You would think that in an industry that has such a long and steady history as food service that big innovative ideas would be few and far between. I mean, how much innovation does it take to cook food and serve it? As I have learned in the past few months of writing this blog, this is not the case. To illustrate, I bring you a story of how technology can accomplish something as simple as increasing customer feedback. My sister, Sarah, and her BF went out to dinner recently at BD’s Mongolian BBQ, a chain restaurant based in Royal Oak, MI and she sent me a text after their dinner about the check presenter…it was an interactive survey! For as long as I can recall, every restaurant I have worked in has placed a paper comment card into the check presenter for the guest to complete. Often, a restaurant will receive more negative comments than good, as when you are unhappy with some aspect of your meal, you will be more likely to let someone know about it, even if it’s after you have left. The possibility of receiving a free coupon in the mail to make up for it may also be a reason for this type of behavior. For the most part, people who are happy about their dining experience are less likely to take the time to fill out the card, whereas an unhappy patron will take the time to let you know what upset them. However, offering a new, fun, interactive, digital way to respond to the proprietor may be a great way to increase the number of responses in general, and may also offer a way to gather a more representative sampling of the overall dining consensus.
Here’s the unit:
Photos by Sarah K.
Photos by Sarah K.
This model is made by LRS, or Long Range Systems. Based in Addison, TX LRS has been in the business of guest and staff management since 1995, and started out as a firm that designed coaster-pagers for wait-list management. They call this model an ECC, or electronic comment card, and they purport that with this system, the percentage of survey respondents reaches about 75%! Other features include the ability to program the system to let the manager know about an unhappy guest immediately upon completion of the survey, allowing the manager to salvage the experience with the diner before they leave…and tell 10 others about their bad time. This option may also save time and money over the standard secret shopper service, and it can be maintained in-house.
From what information I was able to find, BD’s implemented this system in 2006 to “increase customer loyalty and sales.”
And it’s pretty easy to use. Sarah said it took about 1-2 minutes to complete the survey and it asked approximately 10 questions on basic customer service; was the place clean, were the servers nice, the grill persons entertaining, were they greeted promptly, was the food fresh. Sarah also stated the survey was ‘not annoying’ to complete, as it was short and easy to maneuver, but she would have liked to have received a coupon for her next visit for completing the survey. This may be an idea that was utilized at the onset of the system’s integration, but if they are truly receiving the 75% response rate, then offering a coupon is not only not necessary, but would be expensive to implement. And as I have stated before, if a restaurant offers too deep of discounts and tries to incentivize repeat diners on a cost-only basis, then they will fall into a downward spiral of being forced to compete on price alone…a dangerous fate for many restaurants.
Digital signage, the kind that I am used to seeing at the convenience store register, is being pushed as a great way for restaurants to increase patronage. This may work better for walk-ins in high foot-traffic areas (say Downtown Pittsburgh) as it would seem that a roadside billboard would have not only a high price tag (for just one business) but also may have some zoning issues. Starmount Systems is a digital signage firm that offers solutions that may help brand promotion, can be designed to run entertainment content so that wait times seem shorter at busy establishments or peak times of day, and can also highlight new menu items, promotions or daily specials, (Starmount, 2009).
This idea could be a great addition or replacement for the standard back-lit sign, and could be changed and updated onsite quickly with little trouble. Say the chef has too much soft-shell crab on hand due to getting an amazing deal if he orders so much. The manager could take a picture of the crab special, upload it to the signage software, and add “Today only-Fresh Soft-shell crab with fries and coleslaw for $5.99!” Not only would this help traffic on a slow day (like Tuesday) but it would help get rid of perishable inventory. Now imagine that this same picture was posted on the pub’s Facebook page and Twittered? Pop-up specials like this would help to increase business in the short term, and increase goodwill with patrons in the future. Running too many specials can harm the brand value if done over a too long a period of time, but a quickly planned promotion that runs may 1-2 times per month may create a following of eager repeat diners. These persons can also talk with the company, twitter from the eatery about how good the sandwich tastes and write comments. It would also be important for a manager to get involved with the persons who order the special, letting them know that their business is important. Then it’s a win-win for all involved!
On a side note, a larger billboard-sized sign may be a great idea for several businesses in a small strip mall where the merchants are not in direct competition with one another. There are many of these types of mini-malls in PA, and I can think of a few who would benefit from forming a cooperative to get one of these signs together and allow looped mini-ads to play for about 45 seconds each.
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Spinal Tap is Back! The new album “Back from the Dead” is being released June 16th and INgrooves is handling the distribution. INgrooves is a firm that handles “digital distribution, marketing and promotions for the independent music community,” (PR Newswire, 2009). The release is being accompanied by the following promotions:
• An iPhone application with exclusive video clips, pictures and a fan wall;
• A YouTube promotion starting June 22nd where fans compete for the best fan generated music video of the band’s hit songs;
• Spinal Tap video channels with promotional clips and never-before-seen footage;
• Custom voice tones from each band member, (PR Newswire, 2009).
