Do you like to visit restaurants? Why not? It’s everyone’s favorite place! All the emotions and drama can be felt at a restaurant. For many restaurateurs, having their own restaurant is a passion, a dream come true, and you might treat it like a baby- constantly be there in all the chaos, can’t trust it to anybody else because no one is going to love it like you do.
But like any other business, restaurants always strive hard to be more creative, unique and all of above sever better quality food to customers. Moreover, restaurants struggle to maintain customer consistency. It’s not only the food that attracts the customers but the way you treat them is always cherished.
We don’t know, but the truth is, restaurateurs have a lot in mind but that doesn’t mean they’ll always express it. Here is some inside scoop that I want to share with you all today!
Beginning with…
1.They just hate Online Coupons- Many customers have a misconception that Groupons and restaurant.com is restaurateurs’ friend. In reality, no, they are not! They just help them to get more customers and if customers like their food they will come back again.
In many situations, customers come in regularly and only use Groupons or restaurant.com coupons, which eventually hurt restaurant business financially. According to Frank Lombardi, owner of Lombardi’ Trattoria in Redding, C.T. said, “It’s supposed to be something that introduces diners to a restaurant for the first time”. By the way, this makes us feel like you are asking to use our restaurant bathroom.
2. They love cash payments- When you do cash payment and tip their waiters as a reward for their service; they take that home, which is hostile for owners. But, even the owners like cash. I know many customers prefer card payments to earn free points, but processing card transaction through Visa/ MC cost way too much for restaurants. Be sure you keep this in mind when you visit any restaurant.
3.They Use number stings- I know this might be a very hurtful thing for many customers, but honestly this true. Yes, they use number trickery to make the customers realize that they are eating at a very competitive price and so they demand more.
They turn a meal of $20 into a meal of $19.99, moreover, some restaurants are pro with these number trickery they even use things like $ 19.85. Higher restaurants don’t use such tricks as you know where things are expensive.
4. They earn less than you think-Well, behind every fructify restaurant, there’s a diligent team- and they need to be paid. When you are into a business your goal is to earn profits but in the restaurant business, it’s not that easy. As per the analyses, most of the startups face capital and time issues as around 60-70% of the expenses in restaurant accounting are payroll, taxes, labor costs and the cost of food and beverages; the remaining amount is used for other expenses including direct operating expenses, rent, property tax, etc. So don’t clear your misconception by looking at the rush in the restaurant.
5. They use senseless words to make bland items sound more interesting- This tactic is very common among restaurants. They use such senseless language to entice customers for that particular dish. For example, they will use words like “beet roots”. Ahh! Beet means roots, but beet root sounds more interesting than beets. Now you got it, why you were craving for that unique item on the menu.
6.They don’t love reviewing websites- In this digital world, people are fond of surfing and they use websites such as Yelp to take their dining decision. Well, analyzing customers’ mindset is tough.
They might check the review and visit the restaurant at the same time if they find any critics about the restaurant they might avoid the restaurant. So, if these websites can help to improve mistakes will be beneficial and restaurateurs would love to review, but any bad review and they are gone. So decide whether you will go according to the reviews or go as per your own choice.
7.They don’t use dollar signs in menus- This is a psychological trick but it’s relatively effective. Most of the restaurants don’t use a dollar sign in the menus as the dollar sign remind the customer about money. Isn’t it interesting? When you don’t see any dollar sign you don’t think of money how much you are going to spend or how much this food will cost you; you just order it. Further, remember this fact that without dollar sign you are not ordering something cheaper.
8.“Free” stuff are way too expensive- Many times people ask for more bread or extra butter and restaurants provide you with that. But what if every single customer ask for more? This could be expensive. Well, providing more bread to a single person or in a day to 2-3 customers, whereas providing more to every single customer per day increases the daily expenses as the cost of bread, butter, olive oil is costly than you may think. Avoid asking for more or else pay for what you asked for.
9.They hate “no shows”- When you reserve a table for any special occasion and don’t appear, it really spoils the evening of restaurateurs. Because the moment you make the call for reserving a table; along with owner even the employees start preparing for the night as they count on tables precisely how many are left. Moreover, if you have visiting table in a small restaurant and don’t show up it may reduce their walk-ins and lead to losses.
10.They take care of every little thing-From the fragrance in the restaurant to the music, lighting, the shape of the dishes and bowls, the color of napkins, restaurant owners are responsible for every little aspect in their restaurant. As the adage goes “A restaurant is a compendium of choices that the owner has made. If you look around a restaurant, everything represents a choice: the kind of salt shaker that’s on the table, the art on the walls, the uniforms on the waiter”. Don’t take restaurants lightly, they are very careful with everything they provide.
Wrap-up
Now that you understood the inside scoop of restaurants feel pleasure to visit restaurants with your friends order a wine, eat food, create memories and write well.
I’ve been a blogger for about 5 years, with special interests in small, medium enterprise/business and outsourcing topics. Today, I am a recognized expert in the subject, and over the years, have consistently contributed articles and blogs to top business-related sites.