We don't like to feel too isolated. We also don't like to feel too crammed together. But not all restaurants can afford to have that much space not generating revenue.

尤其在纽约这样消费高昂的城市，顾客已经习惯了小至6英寸的间距。

And especially in an expensive city like New York, customers have gotten used to as little as six inches.

看起来你们现在的间距差不多就是这样。事实上，有些桌子间距可能接近4英寸。

And that looks like pretty much what you have. Okay. In fact, I would argue in some of those tables, it's closer to four.

很可能确实如此。对，很可能就是这样。

It's probably are. Yeah. They probably are.

斯蒂芬妮希望罗尼能转变思维。记住，这是房地产生意。她的核心指标是每分钟消费额，这本质上反映了每位食客带来的租金收益。

Stephanie wants Ronnie to start thinking differently. Remember, it's a real estate business. Her big metric is spend per minute. That's what essentially tells you how much you're getting in rent from your diners.

因此她想把101号桌改造成高端用餐区，更舒适，提供更好的心理体验。她认为这会带来更高的客单价和人均消费。但罗尼的焦虑不无道理。

So she wants to make table one zero one into higher end real estate, more comfortable, a better psychological experience. And she thinks this will pay off in higher check averages, more spending per person. But it's stressful to Ronnie for good reason.

Ronnie，你能给我个概念吗？这家餐厅一个座位值多少钱？

Can you give me some idea, Ronnie? How much is one seat in this restaurant worth?

Ronnie快速计算着：晚餐消费这么多，每周翻台这么多次。

Ronnie does some quick math. This much on dinner, this many turns of the table per week.

大约每月6000美元，一年72000美元。

About $6,000 a month, $72,000 a year.

是啊。所以增加一个座位是件大事。

Yeah. So adding one seat is a big deal.

我想是吧。

I guess.

没错。但Stephanie却说，让我展示给你看。

Yeah. But Stephanie's like, let me show you.

她开始用卷尺工作起来。

She gets to work with her tape measure.

我要在桌子底下爬来爬去。没问题吧？

Gonna crawl around under the table. Sure. That's okay?

好的，一会儿见。我先飞出去

Yeah. We'll see you in a few. I'll fly out

别挡着斯蒂芬妮的路。

of your way, Stephanie.

我爱我的工作。

Love my job.

怕你们没听见，斯蒂芬妮在桌子底下爬时一直嘀咕着：我爱我的工作。我爱我的工作。

Case you couldn't hear, as Stephanie crawled under the table, she was muttering, I love my job. I love my job.

终于，她拿到了所有需要的测量数据。

Finally, she has all the measurements she needs.

他们预算桌子间距是6英寸，不是16英寸。但罗尼已经预见要发生什么了。

They budget six inches between tables, not 16. But Ronnie can see what's coming.

他可能要失去一个宝贵的座位了。他开始有点慌乱，提出各种办法想挽回那个座位。他说，等等，如果我们用稍微小点的桌子呢？如果桌子是圆形的呢？或者用更小的椅子？

He might have to lose a precious seat. And he starts kind of panicking, suggesting all this stuff to get that seat back. He's like, wait, what if we did slightly smaller tables? What if the tables were round? Maybe if we had smaller chairs?

我们真的在一寸一寸地努力，试图保住这家餐厅里的一个座位。绝对是这样。

We are literally going inch by inch here to try to save one seat in this restaurant. Absolutely.

斯蒂芬妮听取了这些建议，但她依然坚持己见。

Stephanie listens to these ideas, but she also holds firm.

最终，他们按照她的要求全部设计好了。重要时刻到来——他们开始清点座位数量。

Finally, they have it all drawn out to her specifications. And the big moment comes. They count up the seats.

所以你现在买了1、2、3、4、5、6、7个座位。目前这个空间里，你最多会安排多少人坐在这里？

So you've bought yourself one, two, three, four, five, six, seven seats. Right now in this space, what's the maximum number of people you would sit here?

八个。

Eight.

好的。所以实际上你少了一个座位。但问题是，因为这些桌子更受欢迎，你的收入会增加吗？

Okay. So you've actually lost a seat. Yeah. But the question is, will you increase your revenue because these tables are more desirable?