And if you really love Spinal Tap, you’re in for a treat…the physical CD comes with a promo video, three action figures of the band and a replica of Stonehenge!
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So you’re out and about, running errands and a friend that lives in another town is in the coffee shop you just passed. How do you know? You have Aka-Aki, a new application that turns your phone into a GPS for people in your personal network. You would both need to have downloaded Aka-Aki to your phones, which is free, and it allows you not only to meet up then but to communicate with them later. I am not sure how this works but you can watch the video:
http://www.aka-aki.com/
References:
Starmount. (2009). “Industry Solutions.” Retrieved June 10, 2009 from http://www.starmountsystems.com/industry-solutions.html
PR Newswire. (2009). “INgrooves Powers Digital Marketing Campaign and Global Distribution for Spinal Tap.” Retrieved June 11, 2009 from http://sev.prnewswire.com/entertainment/20090609/LA3007909062009-1.html
Spinal Tap Video. (2009). “Spinal Tap On: Back from the Dead.” Retrieved June 11, 2009 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qql8o1EUUsI
I work in a wine bistro. We sell lots of wine (about 100+ by the glass and 300+ more by the bottle) so I drink wine, like wine, like to learn about wine and talk about wine. But wow, I could looove this job. The Murphy-Goode Winery is doing a social media contest to “look for someone who really knows how to use Web 2.0 and Facebook and blogs and social media and YouTube and all sorts of good stuff like that—to tell the world about our wines and the place where we live: the Sonoma County Wine Country. In exchange we’re offering a “Really Goode Job” – a six-month job paying $10,000 a month plus accommodations!,” (Nowak, 2009).
So Sonoma Grille has carried Liar’s Dice Zinfandel and we currently have the Fume’ Blanc on hand. The wine is good, and I know (or at least am learning) how to use all this ‘new-fangled interwebs nonsense’ as my SO (significant other) likes to joke, so why not me? I can drink wine with the best of them. I like to talk about wine in a casual, easy-going, really-want-to-learn-more kind of way. Wine is not a hard to approach subject, though many think so. All you need to know to learn about wine is (1) a $20 a week budget, (2) a couple friends who also want to learn (3) an open mind and (4) a willing spirit. So I think I’m going to enter. For more info and to see the front-runners, click here:
So what do you all think? Is this a great job or what? Here’s what they’re looking for:
http://www.areallygoodejob.com/who.aspx
On a side note, this reminds me of the new Hyundai ads for the new Hyundai Assurance program. They are offering a deal to new car buyers who agree to ‘talk’ to others about their new car in exchange for $250 in payment or cash back for 6 months! In addition, they will take the car back with no issue on your credit if you lose your job, (Hyundai, 2009).
Here’s how the offer works: http://www.hyundaiusa.com/financing/specialoffers/HyundaiMonthlyCashBackLeaflet.pdf
This is a great way to get people talking about the cars, and buying, then talking some more, in tough economic times!
References:
Hyundai. (2009). “Assurance.” Retrieved June 8, 2009 from http://www.hyundaiusa.com/financing/specialoffers/hyundaicashback.aspx
Nowak, P. (2009). “Murphy-Goode is a Social Media Success & Contest Isn’t Even Over.” Retrieved June 7, 2009 from http://socialmediaunraveled.com/2009/05/25/murphy-goode/
After a long conversation with a friend of mine Friday night (after the IMC Dinner in Morgantown) and over many glasses of wine (it was her birthday and she is moving to Portland, OR this week), we got into a big discussion about social media and Twitter. She is on tweets for her dad’s business (Pet Flora), her own natural line of cosmeceuticals (naturallylela.com) and for the bartendingbliss (random notes from a bartender-she’s been one for about 11 years or so: Me-I’m going on 17 years.) So I broke down and did it…I am a twitterer! I see how it is all consuming. I see how you just get into it. I can understand, as the messages are short and fun and people can follow you. (Follow me on http://twitter.com/shorty1973!)
Then someone I do not know found me, after only about 1.5 days. And his posts are relevant to social media. And low and behold I found some very interesting articles via his tweet.
LetsEat.at
This is a free website builder made specifically for smaller family owned restaurants that can’t afford professional web design services, (Parr, 2009).
This service allows any small restaurant to post menu items, (with prices and descriptions), logos, integrates with OpenTable (mentioned in a previous post), and you can make it mobile-friendly. All the better for the people (like me) who look for restaurants on their phone while travelling…whether that travel is 5 hours away or 20 minutes.
Carl’s Jr. teams up with Stars from YouTube
Casual eatery Car’s Jr. is marketing their latest product, the Portobello Mushroom Six-Dollar burger and needs the help of YouTube Stars, in fact 9 of them. Do you all remember when they made a controversial splash with an ad featuring Paris Hilton?
