Problems of the restaurant industry

Gastery
5 min readDec 13, 2017

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Today, you can hardly meet a person who has never been to a restaurant. Some people go there every day, some people visit them from time to time. Anyway, most people are familiar with the food industry. Streets of the modern metropolis are full of places. All kinds of eateries and bistros, tea and coffee shops, cafes and restaurants. Everyone can find a place he will like.

To engage visitors’ attention, restaurants regularly present interesting offers, create unusual and delicious menu and come up with entertainment programs. There is a fierce competition in this area, so restaurateurs have to work hard to be successful. There are many ways to increase the income of the restaurant, and here are some of them:

1. Well-considered loyalty program.

A great way to attract new visitors and keep the loyal ones. The bonus and discount system will become a motivation for the client to come again. The loyalty program should be designed so that the discounts attract new visitors, but it shouldn’t cause damage for the restaurant. In this case, it will work in favor of the restaurant.

2. Special offers.

Items from seasonal menu are usually sold better, especially if they are relevant and located at the very beginning of the menu. In summer — refreshing cocktails and dishes, in winter — warm drinks and hot meals. Here the human factor will play the main role. For example, on a hot summer day, everyone wants to drink something cool, and if the drink is attractive and immediately catches the eye then he will certainly want to try. The price of seasonal dishes should not be high — this will alienate the buyer. So the price should be average or slightly higher than the rest in this category.

3. Profitable business lunch.

It is especially important if the restaurant is located in the downtown of the city. The most difficult thing here is to think over a set of dishes so that the business lunch will be tasty and at the same time inexpensive. Usually it consists of a salad, soup, hot meal and dessert. Its price should be fixed and reasonable for visitors with different income levels. Information about a business lunch should be placed outside the restaurant. It will attract customers from the nearest offices and interest passers-by.

4. Delivery.

Many people do not have time to visit the restaurant or they prefer the familiar home atmosphere to a crowded place. That’s why delivery is an excellent way to attract new customers. You can test the relevance of the service on some items from the menu and spread it to the entire range of dishes and some drinks. It is better to make a fixed price of delivery depending on the area of the city. If the town is small, it makes sense to offer customers free delivery from any amount of the order. This offer is beneficial for both sides: the customer will add some extra items to his order and save on delivery, and the restaurant will cover the cost of delivery.

5. Cleanliness.

One of the most reliable ways to approve a restaurant itself. The restaurateur must ensure that every inch of the restaurant is always clean. You need to set up a regular and fast cleaning system. In this case, the client will be satisfied and sure will come again.

There are a lot of ways to increase the profit of the restaurant, but without observing the basic rules of the food industry the restaurant will not survive. So, what recommendations should every restaurateur follow?

First, it is important to monitor the feedback from visitors. In social networks, with the help of special websites and services, through the book of complains and so on. The method of communication can vary. It really works and does not exist formally. If visitors see that restaurant pays attention to their opinions and suggestions, they will not only come to the restaurant with pleasure, but also recommend it to their relatives and friends.

Secondly, you must always ensure that the service rate is high. If the restaurant regularly experiences delays, the head of the establishment should think about additional recruitment or automation of some systems. Restaurants are forced to do everything possible to speed up the workflow without quality of service being affected. As you know, time is money, so no one wants to waste it.

Thirdly, it is necessary not to overload the staff. Restaurateurs reduce the number of workers to an absolute minimum to save some money. This is far from the most successful move, as in this case the staff starts to work to the point of exhaustion. The speed and quality of service is reduced, visitors are unhappy and employees — tired. A restaurant loses profits, and sometimes valuable staff. That is why it is important that each employee performs only his duties, appropriate to his position and pay.

Fourth, you must always follow the innovations of the industry. The number of establishments in the world regularly grows, there are more and more peculiar and unusual solutions that can attract a large flow of consumers. That is why the restaurant must always ensure that it does not lag behind competitors. This applies not only to the new items in the menu and various actions, but also to the regular updating of the equipment.

It is important to understand that any business is facing various difficulties. The owners of the restaurant business need to keep an eye on new trends in the food industry, feedback, the quality and rate of service, and many other things. The service eWaiter, which allows solving all the problems of the restaurateur, will help to cope with this amount of work.

And the last but the most important rule, which is also perfectly applicable to the restaurant business: “Treat people as you want them to treat you.” The owner of the restaurant should constantly ask himself, would it be nice to be and eat here? He should be attentive not only to the guests, but also to the employees. Following these rules your restaurant will thrive and not facing big problems and difficulties.

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Gastery

Gastery is a blockchain platform for the restaurants’ guest service automation and loyalty system based on WTR token. Official website: https://gastery.io