Panera Bread experiment

This morning, I heard a story on the radio about Panera Bread opening a restaurant in the St. Louis area that operates on donations. It works like this. A patron comes into the restaurant and orders a sandwich and then pays either following the suggested price or not. They can pay more or less than the suggestion. The radio story said that most people will pay at least the suggested amount.

So, I was thinking that this is a very interesting experiment. What will it mean if Panera Bread is successful with this idea? How would it work if other businesses tried this? It sounded to me that this experiment was worth the risk for a large business, but could it work for a small business?

Then I wondered what people would pay if they were left to buy a handmade truffle without a pricetag? Would it work for me as a small business owner to try an experiment like this?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this!

Yours in Chocolate,

The Truffle Lady