Originally Posted by
serioustraveler
Every company nickles and dimes, those that don't tend to go out of business extremely quick.
If you're saying that most companies can't acquire "top" talent because they nickle and dime, then they probably don't want the top talent anyways.
The problem with employees is that they tend to think they're irreplaceable, in a global market no one is THAT talented.
A lot of "top talent" is unemployed because they refuse to accept that they might not be worth as much as they think they are worth; they're only worth what the market will pay.
If the market dictates that the per diem can only be used at certain restaurants, the employees can suck it up or end up unemployed, there will be another dozen people willing to do the job at the pay/compensation offered.
Your first statement, that "every company nickles and dimes..." is demonstrably false. Especially as regards the topic here: How companies handle travel expenses, specifically the use of contract restaurants. The vast, vast majority of companies do not do what you are advocating. Very few companies of any size build per diem in to the base compensation of their employees. More broadly speaking, good companies control their costs well (what I think you mean by "nickle and diming"), but not on the backs of their employees (with some exceptions such as highly cyclical businnesses that also share a lot of the upside with employees)
Truly top-tier talent is never unemployed long if they want a job. There may be people who think they're in that category who can't find work but that's not the same thing.
While there may be dozens of potential employees lining up for every vacancy, very few of them measure up to the standards of successful companies. We have year-old vacancies at my company that we can't find the right people for.