当然。

Sure.

突然间，这就成了一支优秀的团队。

Suddenly, this becomes a great team.

一个绝佳的位置。

A great spot.

确实。尽管你失去了一个席位

Sure. Even though you've lost a seat

没关系。

That's fine.

是的。我敢打赌你可能会看到收入增长。

Yeah. I'd be willing to bet that you probably will see your revenues go up.

你几乎能听到罗尼在试图说服自己。他就像在说，是的。是的。是的。那会发生。

You almost hear Ronnie trying to convince himself. He's like, yes. Yes. Yes. That will happen.

我确定

I'm sure

关于这件事。所以他们

of it. So this is what they

最终决定。101号桌区域被重新设计，新增了一道矮墙以保障私密性和空间感——斯蒂芬妮的研究表明顾客非常喜欢这种设计。原本可坐八人的高脚大桌被换成三张普通高度的桌子，总共可坐七人。那么尽管少了一个座位，斯蒂芬妮的改造方案能让罗尼赚更多钱吗？

end up with. A redesigned area for Table 101 with this new stub wall for privacy and anchoring, which Stephanie's research has shown people really like. The big high top table for eight becomes three small tables at a normal height that seat a total of seven. So will Stephanie's redesign make Ronnie more money even though he's lost one precious seat?

罗尼，你愿意尝试这个实验吗？

Ronnie, are you in for this experiment?

我想是的。

I think so.

罗尼决定采纳斯蒂芬妮对101号桌的改造方案。这是餐饮经营者的直觉与冰冷数据之间的对决。

Ronnie is gonna try Stephanie's vision for Table 101. It's restaurateur intuition versus cold, hard data.

广告之后，罗尼将进行施工改造，我们稍后揭晓结果。

After the break, Ronnie does some construction and we get the results.

嘿，莎莉。丹，你好。

Hey, Sally. Dan, hello.

真高兴再次见到你。

It's so nice to see you again.

见到你真高兴。我们到了。

It's so nice to see you. Here we are.

我们现在在皇后区Ada印度小餐馆外的人行道上。

Here we are on the sidewalk in Queens outside Ada Indian Canteen.

距离我们上次来这里已经过去几个月了。现在是冬天了。

And it's been a couple months since we were last here. It's winter now.

没错。季节更迭从未停止。是的。我们听说罗尼已经按照斯蒂芬妮教授的建议做出了改变。所以我们来了

Right. The seasons have not stopped. Nope. And we hear that Ronnie has made the changes that professor Stephanie recommended. So we're here

见他。我们走进去，立刻

to see him. We walk in and right away

确实不同。

really different.

我刚倒吸一口气，因为我们谈论已久的矮墙就在这里。就是它。不知道它是否如斯蒂芬妮所愿有42英寸高。

I just gasped because the stub wall that we heard so much about is here. Here it is. I wonder if it is 42 inches tall as Stephanie wanted it to be.

你知道吗，这很有趣。这堵矮墙确实隔开了这张桌子——实际上莎莉，我们离这张桌子只有三英尺远，正非常尴尬地盯着他们，明显在讨论他们的桌子，而他们似乎还没注意到。

And you know, it's interesting. The stub wall really does separate this table because we're actually, Sally, we're only like three feet away from this table and we're staring at them very awkwardly and clearly talking about their table and they don't seem to have noticed.

是啊。不，我完全不觉得尴尬。我觉得我们可以在这儿聊一整天。

Yeah. No. I don't feel weird about it. I feel like we can talk here all day. The

高脚桌101号消失了，取而代之的是三张正常高度的桌子。现在整个餐厅都能看到窗户，不再被高桌遮挡。

high top table one zero one is gone. In its place are three tables at normal height. The window is now revealed to the whole restaurant instead of being blocked by the high table.

过了一会儿，罗尼出现了。

After a bit, Ronnie shows up.

罗尼。嘿。你好。

Ronnie. Hey. Hello.

嘿，嘿。见到你真好。

Hey. Hey. Good to see you.

他确认短墙的高度确实是42英寸。

He confirms that the stub wall is indeed exactly 42 inches tall.

谢天谢地。

Thank goodness.

