As an old adage goes, you can’t judge a book by its cover. But, when it comes to the restaurant industry, there are many things you can consider to judge whether or not the place is up to the required standards. Also, you can skim through different online surveys and review sites like TellBostonMarket to know the neutral pros and cons of restaurants near you.
In this post, we’ve gathered some of the best practical approaches to determine if you’re dining somewhere that’s really worthy:-
- Nobody Welcomes You at the Door
Happy customers are integral part to your restaurant business model. According to one of the studies conducted at the Harvard Business School, customer satisfaction has a colossal impact on your income. The general rule of thumb in the hospitality industry is that a table should be attended within two or three minutes of being settled. If the server isn’t able to follow this basic rule, then the other workers should get involved and tell you that your waiter will be with you soon. Also, within 5 minutes, you should get a waiter getting your order and discussing any problems with the experience. Although, it wouldn’t be right to ask the management to change the music, but you can always ask them to adjust A.C. settings if it’s very hot and you’re sweating.
- The Bathroom is Dirty
At good restaurants, the restrooms will be monitored routinely to ensure that there is enough soap in the dispenser, toilet tissues and towels are available, and all other things are also in good condition. At the end of every shift, the bathrooms should be cleaned properly with bleach. If the restroom has messy floors, trash and disturbing odor, you can bet the restaurant kitchen will be in the same condition.
- The Food is Terrible
There is no denying the fact that good customer service can neutralize many things, but nothing will make you return to the place that serves terrible and unsophisticated food. Watch over fancy descriptions that don’t precisely explain what you get in reality, as well as low-quality ingredients being replaced with high priced items.
Watch over the unbalanced portion sizes to see if you’re getting exactly what you’ve paid for. If a restaurant kitchen is being run unsatisfactorily, you’ll likely notice uneven portion sizes and substandard food quality. Sadly, the overall quality and standard go down the drain if a good restaurant fails to maintain their promised standards, specifically if they lose their main chef or basic kitchen personnel.
- Obvious Errors On Your Bill or the Bill is Larger Than your Expectations
It wouldn’t be justified if you throw all the waiters into a single category, but there are some deceitful people who will try to include unconsumed things into your final bill especially if you are a huge group. Generally, they include more drinks into your bill in hope to charge additional from the guests. There is no denying the fact that unintentional mistakes and errors can definitely occur, it is still a great idea to always check your bill before making the payment. This is certainly the best way you can ensure you actually got every single item you’re being billed for. In addition to that, also cross check that an item that was agreed to be discarded from your final bill actually was. Feel free to report your case to the restaurant manager if you’re not happy with your waiter’s overall service.
Similarly, if you’re paying $30 for a big hearty portion of hand-rolled pasta with a sideline of homemade garlic bread topped with Parmesan served with your favorite wine, then the effort and high-quality ingredients most likely make up for the price sticker. But, if you’re paying the similar amount for a dry grilled chicken breast served with handful of fries and coleslaw on the side, then you’ve been robbed. In that case, try to look for other places that offer the true value for money.
- They Don’t Accept Credit Cards
There are restaurants that don’t accept credit cards and don’t even bother to tell this nonsense to their customers upfront. Ideally, all sit-down restaurants should offer this facility to their diners. However, if some of them still insist being a cash-only option, they should at least address this issue beforehand to the customers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, price, quality and ambiance are certainly three major variables around which the entire restaurant industry revolves. A place that can cope up with these 3 aspects or at least 2 can survive in the long run. According to Forbes, the simplest sale is the perpetual sale. Great customer service promotes habitual buying by curtailing friction and mistrust.