Setting Restaurants up for Success
As diners, we all have preferences when it comes to choosing restaurants for different occasions. If we prefer one for eating out with friends, we might like another when hosting a family get-together and yet another restaurant for dates.
The point is that restaurants cater to more than just the craving that we have for their food. They also cater to a culture of eating with people we love the most and spending quality time with them.
At a time when the hospitality and service industry has been hit hard, with local eateries trying to survive, we as customers have the ability to help.
How to be Better Customers
Restaurants are businesses and people like us keep these businesses alive through our regular patronage. Places like small family-owned diners do not have the financial backing of large multinational chain restaurants. They’re under extreme pressure to just survive.
As customers, compassion goes a long way. A service-based job is hard enough, we don’t need to make a server’s job trickier by being difficult. Here’s how you can exercise compassion without getting taken advantage of.
While it is okay to be a critic, it is also important to understand that this is a difficult time with inflation increasing the costs of basic amenities and food.
If you notice that a restaurant is understaffed, it’s probably because the business was unable to keep up with the rising labor costs, with no direct fault of the owner.
In case of allergies or specific food preferences, clear and crisp communication goes a long way. Let your server know what you expect before they prepare your food.
For special occasions during holidays and large parties, it is wise to make dinner reservations well in advance. This gives you the option of choosing a convenient date and allows the restaurant to make its preparations, which is beneficial to you in the long run.
Restaurants give us much more than we give them- food, experiences, laughter, special moments and in making a restaurant successful, we’re actually setting ourselves up for more amazing memories.