他还说这面墙带来的改变远超他最初的想象。

And he says that wall has made a way bigger difference than he ever imagined.

作为运营者，这次经历让我深刻认识到：如此细微的差异竟能对顾客情绪状态产生巨大影响。

It was a huge learning experience for me as an operator as to just this kind of a subtle difference how big of an impact it can have on the emotional state of your guests.

几周后，我们拿到了数据。

A few weeks later, we get the data.

嗨，斯蒂芬妮，你好吗？

Hi, Stephanie. How are you?

太好了，Ronnie。你怎么样？

Great, Ronnie. How are you?

我们把Ronnie请进了录音室，并给Stephanie打了电话。

We got Ronnie into the studio with us and called up Stephanie.

Ronnie已经让他的团队提前把数据发给了Stephanie。包括Table 101餐厅装修前四周和装修后该区域四周的顾客消费数据。她会分析这些数字。她是唯一看过最终数据的人。

Ronnie had had his team send Stephanie the data in advance. Four weeks of customer spending at Table 101 before the renovation and four weeks in that area after the renovation. She'd crunch the numbers. She was the only one who had seen the final figures.

那么，Sally，我们准备好听结果了吗？

So, Sally, are we ready to hear the results?

哦，天哪。激动人心的时刻到了。

Oh, boy. Drumroll.

我的天啊。

Oh my gosh.

我已经迫不及待了。你想从哪里开始？

I'm so ready. Where would you like to start?

斯蒂芬妮计算了平均账单金额、顾客在餐桌上的停留时间，以及每分钟消费额。记住，每张账单即使只增加2到3美元，一年下来可能就是数万美元。而罗尼需要承担空置座位的成本。

Stephanie had calculated the check average, how much time people were spending at the tables, and also the combination, the spend per minute. Now remember, even 2 or $3 of extra spending per check can mean tens of thousands of dollars per year. And Ronnie has to cover the cost of losing that seat.

斯蒂芬妮分别分析了午餐和晚餐时段。午餐时段经过装修后，平均账单金额有所上升。现在顾客用餐时间也增加了，但幅度很小。所以关键指标——每分钟消费额的变化在统计学上并不显著。

Stephanie looked at lunch and dinner separately. At lunch, after the renovation, the check average went up. Now the time spent at tables also went up, but only by a bit. So the key metric, spending per minute, didn't change enough to be statistically significant.

也就是说这种微小变化可能只是随机波动。

As in this small change could have just been random chance.

但晚餐时段原本的平均账单是36.80美元，现在涨到了45.90美元。

But for dinner The original check average was $36.80. It went up to $45.90.

哇哦。

Woah. Wow.

没错。增加了9.10美元，这个涨幅具有统计学显著性，相当可观。

Yep. So an increase of $9.10, and that is statistically significant. It's major.

哇，人均9美元。

Wow. $9 per person.

只需更换桌子就能实现人均调整。

Per person just by changing the table.

这影响巨大。

That's huge.

晚餐时，人们实际在餐桌前停留的时间更短了。这让我们有些意外，但罗尼给出了解释：他现在用三张小桌替代了原来可供八人使用的大高桌。小群体用餐比大群体更快。此外，他

At dinner, people were actually spending less time at the tables. This was kind of surprising to us, but Ronnie had an explanation. He now has three small tables in that area instead of the one big high top for eight. So smaller groups, they eat quicker than bigger ones. Plus, he

还发现了一个意外优势——灵活性。这三张小桌可以任意组合，既能分开摆放，也能拼在一起。以前只有一张大桌时，要么接待大型聚会，要么就空置着。现在座位使用率更高了。

found an unexpected benefit, flexibility. He can put these three small tables into any combination, split them up, put them all together. Before, it was one big table, so it'd either have a big party or sit empty. Now the seats are full more often.

因此平均消费额上升了，餐桌周转时间缩短了。这对至关重要的每分钟消费指标来说是个好消息——斯蒂芬妮最看重的就是这个数据。

So higher check averages, less time at the tables. This is looking good for the all important spend per minute metric. The one Stephanie cares the most about.

