Understanding the Restaurant Business - chp 1

When we choose a restaurant for dinner, we take in some simple considerations: Location - how close is it to the house? Service – are severs attentive to your needs? Food quality – are the portions adequate and is the food good? Ambiance – was the room clean and visually appealing? Each of these factors will determine the quality of dining experience and if we, will return. Therefore, it is imperative that a first-time customer have the best dinning experience to assure their return. We need to understand that customers come in with an open mind; that they have never experienced this restaurant’s environment, service or food.

Good restaurants will take advantage of this every time. If you go to a four-star restaurant, the Matre De or host will ask if you have dined with them before? If you say no, they will politely explain house specialties, traditions, and special events that are going on that evening. This insures the customer will understand the dinning environment and be able to experience the ambiance.

As an entertainer, we can help a restaurant achieve this experience by providing an enjoyable atmosphere so customers will remember the fun they had and overlook the poor service or lukewarm meal. A comical magician rooming the lobby of a crowded restaurant can make customers forget that they have been waiting over an hour for a seat. Moms and dads can enjoy a nice peaceful dinner as the kids play with their new balloon animals. A family gathering will turn in to one big party as the clown interacts with aunts, uncles and cousins.

If your first experience at a restaurant is bad, the likelihood of you returning is slim. Most individuals are very critical of a restaurant on the first visit. So as an entertainer, we need to provide the customer with an exceptionally good time. If the parents enjoy the meal and the kids have fun, you can be positive the family will return. Kids can dictate which restaurant a parent visits. McDonald’s has learned that giving a toy in a kid’s meal the child will want to return to the restaurant. My neighbor’s child likes going to the Sunday pancake house because he receives a helium balloon every weekend. The parents like it because the food is good. Smart restaurant owners understand kids control the family dinning experience and provide special kids meals, coloring material or games at a table.

At the Crackle Barrel, hey provide a Peg Game on the table. Customers would play with the Peg Game while waiting for their meal. This has been a running tradition at the Cracker Barrel location since 1969. Good family restaurants understand family needs and do their best to accommodate their customers.