We all love to dine out, whether on holiday or at the weekend, nothing is nicer than turning up at your favourite restaurant and being pampered for a few hours. But what exactly is it that attracts a person to a restaurant? This is a question that many restauranteurs have asked, and the answer is a combination of many things, and with that in mind, here are some key indicators that diners look for when entering a restaurant.
- The Table Ware – This is the first thing the diner will actually take note of, as the arrival takes up all of our senses, as we follow the Maitre D to our table, but once we’ve sat down, we are confronted with a dining table. The tablecloth would be spotless, of course, and neatly pressed with no creases or wrinkles, and the cutlery would be precisely positioned in the correct format, while the napkins would be carefully folded into a shape of some sort. The only way a busy restaurant can deliver repeated sets of crisp, fresh table linen is due to hospitality laundry services, companies that work silently in the background, ensuring the dining establishment always has quality table linen.
- The Waiting Staff – The very first human interaction (aside from being welcomed, of course) will be with your waiter or waitress, who ideally would be friendly and polite. There is a very fine line with the level of attention one should receive from waiting staff, as you want them to be at hand, should you require anything, but you don’t want to feel that the staff are hanging on your shoulder, which can detract from the pleasant ambience. Every restaurant owner should understand that their staff are crucial to the success of the business, and the ideal attributes for people who work in the hospitality industry are a pleasant personality and a “can do” attitude, and if a person has these qualities, a little training is all it takes to hone their waiting skills.
- The Ambience – This is perhaps the most difficult ingredient to create, as ambience is a combination of many things, the visual appearance, the music in the background, the lighting, not to mention the friendly and approachable staff, who would typically always be doing something, rather than standing around. Lighting is one aspect where a little professional advice should be sought, as this really can make all the difference.
- The Food – Some would argue that this is the main attraction, but for a complete dining experience, all of the above must be present. The menu would be the restaurant’s major attraction and most would specialise in a certain type of cuisine, and with some menu tweaking, it is not difficult to cater to your customers’ tastes.
The goal of every restuarant owner is to have customers return again and again, and this can only be achieved with the right balance of all of the above.