Reading the room apart from reviews
Yes, I read restaurant reviews before I dine out, especially when I’m traveling or visiting a restaurant for the first time. The reviews themselves don’t carry a lot of weight with me though. Because, most reviews simply tell me whether or not the person enjoyed their visit, and I need to read very carefully in order to tell whether their tastes, preferences and tolerances’ are similar to mine. Hence, someone saying “food was good” doesn’t tell me much! To me Good is the enemy of great.
With restaurants, a single bad rating can come from a minor issue with a sole member of serving staff. Multiple bad ratings, of course, are patterns and they do tell a story. For hotels though, it can be a different narrative where a single negative such as bed bugs can make a huge impact.
For me, a good review is just the beginning. It’s those ‘moments of truth’ that follow that matter, when I eventually make that visit. And it starts by my ‘reading the room’. To “read the room” means to analyze the general mood of people and the vibe in a particular setting and act accordingly. Is the mood of the place right and does it make me feel comfortable? Do I enter or do I leave before that? Reading the room is just like crossing the road. As kids we all remember being told “stop, look, listen” – especially when crossing a railway line. The same applies every time I enter a meeting or any public space - be it for professional or personal reasons.
To be clear, reading the room gives us clues, not answers. So, I’m careful not to hastily jump to conclusions having merely observed and actively listened. As they say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. With that in mind, I have overtime, developed a line of thinking that automatically enters my mind, as I approach a hotel or restaurant which I have chosen to patronise. It kinda kicks into gear no sooner I drive up to the property, where I begin to think of what I want and expect; be it whilst looking for parking, using any signage for wayfinding, when entering the place through the door, etc. It all funnels down to answering questions such as “What am I seeing, hearing, smelling, and feeling and doing here?”
Was there anyone at the door to genuinely welcome me and show that they care I’m here? First impressions matters a lot. Staff members are the face of any hospitality business. Once the customer is enticed to enter the place, it is the staff that communicates with the guest, and makes the largest impact in creating service image. When the arrival experience is forgettable, it sets the tone for the rest of the customer journey. What starts badly can usually get worse and I begin to ponder “Are they competent?” That’s the first red flag.
Is the place loud and crowded or quiet and unfilled? How is the overall atmosphere and dynamics within the restaurant? Looking around, who is smiling and who is not? What is the energy-level and mood of the staff? Are they relaxed or tense? Then of course there is the restroom review. Are they clean? Customers often use the restroom as a "window" into the kitchen, and a dirty bathroom can lead them to question the cleanliness of the entire restaurant, including food preparation areas. That said; let’s not forget that it only takes an untidy customer or two to make a mess of a clean toilet. Old, broken, and stained equipment on the other hand in a restaurant restroom is going to look bad, no matter how much it’s cleaned. And that then is another red flag.
Most of these are helpful cues for any restaurant manager to be proactively attuned to when running a tight ship.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Motivational Speaker, Ex-Hotelier
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