Buzz
Once you venture into the restaurant business, everyone dreams of having a lively and bustling establishment, with customers coming in and out, and revenue steadily increasing. Many restaurants have achieved this, but... only during their grand opening.
Despite flashy marketing campaigns and considerable opening expenses, after that honeymoon week, customers start dwindling away, leaving you puzzled as to why.
In reality, there are numerous factors leading to an empty restaurant. It could be: relying too much on word-of-mouth, choosing the wrong location, serving subpar dishes, or pricing out of sync with the target clientele,...
However, in this article, we will compile the reasons why your restaurant is empty in a way that sometimes you can't even imagine. Let's follow along!
1. Staff with a 'dirty look'
Yes! Not dirty food, not dirty dishes, but your staff with a 'dirty look'.
Literally 'dirty' though. Meaning untidy attire, messy hair, unclean clothes, long unkempt nails, being dirty and then serving food to guests, even frequently touching the inside of clean plates and bowls.
In the food and beverage service, staff are considered the 'face' of the restaurant. Just imagine, with a team of staff like that, would any customer dare to come back next time?
This is one of the top reasons why restaurants lose customers!
2. Dirty chopsticks
Not only in restaurants, eateries, to be honest, sometimes even in Vietnamese families, many people don't have the habit of changing chopsticks. There are chopsticks that have been used for... decades???
It's not necessarily because they're trying to save money. It's because in their minds, they've never thought about the need to replace chopsticks!
But they don't realize that, just like toothbrushes, chopsticks also need to be regularly replaced, especially bamboo chopsticks used in Vietnamese meals. In the kitchen, 'chopsticks and cutting boards' are the two things that bacteria thrive on most easily.
So, pay attention to the chopsticks brought out to serve guests. Many restaurants even skimp to the point of using disposable chopsticks. Looking at chopsticks like that, you really don't feel like eating anymore. And the consequence of causing restaurants to lose customers is inevitable.
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3. Dirty toothpicks, wet wipes, dirty napkins
After dirty chopsticks, the next thing that makes customers 'allergic' is the very 'trivial' items on the dining table such as toothpicks, wet wipes, napkins.
Just imagine when you step into a restaurant, sit at a table with a wet towel that smells, crumpled napkins, moldy toothpicks,... do you still feel like sitting down to eat?
This is a taboo in the food and beverage business. You don't even need to know if the food in your restaurant is good, but these 'trivial' things, if not prepared meticulously, will leave quite a bad impression on customers.
4. Charging for iced tea
Iced tea, bottled water, air conditioning, music... should be complimentary services, not something you squeeze extra profit from, unless you're running a sidewalk iced tea business!!!
Nowadays, even street-side eateries are very attentive in taking care of customers. They prepare clean iced tea barrels right at the venue, after dining, customers can freely enjoy complimentary iced tea. Or noodle stalls also thoughtfully prepare chewing gum, mint candies for customers to freshen their breath after eating.
Therefore, meticulously calculating the cost for each glass of iced tea makes many customers 'allergic'. They will compare your restaurant's service with other eateries, and may very well conclude: If even a glass of iced tea is calculated so meticulously, then the prices of food and drinks there probably aren't 'comfortable' either.
This is also the reason why customers 'once gone, never return'
5. Inconvenient and costly parking
'Guests are responsible for managing their own vehicles, the restaurant is not responsible for any losses' – is one of the signs that many restaurants, eateries, cafes 'carelessly' hang up to 'remind' customers, without realizing that it is the very reason that makes customers hesitant when stepping into their establishment.
Put yourself in your customer's shoes, see if when reading that sentence, do you think: 'Maybe the restaurant hung up the sign because there have been thefts before'. Or if you go to eat, do you sit anxiously wondering if someone out there might steal your bike?
The restaurant might be beautiful, the food might be delicious, but if there's no parking space, or the parking lot is cramped, and there's no valet service, it's a hindrance when you open a restaurant. Many 'weak-legged and soft-handed' customers will have to struggle to park, turn around, sweat profusely, and get dirty clothes, ruining their image with friends, partners... It's truly a terrible experience, they wouldn't want to come back again.
Moreover, many restaurants even calculate charging for parking. The amount isn't large, just 2K, 3K, 5K,... for motorbikes, and more for cars, but it truly makes customers uncomfortable. Just like air conditioning, iced tea, parking fees should be included in the restaurant's complimentary services.
If your establishment has to rent a parking attendant service, it's best to cleverly include that fee in the food prices or service charges on the menu instead of charging separately, which can create a negative impression, gradually leading to the restaurant losing customers.
6. Security guards with an 'inflated' attitude
Are you surprised? Not the receptionist, not the waitstaff, but the restaurant security guard – a character that many restaurants forget about 'training professionally'.
Therefore, many managers, restaurant owners can't imagine that the reason the restaurant is empty actually stems from the very 'security guard' who seems to be 'unemployed' all day sitting in front of that restaurant's door.
Customers arrive and get just a wave of the hand for self-parking, self-parking,... When asking for help to retrieve their car, they receive a reluctantly unenthusiastic attitude, even adding a few words like 'You can't even park it yourself?'... Encountering a security guard like that just once, your restaurant violates the theory of 'pleasing guests who come, satisfying guests who leave'.
7. Dirty toilets, low-quality toilet paper
The restroom area in restaurants, eateries is an area heavily utilized by customers during their dining experience, using the services at the restaurant.
In reality, after the dining area, kitchen, this is the area that customers need to see cleanliness the most.
Common everyday terms we Vietnamese often use: restroom, toilet, wc, and even some places locally call it 'outhouse',... But did you know that the 'restroom area' in English is called the 'rest room' – meaning: a relaxation room or area. This shows that foreigners place great importance on this rest room area.
Mid-meal, guests go to the restroom and encounter a dismal restroom area, dirty toilets, foul smells, cluttered bottles, trash strewn about,... Imagine returning to the table, would they still feel like the meal is enjoyable?
Not to mention, many restaurants also skimp on using very low-quality toilet paper, wrinkled and dirty, easily torn apart... It's a truly awful impression, especially for women, who are very concerned about gynecological infections.
Therefore, in restaurant management, you must prioritize the cleaning of restroom areas with reasonable schedules and frequencies. Don't let your restaurant lose customers because of this unworthy service error.
Above are the 7 most unbelievable mistakes that make restaurants, eateries empty. Take a look again, does your establishment commit any of these errors? If so, we advise you to seriously reconsider the quality of service in your restaurant. Evaluate whether that is indeed one of the reasons why your customers 'run away' or not?
Wishing you all success in restaurant business!
With warm regards,
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