Restaurant red flags...for diners, as well as owners
While perusing Facebook the other day, I came across an article titled ‘Chefs Reveal The Red Flags We Should Look Out For In Restaurant’. The expose highlighted some of the critical things that diners often take for granted when visiting a restaurant. This article is highly relevant for restaurateurs too, which is why I’ve decided to draw some insights and ideas from it. So a good question to ask is what are the deal breakers? What issues would a customer let slide and what are the ones that will have them swearing off your restaurant? Let’s get started.
Carpets…how clean are they?
Restaurants with carpets were singled out as being potentially unhygienic in general. That’s because carpets bear the brunt of dirty shoes, dropped food, and spilled drinks, as well as dust. So when was the last time you shampooed your restaurant’s carpets? Merely vacuuming may not be enough, as it won’t remove the residue from seeped-in liquids or stubborn food particles such as mashed potatoes or trampled-in rice. Furthermore, a vacuum cleaner will not sanitize or disinfect your carpet. If you’re wondering what’s the difference, check out this article we wrote some time ago. You can also watch our video on the topic.
How does the restaurant smell?
Contrary to popular belief, a restaurant that seems to have a highly perfumed or non-food related smell is typically trying to hide something. Restaurants should smell of delicious food, not synthetic perfume, or worse, harsh cleaning chemicals such as bleach.
Is there dust on your chair?
A restaurant critic once revealed that as part of his evaluation, he runs his fingers along the frames of his chair as soon as he sits down. If there’s noticeable dust, that shows a complete lack of basic cleaning. You can imagine how the air conditioning vents and underside of the furniture must be, then. Dusting doesn’t just mean cleaning the visible; you must also pay attention to the not-so-visible.
How clean is the menu?
We’ve all been to restaurants that handed us a grubby or faded menu. Imagine if the menu card is dirty, how the kitchen must look? In fact, I’d go a step further and recommend avoiding touching a dirty menu. Walk out. You never know what pathogens might be waiting to infect your body. Furthermore, there are plenty of digital options for restaurant menus around, so you needn’t really bother with printed menus. Just keep a few (clean ones) for people who prefer them and let everyone else use their smartphones.
How extensive is the menu?
Ever heard the saying “jack of all trades, master of none”? The same applies here. Research has shown that restaurants with fewer items on their menu tend to serve better quality food. That’s because they work harder towards mastering a few dishes. On the other hand, restaurants with menus that rival a mid-sized paperback are more likely to be average in quality. Worse, it’s highly likely that some items may be pre-prepared and frozen, tossed in a microwave before being plated and served. Now who wants that when eating out?
Empty restaurants in busy areas
This one is a really easy red flag. If a restaurant is unusually empty in an area with high foot traffic and the surrounding restaurants are at least half full, there’s usually a good reason. Maybe the food isn’t good. Maybe it’s too pricey. Or maybe there’s just something off about it. So if you’re the owner of such a restaurant, time to take a long and hard look at every aspect of your business.
How’s the washroom?
One in four people it is revealed, post an online review after eating in a restaurant with poor hygienic conditions. It’s said that a fairly broad way to instantly gauge a restaurant’s cleanliness is to check out the diner’s washroom. If the washroom isn’t in great condition, or worse, filthy, you can be pretty sure that the kitchen isn’t that much better. Steer clear. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily apply to restaurants in hotels and shopping malls.
Pay Attention to the staff
This is a fairly easy way to tell how well a restaurant is run. Do the staff seem like a well-oiled machine, or are they clearly unhappy to be there? This is particularly important, because it also dictates how well any potential returns or substitutions will go. Finally, are any of the staff unwell? If they seem to be sniffing or coughing, it’s time to leave, pronto.
How is the restaurant’s website?
A new survey from MGH found that 77% of diners visit a restaurant’s website before they dine in or order out from the establishment. Of that group, nearly 70% have been discouraged from visiting the restaurant because of its website. The biggest factor behind diners’ decisions to visit a restaurant after looking at its website were the items on its menu, though some diners said that a restaurant website’s sub-optimal ease of navigation, readability or its food photography might turn them off from ordering. Restaurants are now enabling customers to check out their offerings by using apps that show the latest menu.
Ashraaq Wahab – Director of Sales & Marketing and Technical, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Automotive Journalist, Marketer, Photographer and Writer, who enjoys penning his thoughts, insights and ideas on a variety of topics
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