The importance of customer satisfaction does not discriminate. It can make or break the success of any restaurant, regardless of its size, location, demographics, or even the quality of the cuisine.
However, restaurant owners can find it increasingly difficult to identify the major contributing factors of customer satisfaction, especially when they disagree with what customers feel that they need.
It’s not about what restaurants need to feel satisfied, it’s about what guests feel restaurants need to do to satisfy them.
The more satisfied guests are, the more likely they are to spend more, visit repetitively, share their positive experiences, and recommend restaurants to friends, families, and strangers online.
It’s important not to inconvenience guests at a restaurant’s convenience.
Why is Customer Satisfaction important?
There are a variety of reasons customer satisfaction is important, but let’s sum it up to these powerful statistics:
- 7 out of 10 U.S. consumers say they’ve spent more money to do business with a company that delivers great service. (American Express)
- A moderate increase in the Customer Experience generates an average revenue increase of $823 million over three years for a company with $1 billion in annual revenues. (Temkin Group)
- A Harvard Business School researcher found that a one-star increase in a restaurant’s Yelp rating correlated with a 5-9% increase in revenue.
- 25 percent more people turn to consumer reviews on sites like OpenTable, Yelp, and TripAdvisor than those who rely on reviews by professional food critics. 60 percent read reviews before going out for a meal, a habit that takes precedence over getting directions to a restaurant, or looking at food photos. (OpenTable)
- Diners say that complimentary extras (69 percent) and seating preferences (65 percent) would go far in increasing customer loyalty. (OpenTable)
- 75 percent of consumers will not visit or patronize a restaurant with negative reviews about its cleanliness. (Harris Poll for Cintas Corporation)
- 38% of all customer complaints are on social media and review sites. Restaurants get only 14% of all complaints. (Jay Baer, Food Service Magazine)
- After one negative experience, 51% of customers will never do business with that company again. (New Voice Media)
What contributes to poor customer service?
Neglecting the fundamentals of running a business
It can be easy for new and old businesses alike to neglect the fundamentals of running a restaurant. Let’s get back to the basics. Every restaurant owner should not only have a written system that works, but every employee should follow the system. Management should create checklists and ensure they follow them repetitively. Checklists should remind team members that bathrooms need to be cleaned multiple times daily, staff should turn music on, open signs should be lit, inventory procedures have checks and balances, and internal operations are followed daily.
Misunderstanding what customers want and need
A lot of restaurant owners assume that since they created the restaurant, and customers agree with them when they provide their own opinions, that a majority of their customers feel the same way. There is power in restaurant surveys. The ability to find out what customers want, but may not have been sharing with you, is important. When utilizing this data effectively, businesses can increase customer satisfaction easily.
Lack of cleanliness
No one likes a dirty restroom, peeking into a dirty kitchen, stepping on dirty floors, or eating on dirty tables.
Non-versatle menu options
Underestimating the power of unhappy customers
The statistics supporting the power of an unhappy customer are staggering. 96% of unhappy customers don’t complain. 91% will leave and never come back. A dissatisfied customer shares their experience with between 9-15 people. 13% of unhappy customers tell 20 people or more.
Not creating enough reasons for customers to come back
Without a loyalty program, community involvement, a unique brand atmospheric experience, or exceptional customer service, customers will leave without coming back.
Poor food quality
Many fast-food restaurants are struggling to keep up with the desire for fresh foods. Moving away from the days when speed was everything, now it’s all about quality and brand experiences.
Lack of brand consistency
According to smallbizgenius, Consistently presented brands are 3.5 times more likely to enjoy excellent brand visibility than those with an inconsistent brand presentation. Brand consistency statistics published by Demand Metric suggest uniformly presented brands are 3.5 times more visible to customers.
No incentives/Poor Incentives
A RetailMeNot survey found that almost three-fourths of Americans say offers are a top factor when deciding where and what to buy online. Four out of five Americans say finding a great offer or discount is on their mind throughout the entire purchase journey.
High-value brands like Starbucks have learned long ago that loyalty programs bring customers back again and again. In fact according to CNN, super-loyal customers who use Starbucks’ membership program account for about 40% of sales at the company’s US stores.
“Starbucks Rewards continues to be a powerful enabler of loyalty,” CEO Kevin Johnson said while discussing that quarter’s earnings in a call with analysts.
Slow WiFi
Bad customer service
Did you know that after one poor experience with a brand, 71% of guests won’t visit ever again? Losing just one customer can be costly, so it’s important to look at the bigger customer experience picture. If one puzzle piece is missing, a restaurant could receive significant losses.
Even if a location is popular and business is booming, customer satisfaction should be taken seriously. Regardless of the food, drinks, and atmosphere, customer experience is the most important component to improve customer satisfaction.
Bad environment
If a location is outdated, amplifies sound too much, has music that is too loud, or no music at all, consumers classify it as a bad environment.
These are the top factors to improve a restaurant’s environment:
- Updated interior design: A restaurant’s physical environment will immediately evoke positive or negative feelings about a restaurant’s brand.
- Ambient light: While rarely mentioned, ambient lighting that is too bright or too dark has a high likelihood to become a deterrent, and a silent brand detractor.
- Colors: The colors of a restaurant will immediately and subconsciously showcase the quality of a brand. They also evoke specific feelings. For example, red and yellow stimulates appetites, blue decreases appetites but increases feelings of calmness and comfort. Blue creates the appearance that time passes quicker, while red restaurants create the appearance that time passes by slower for guests.
- Music: Multiple studies show that music has a direct impact on the amount the guests spend when visiting restaurants. Music should match a brand’s image. Slow music increases a customer’s willingness to spend more money, while faster music can contribute to more alcoholic beverage sales and creates a more casual environment.
- Background noises: Restaurants should have a medium sound level. Customers in quiet restaurants spend more money and eat more of their food, but they can also contribute the low sound levels to a low quality restaurant with high-cost food. Guests in noisy restaurants both spend and eat less, so if traffic is high it’s important to have interior sound proofing present.
- Aesthetics: Not only do guests prefer a positive overall brand interior appearance, attractive restaurants are an additional social media marketing tool.
Unreasonable pricing
It’s important to create menu pricing that matches customer expectations, while providing a significant return on ingredient investments. Below is a graph that shows the average amount that guests spend (per person) at fast-food restaurants, takeout restaurants, food delivery services, and full-service restaurants according to Statista.
Lack of future planning
In the restaurant industry, one year you could be popular, and the next year you could experience a downturn. It’s important not to dwell too much in current successes, to evaluate what competitors are doing, and to utilize innovative ways to improve satisfaction and profits.
No competitive differentiation
While it’s never advisable to mirror your competition, tracking what’s working and not working for competitors provide brands with the opportunity to create positive differentiations.
Poor location
Poor future planning creates poor location decisions. When brainstorming a new location, it’s important to pay close attention to local demographics to ensure brand integrity and profitability. It’s important to remain agile if a location’s demographics change.
What’s your favorite way to increase customer satisfaction? Leave us a comment below!
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