Tag Archives: Restaurant

July 25, 2014 · 8:42 am

Pretty/Useless

This Foodie Friday I have restaurant marketing on my mind. That’s the result of some close encounters with restaurant websites.

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(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From time to time I’ll check out places to eat in cities where I’m heading. Of course I use the review sites as a first source of recommendations.  Inevitably if a few places seem to be of comparable quality and hold potential I’ll go to the establishment’s website to do a deeper dive on the menu.  This is where things begin to break down in a couple of ways and there are some broader points which come out of the experience.

Many of the sites are beautiful.  Clearly, someone spent many hours creating a multimedia site complete with music that plays while you experience the site, flash movies that auto-play, and dozens of pictures of happy customers.  Unfortunately, most of these sites are painful to use and are a huge waste of money.  I’ll go even further to say that they do more harm than good.  In the case of restaurant sites, no one cares how the site looks.  Visitors want information, not to be entertained.  They’re pretty and useless.

Think about it.  Why do you visit the site?  Probably, first and foremost, to check out the menu.  Many of the sites I visit force a download (it’s easier to update one file than several pages of the site) and some of those downloads are huge.  Next, I may want to make a reservation so I need to know where the place (Google Maps link!) is and some means of doing so – a phone number or a direct link to Open Table or whatever service the place uses.  Finally, the hours they’re serving and maybe a listing of the specials would be good.  That’s it.  Designers need to focus on the business goals and not on “pretty.” The most important factor in the design of a website is that the website makes it easy for users to find what they want.

The problem isn’t restricted to restaurants.  If you’ve built a site and not had a discussion with the design and coding team about business goals for the site, target audiences, analytics you’ll be using to measure activity and success, or how you’ll be marketing (SEO implications), you’ve missed the mark.   Unlike the restaurants with crappy sites, there probably aren’t lots of review sites driving people to your business (most review sites contain a modicum of the critical information).  Maybe now is a good time to take a look at your site through a visitor’s eyes?

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May 16, 2014 · 10:52 am

Reviewing Reviewers

I’ve got criticism on the brain this Foodie Friday, not because I’ve been the subject of any but I read a restaurant review and it got me to thinking.

Workers in the kitchen at Delmonico's Restaura...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are certain elements to a restaurant review that are certainly objective.  The silverware either was or was not clean, the water glasses were or were not refilled on a regular basis.  Much of what one would talk about, however, is very much subjective.  What is good to the reviewer might not be very good to you at all.

At least with a professional reviewer, one can hope that in addition to a palate that’s been educated a bit they would demonstrate fairness and honesty and not just try to write a clever rip job for the sake of doing so.  The good ones have an appreciation that they are not in an objective field but they know that the critic’s job is to educate and illuminate and to give you a comprehensive view of the dining experience, hopefully making multiple visits to the eatery to form an opinion.  Today, of course, everyone is a critic – just spend 5 minutes on Yelp.  The standards I just mentioned don’t apply.

This would drive me crazy if I were a chef.  Then again, I think there’s a business point in it which can be helpful to all of us.  The smart cooks just go to work and present the best possible quality food every day and enjoy themselves while doing it.  They acknowledge that they’re being evaluated each time they present their product but they don’t let the criticism overwhelm them.  It’s a tool to help them measure themselves and improve and some is more accurate and valuable than others.  They review the reviewers in the context of their own skills and standards.

We forget that in business sometimes.  Satisfying 99.9% of 1,000 customers means someone is unhappy.  If they’re a loyal, long-term buyer then that review is based on multiple visits and is an informed opinion.  Listen and learn.   More importantly, ask if you put out your best product.  Have you set your standards high enough and commiserate with your abilities or are you slacking?  When your year-end review isn’t as good as you expect, is it an objective, fact-based listing of where you’ve come up short or is it a subjective rant?  Review the reviewer but don’t dismiss a bad one out of hand if it’s accurate.

We’re all evaluated each time we produce a product.  Listen and learn and present your best product.  When you do so with high standards, the reviews will be fine.  So will your sanity.

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February 21, 2014 · 1:14 pm

Casual Dining Isn’t A Casual Decision

For our Foodie Friday Fun this week let’s think about dining out.

Guess what type of restaurant we photoshooted

(Photo credit: A&A Photography Services)

In tough economic times, that’s not an easy decision for many people and the restaurant industry has felt that over the last few years.  More on that in a minute.  Where to eat?  In many places there really aren’t many alternatives to the big national chains.  As with booksellers, coffee shops, and clothing stores, many of the little guys have been undercut by the chains, at least when it comes to price and in many cases quality.  So you’d think that the national chains, particularly the casual dining chains, would be doing well.  You’d be wrong.

As a recent article stated:

The casual-dining industry has largely worn out its welcome. Customer traffic to these restaurants has declined in nine of the past 13 years, according to retail-research firm Black Box Intelligence. Even as the U.S. economy began healing and consumer spending recovered, beginning in 2010, same-store sales were stagnant, based on Black Box estimates.  In December, industry-wide sales at restaurants open at least a year slid by 2%, even as the unemployment rate hit a five-year low and the stock market hit all-time highs. For sure, harsh weather didn’t help, but that can’t account for tepid nationwide results.

This raises a few instructive questions in my mind.  Turns out that in the process of upscaling fast-food and undercutting fancier local places on price these chains – Applebees, TGIFridays, Red Lobster and others – left a niche that’s suddenly being filled by Chipotle and others.  They’re getting beaten not just on price (a relatively easy thing to fix) but also on quality of ingredients and food served.  As we’ve seen many times here on the screed, if price is the only thing you have going for you, you’re in trouble.

The reality is that casual dining out is not a casual decision these days.  Cooking at home can be an attractive alternative when one figures in time and cost but who wants to clean up?  Even those of us who are dedicated cooks like a night off.  Most folks prefer to spend that night in a welcoming environment with interesting food.  The chains seem to be duplicating what a decent home cook could do (and generally in a less-healthy manner but that’s another rant).  Consumers also see that they raise prices by offering smaller portions or offering cheaper, lower-quality meals.  Charging for every drink refill may help margin but angers customers (especially if you don’t tell them you’re charging until the bill comes).

Any business needs to give customers a reason to buy.  That means a great product that meets customers’ desires that’s priced fairly and supported by great service.  That’s how I see it.  You?

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