那么现在的每分钟消费是多少呢，斯蒂芬妮，

What's the spend per minute then, Stephanie,

新晚餐安排下的数据？每分钟消费从49.3美分提升到了68.3美分，增加了19美分。

in in in the new arrangement for dinner? The spend per minute went from 49.3¢ to 68.3¢. So an increase of 19¢.

叮当响。罗尼要请客吃午饭

Cha ching. Ronnie's buying lunch

今天。没错。取决于我们选的桌子

today. That's right. Depending on the table we

看到了。哇。

see. Wow.

这可是大幅增长啊。

That's a huge increase.

是啊。非常显著。呃，我不该说非常显著，应该说确实显著。但晚餐这三项指标——平均消费、用餐时长，以及综合计算出的每分钟消费额——都呈现出了显著结果。

Yeah. Very significant. Well, I shouldn't say very significant is significant. But all three of these metrics for dinner, both the average check, the duration, and when you put them together, the spend per minute, all of those were significant results.

她指的是统计学意义。但同时也具有实际意义。如果这些结果能持续一年，粗略估算一下，UTA很可能赚回因减少座位损失的成本，每年还能额外多赚18,000美元。罗尼说这基本抵销了整个水电费账单。

She means statistically. But it's also significant in the other sense, like meaningful. If you assume those results hold over the course of the year, do some back of the envelope calculations, UTA is likely to make more than enough to cover the cost of losing that seat. It'd be on pace to make an extra $18,000 per year. Ronnie says that's basically the entire utility bill.

他们仅仅通过让桌子变得更灵活舒适就实现了这个效果。

They did that just by making the tables more flexible and more comfortable.

罗尼告诉我们，这实际上是他从这次实验中获得的重要启示。

Ronnie told us that's actually his big takeaway from this experiment.

我们有时会过于计较每一寸空间，但也许答案不仅仅在于多放一张桌子，而是能产生重大影响的体验质量。

We sometimes get caught up on counting every inch, but maybe the answer isn't just about that extra table, but the quality of the experience that can make a significant impact.

他说现在正在为新餐厅绘制平面图，这次坚决不要高脚桌。

He said he's drawing up plans for a new restaurant now, and this time, no high top tables.

我们目前正在筹备新餐厅的布局，决定所有座位安排。我坚持要卡座，不要高脚桌。

We're literally in the process right now for the upcoming restaurant. We're deciding on all the seating. I'm like, banquettes, no high tops.

不要共享座位。把设计图发给我，快发给我看看。

No communal Send the drawings. Send me the drawings.

我想看看。以上就是罗尼的收获。但丹，你和我更关注的是这对我们下次用餐意味着什么。

I wanna have a look. So that was Ronnie's takeaway. But Dan, you and I were more focused on what this means for us the next time we eat.

没错。比如我现在终于明白为什么喜欢靠墙坐，以后要更经常这么做。这样就不会有人能偷袭我了。

Yeah. Like, now I understand why I like to sit up against a wall, so I'm gonna try to do that even more often. And that way no one can attack me.

真的吗？因为我有点...我不确定是否想被设计因素潜移默化地影响，从而在食物上花更多钱。

Really? Because I I am sort of like, I don't know if I wanna be subtly incepted by design factors to be spending more money on food.

是啊，我觉得现在说这个已经太迟了。

Yeah. I think it's too late for that.

那是2020年初的丹·帕什曼和莎莉·赫尔姆。显然从那以后发生了很多事，尤其是疫情。但罗尼不仅熬过了疫情初期，还蓬勃发展起来，部分原因正是他在Uddut的经历所教会他的。

That was Dan Pashman and Sally Helm from back in early twenty twenty. A lot has obviously happened between then and now, namely the pandemic, but Ronnie didn't just survive those early pandemic years. He thrived, partly because of what his experience with Uddut taught him.

所以我看到的影响不仅是101号桌的客单价提高了，整体客单价都得以提升。这种影响远不止于101号桌。

So I saw the impact of not just the check average going up for that table, but in general, the check average was able to go up. And so the impact of that that I saw was beyond Table 101.

自2021年起，罗尼已经新开了四家餐厅。每次开业他都运用了斯蒂芬妮的设计理念和顾客心理学。

Since 2021, Ronnie has opened four new restaurants. And each time, he's applied Stephanie's ethos of design and customer psychology.

