It’s no secret that the restaurant industry is a competitive one. With so many options available, diners are quick to take their business elsewhere if they’re not satisfied with their experience. So what can you do to make sure your restaurant is one that they’ll want to visit time and time again? Check out these five reasons why people may not be coming to your establishment.
- Your restaurant is too difficult to find: As a restaurant owner, one major step you should take is putting your restaurant on the map. People are more likely to visit a restaurant if they can easily find it. Make sure your signage is visible and easy to read from a distance. Use clear, concise directions on how to get to your restaurant and place your restaurant in an easily accessible part of town.
- You’re not offering anything new or different from the other restaurants in town: One way you can change this narrative is by establishing that you are not the only restaurant in town. You can also discuss how your restaurant is different from all of the others and again one way to bring customers in is by offering a discount or free meal to customers.
- The service is slow and unprofessional: No one likes waiting for hours before their meal arrives whether the order is being placed online or offline. As a restaurant owner, you should also make sure that whoever is being employed as customer care representative, should be professional, courteous and friendly. Your staff should all be professional and swift to respond to guests because it’s the service your customers get when they come in that will decide if they are going to come back.
- The restaurant is not clean or well-maintained: Eating in a dirty place is a no-no for anyone and good hygiene must be an important part of an establishment. If there is a food spill on the tables or floor, it should be cleaned immediately before other guests come in. Don’t start cleaning when they are already seated, it gives a bad impression. This also applies to the restroom area. Also make sure the building itself is in good shape as well, if it needs a face-lift, make sure to ensure that it is done. If this would require closing down for a while to get this done, make sure you inform your customers first and do it.
- The prices are too high compared to other restaurants in the area: It is important to compare your prices to those of other restaurants in the area. Because the truth is, your food may be great, customer service excellent but if your customers discover that they eat the same meal at a cheaper price somewhere else, you would most likely lose them. What you can do as a restaurant owner, is to cut down the prices, source for these food products at a cheaper rate and also ask your customers to fill in a survey.
Also note, Regular feedback from your customers would also help you as a restaurant owner to make decisions and take certain steps that would be useful to your establishment. It also gives you insight on certain areas that may need improvement. This feedback can be done through word of mouth (that is, speaking to your customers one on one) or creating an online form for customers to fill, make sure you get them to do this as well.
So, what’s the verdict? Are you convinced yet of the five reasons why people aren’t visiting your restaurant? If not, that’s okay. We understand that it can be difficult to admit that there may be something wrong with your business – especially if you’ve put so much time and effort into it. But hopefully, armed with this information, you will be better equipped to make the necessary changes and start seeing an increase in customers soon. Thanks for reading!