The Case For and Against Military and Senior Discounts

EDITOR'S NOTE: In the September 2018 issue we published a RestaurantOwner.com discussion forum thread regarding offering discounts to military personnel and seniors. The member posted: "I would love to know how other owners address military and senior discounts. My question concerns how to verify a person is a senior or in the military. Do I only provide a discount to military who are active and dressed? How do I verify age without insulting? What's a good age to use? What about older people who are out of the military? What's a decent discount percentage - 10%, 20%? We are in a military town and I haven't found good answers to these questions. Looking for ways to make it easy and simple for our staff. Any help or opinions would be appreciated."

Here you go. We're listening to our readers and members.

Guest discounts have always sparked strong opinions, both for and against them,among owners and operators of independent restaurants. That is the case regardless of the customers. And it is also the case when contemplating discounts for military members and senior citizens.

With both groups, psychology must factor into restaurateurs' decision: members of each may feel odd about accepting discounts, while others may be tempted to take unfair advantage of or even come to demand such offers. Whether or not to offer discounts - and if so, how much, how often, to whom, and in what form - calls for both a knowledge of and sensitivity to a restaurant's patrons.

"There are two points that should be considered when giving discounts," says Dr. Mahmood A. Khan, a hospitality and tourism management professor and director at Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech. First of all, military discounts are a good marketing tool, more than just helping the veterans. Since many places are already giving discounts which are much larger, discounts by independent restaurants may not be attractive."

With seniors, Khan continues, the equation is slightly different. "The second motive for discounts is to have repeat customers. Seniors are already loyal customers, but they are on very limited budgets. Most are looking for socialization, and discounts may not mean much for them. Moreover, they will not be tempted to buy more than what they regularly come for."