我们意识到重点不在于最大化数字，而在于品质。但这需要微妙的平衡。

What we realized is not about maximizing the numbers. It's about the quality. However, there's a fine balance.

这种平衡一方面是为食客创造独特难忘的体验，另一方面仍是高效翻台率。罗尼在四家新餐厅之一的De Maka做了个聪明调整——不供应茶饮，以此加快翻台速度。

While part of that balance is making a unique and memorable experience for the diner, another part of that balance is still just turning the tables, moving people through the restaurant efficiently. One smart pivot Ronnie's made to turn tables faster at De Maka, one of those four new restaurants, not serving tea.

我们发现每道甜点后的茶饮服务大约需要二十分钟。如果轮转三次，你光是奉茶就花了一小时。那么，你打算为这茶饮定价多少？67美元？对吧？

We realized every tea after dessert is about twenty minutes. If you add three turns, you just spent an hour serving people tea. Well, how much are you gonna charge for the tea? $67? Right?

所以当你开始计算就会发现，这根本不划算，实际上也无法提升顾客体验，反而白白浪费了时间。正因如此，我们决定专注于自身优势，将这份专注转化为给您的体验。

So if you start to do the math, it doesn't really add up, doesn't really actually make the customer experience better, but you still lose the time. Rather than that, we are focusing on what we're good at and serving that experience to you.

为用餐体验寻求解决方案，在餐厅营造更和谐的氛围，终会获得回报。这正是罗尼学到的宝贵经验，也是101号桌台的真正价值所在。

Solving for the experience and creating a more cohesive environment at the restaurant, it pays off. And that was the lesson Ronnie learned, the true value of Table 101.

如今我经历了这些成长历程，聆听了斯蒂芬妮等人的见解，见证了所有这些更新与变革——它们绝非微不足道，而是意义深远。我希望能将这些经验贯穿于我的整个职业生涯。

Now that I've been through those kinds of learnings, heard someone like Stephanie, been through all of these kinda updates and changes, they're not minor. They're significant. And I think I wanna carry that for the rest of my career.

优达餐厅仍在皇后区经营良好。罗尼表示计划未来在曼哈顿开设更大规模的新店。至于斯蒂芬妮，她虽已从康奈尔大学退休，但仍为众多餐饮企业和零售商提供咨询服务。最近她与一支职业足球队合作，研究体育场餐饮运营，通过调整食品种类搭配与陈列位置来提升消费额。而本期节目播出后，丹·帕什曼的生活也发生了许多变化。

Uda is still in Queens doing well. And at some point, Ronnie says he plans to open up another new bigger location in Manhattan. As for Stephanie, she retired from Cornell but still does consulting with lots of restaurants and retailers. She recently worked with a major league soccer team, looking at their stadium's food operations and the variety of food items being sold and how adjusting the balance and placement of those items might increase spending. A lot has also happened in Dan Pashman's life since this episode came out.

他发明了名为'瀑布面'（cascatelli）的意面造型。或许您还记得我们相关专题节目。由于这款意面广受欢迎，他决定出版名为《万物皆可拌》的食谱。您可以在其播客《叉勺评》中追踪食谱创作历程。本期节目最初由达里安·伍兹和亚历克谢·霍洛维茨-加齐制作。

He invented a pasta shape, cascatelli. You may remember our episode about this. So many people love that pasta shape that he decided to make a cookbook called Anything's Pastable. You can follow his journey to making that cookbook on his podcast called The Sporkful. Today's episode was originally produced by Darian Woods and Alexei Horowitz Gazi.

詹姆斯·斯尼德和萨姆·黄马·凯斯勒负责本次更新内容制作，音频工程由艾萨克·罗德里格斯和玛吉·卢萨尔完成，亚历克斯·戈德马克担任编辑——他现在是我们的执行制片人。我是尼克·方丹，这里是NPR。

James Snead and Sam Yellowhorse Kessler produced this update. It was engineered by Isaac Rodriguez and Maggie Luthar, and Alex Goldmark edited it. He's now our executive producer. I'm Nick Fountain. This is NPR.

感谢您的聆听。

Thank you for listening.