True Food Kitchen: Service Safari
There are many different ways to find comfort in life whether through reading, meditation, watching tv, or going for a walk. Although, there is something especially comforting in eating your “comfort foods”. For me, that food is a hamburger. But not just any hamburger. It is True Food Kitchen’s hamburger.
After a major craving for this burger, I set out this weekend to get the full experience at True Food Kitchen.
Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, going out to eat has become a completely different experience. True Food Kitchen, amongst other restaurants in California, just re-opened this week after being in lockdown for the past two months. It was fascinating to see how their approach to service drastically changed since my last time there. I was amazed by the new service techniques being adapted.
Touch Point 1: Making a Reservation
Being one of the top restaurants in this area, it is tough to get a table at True Food Kitchen without a reservation in advance. The night prior, I went to their website: https://www.truefoodkitchen.com/to book a reservation for me and my friend. I chose the restaurant location nearest me, my party size, date, and time for the reservation.
After filling out this form, I was redirected to Open Table’s website. On Open Table, I confirmed the date and time for my reservation. Shortly after, I was sent an email confirmation with the details of my reservation. I was ready to go!
Restaurant Day
Touch Point 2: Entering the Restaurant
True Food Kitchen was open only for outdoor seating. As we entered the restaurant, I noticed the big sign and a smaller chalk sign in front of the restaurant highlighting some of the seasonal items on the menu.
Touch Point 3: Hostess Table
Rather than being located inside the restaurant, the hostess table was now outside. It was a small table with a green umbrella. It was hard to locate at first glance since it was surrounded by the guests’ tables and chairs. The hostess acknowledged our presence as we approached the table and we were asked: “What is the name under your reservation?”. She didn’t greet us, but was still accommodating. The hostess was using an iPad to check in customers for their reservations. We gave her our name, she checked us in quickly, and immediately led us to our table.
Touch Point 4: Seating
The tables and chairs were laid out in a way that utilized space efficiently, but also maintained the 6ft distance for Covid. The chairs were yellow and green to match the restaurant’s branding. There was a heater placed near us, which was appreciated on this cold winter day. The tables were very clean, but I noticed that we weren’t given any menus. There was a QR in the corner of the table, which I assumed would be the menu.
Touch Point 5: The Menu
After a few minutes of sitting down, we were greeted by our waitress. She was kind and asked us how we are doing. We were told to scan the QR code on the table in order to view the menu. She brought us our plates, utensils, and glasses of water. I observed that all waiters and waitresses were wearing t-shirts that said “live true”.
It was quite simple to navigate through the menu. It was categorized based on the food group (a section for sandwiches, salads, appetizers, etc.). I liked how there were images of the food, which weren’t on the original pre-Covid paper menus. However, I would argue that the mobile menu was not as clear and easy to navigate. The paper menu was one sheet and had additional information such as the nutritional facts of the food. It was now challenging to see all the menu options on one page and required navigating to different sections of the online menu.
The waitress checked in with us a few times to see if we had any questions about the menu, which was appreciated. Searching through the menu, my friend and I both agreed on getting the Grass-fed Burger, a comfort food for both of us.
Touch Point 6: Ordering from the Menu
Last time I was at True Food Kitchen, we were given a paper menu (on printer paper rather than their card-stock paper menu). We were given a small pencil to fill out what we wanted to order. This was a terrible experience for everyone I went to True Foods with. The paper would either fly in the wind, the pencil would get lost, or there wasn’t ever enough space to write special requests or accommodations for each person’s dish.
True Food Kitchen seemed to learn from their mistake because this time we were given two new options when it came to ordering:
- We could order online with our phones
- We could order with the waiter/waitress
I appreciated that we had both options of ordering “contactless” or with the waiter/waitress.
Touch Point 7: Placing the Order
Placing the order was a bit challenging. My friend and I first attempted to order through our phones. It wasn’t as easy as we had hoped.
We couldn’t find a section to leave any special requests. For instance, I like to get half of the kale salad and half of the sweet potatoes as a side, but I was only allowed to choose one side. The menu did have other sections that were helpful such as “burger temp” (well done, medium rare, rare, etc.) and the option to remove certain ingredients (cheese, mayo, onions, etc).
In order to make sure that our orders were placed exactly how we wanted them, we felt it was easier to place the order with the waitress. We spoke with her and placed our orders.
Ordering with the waitress went smoothly. My friend found it less stressful as well, since she had some special requests (no cheese, no mayo) that we wanted to make sure were processed.
As we were ordering, the waitress even asked if my friend’s requests for no cheese and no mayo were “allergies” or just “preferences”. Every time I have gone to True Foods, every waiter/waitress has made sure to ask that thoughtful question. It demonstrates how conscious they are of their customers’ allergies and food preferences. It makes the customer feel safe knowing that their health and wellness is prioritized.
Touch Point 8: Eating the Food
This was the most satisfying touch point, of course ;) We were delivered our plates and were given the space to eat. The waitress checked in on us a couple times to make sure that we were enjoying our food and to see if we needed anything.
The plate and utensils were very clean. The portion of food was perfect and looked very presentable. The burger was delicious and really hit the spot. Most importantly, the temperature of the food was great. For me, cold food is very disappointing, but it was apparent that the burger was right off the grill.
Nearing the end, the waitress came and dropped off the check. She said “No rush, but here is the check when you are ready”. Unfortunately, that did make us feel rushed.
Something about being given the check when we were eating made us feel a bit rushed. I think that it would have been a more enjoyable experience if the check was brought after our plates were cleared. What if we wanted dessert?
Touch Point 9: Payment
When we were finished, the bus boy came and asked if we were done. We had already put our cards down for the check. He cleared our plates and took the check.
I was hoping there would be an option to pay through an app as many other restaurants offer these days.
After 5 minutes, he returned with our cards and receipts. We signed and left our tips.
Touch Point 10: Exit
We were allowed to leave the restaurant whenever we wanted and weren’t bothered by our waitress. We stayed 20 minutes after we finished eating, just wrapping up our conversation. After we left, the bus boy came and cleaned the table.
My Takeaways
The journey to my favorite hamburger gave me a glimpse into the world of service design. Despite having been to this restaurant many times before, it felt like a completely new experience this time. This service safari allowed the “invisible” to become “visible” to me. I was able to notice various touch-points in a restaurant service. Becoming aware of every detail gave me insights into the strengths of True Food Kitchen’s service, but also the opportunities for improvement that could create the ultimate experience for customers.
