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When
running a restaurant, you could expect the main motivator for
generating repeat business would be good food. However, a survey
undertaken among diners by The Mystery Dining Company - a leading
provider of field-based operational and marketing research for the
hospitality industry - has highlighted just how important it is for
restaurateurs to get right a complete range of different influencing factors.
The study
found that staff and cleanliness are equally high on the agenda for
all customers with 60 per cent reporting they would not return to a
restaurant that was dirty or employed rude staff. Respondents advised
they felt the front of house areas provided an insight into the
condition of the kitchen and, while they could sympathise with staff
who were lacking in knowledge, an indifferent or off-hand approach to
service was a top customer turn off.
Interestingly,
long waits for food and drink to be served was only ranked fourth in
terms of importance, with customers more prepared to wait if their
meal tasted great and was served by friendly staff.
Loos also
proved important too with 15 per cent of respondents unlikely to
return to any establishment with unclean toilets.
Perhaps
surprisingly, only a very small proportion of diners reported they
would be put off by a child unfriendly restaurant or by eating in an
environment that was too hot or cold.
The survey
also highlighted that while competitive pricing was an important
factor, money off promotions had a minimal effect on encouraging
repeat business.
"Consumers
are increasingly expecting 'added value' from a dining experience,
which can very often be overlooked by a business," said
Sally Whelan, director of The Mystery Dining Company. "This
study has highlighted the range and variety of factors that can
influence any diner and the opportunities that can be capitalised on
to generate repeat business. General consumer trends such as people
wanting more experiences in their lives are feeding into the changing
customer expectations when eating out. Today, factors such as
atmosphere are also now incredibly important and can really help not
only to differentiate a restaurant but also to build a loyal, regular
customer base."
The Mystery
Dining Company was established in 2003 by Sally Whelan and Emma
Chambers. The company offers the complete range of both mystery guest
and mystery dining services for the hospitality sector, which can be
used to monitor and highlight areas for improvement such as staff
training, menus, general service and complaints handling.
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