“Carl’s Jr. is hoping that the YouTube celebs hold enough influence over their respective online communities of fans that the Portobello Mushroom Burger message not only gets wide distribution, but also engaged viewers who respond with their wallets and their own YouTube videos. Additionally, since these are paid endorsements, not unlike controversial sponsored blog posts, they do come at a small risk for the social media stars who have opted to participate,” (Van Grove, 2009).
So, what’s the worst that could happen? Carl’s Jr. gets into some trouble over paying for endorsements. Or they create some ads that throw a whole variety of people up in arms. It is pretty clear that this chain is not afraid of bad publicity. In fact, it seems they believe in the old adage ‘all publicity is good publicity.’ Back in 2005, the restaurant chain showed no remorse for the above mentioned Paris Hilton commercial. In fact, they seemed to love the attention garnered from protests by the PTC, Parents Television Council.
Carl’s Jr.’s message to the PTC: The group needs to “get a life,” said Andy Puzder, CEO of Carl’s Jr., [stated] “This isn’t Janet Jackson — there is no nipple in this. There is no nudity, there is no sex acts — it’s a beautiful model in a swimsuit washing a car,” (Silver, 2005).
Puzder went on to comment that he had shown the ad to all three of his kids (aged 12, 9 and 7 at the time) and they showed “no signs of being corrupted,” (Silver, 2005). Either this guy is just outlandish and obnoxious…or he loves the attention the ad is garnering. It seems that the commercial, and the later added ‘extended ad’ featuring the hotel billionairess and reality star on her own mini-site was a big hit with hungry young men because the mini-site they created, www.spicyparis.com, crashed hours after new ads the ads were shown and took several hours to get back up, (Carl’s Jr. Press Release, 2005).
I know we just commented last week about marketing in good taste, and especially when children are involved. But these ads were shown in certain time slots and during shows where kids are not the target audience, (such as Desperate Housewives and The Apprentice). I think its ok for a company to make a racy ad that pushes the envelope and doesn’t cross it, as long as it’s placed appropriately. Shock value still holds a great deal of draw for consumers.
That’s all I got for Now! This is Rachel, reporting from the SIN…OVER & OUT!
References:
Carl’s Jr. Press Release. (2005). “Explosive Response to Paris Hilton Ad Crashes Carl’s Jr. Web Site.” Retrieved June 1, 2009 from http://www.carlsjr.com/company/releases/explosive-response-to-paris-hilton-ad-crashes-carls-jr-web-site/
Parr, B. (2009). “LetsEat.at Helps Local Restaurants Build Targeted Websites.” Mashable: The Social Media Guide. Retrieved June 1, 2009 from http://mashable.com/2009/06/01/letseatat/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_content=twitter&utm_campaign=twitter
Silver, C. (2005). “No Apologies for Sexy Paris Hilton Ad.” CNN Money. Retrieved June 1, 2009 from http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/24/news/newsmakers/carls_ad/
Van Grove, J. (2009). “YouTube Stars to Endorse Carl’s Jr. Burgers.” Mashable: The Social Media Guide. Retrieved June 1, 2009 from http://mashable.com/2009/06/01/youtube-stars-in-carls-jr-ads/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_content=twitter&utm_campaign=twitter
A couple months ago I was taking Direct (Interactive) Marketing and began to notice things that I would not have noticed before the class. One in particular was a FSI (Free Standing Insert) from the Sunday Edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Now normally I only look at a couple sections of the paper, the crosswords, maybe the Proctor and Gamble coupons booklet and the Jobs Now employment section. However, while flipping through the sale papers for Target, Wal-Mart, CVS and others I spotted an ad that made me stop. It was for Arby’s and it was an announcement for two new products; Roastburgers and Iced FruiTea. The ad seemed at the time to be a reinforcement of the TV ads that had began running a couple weeks prior.
The FSI allows the consumer to get two coupons, one for each new product, and it’s easy to redeem. Just show your phone to the cashier. It’s also easy for non-tech savvy employees to redeem as all they have to do is look at your phone and see the code. They don’t have to take down your number, as the persons in the Marketing/IT department or third-party tracking organization already have it. This cellular coupon option makes it easy for Arby’s to evaluate the success of this ad (via measurement of anticipated reach via metro-market and responses) and they also have an automatic opt-in for future marketing. For instance, I assumed that after sending the coupon via text that a second message came up asking the recipient if they want future deals and information to come through via text. The party may have to reply ‘NO” or just not reply at all if they are opting out. (I had to do this with Sprint a couple months ago.) In fact this was the case; “Participants were then asked to double opt-in for future marketing messages from Arby’s. This message read, ‘Reply YES 2 get more exclusive offers from Arbys + Charter! Mx4msgs/mo. std text rates apply. Reply YES Now!’Consumers who opted in were added to a database of names, which Arby’s will use for future promotions,” (Tsirulnik, 2009). The numbers can be tracked, more messages can be sent and those who don’t want to receive them can let the company know so.
Peter Schultz, vice president of business development at Ping Mobile in New Jersey had this to say about the campaign;
“The strategy for Arby’s campaign was to find a fun, exciting and original way to promote their new burger to their target demographic. In addition to uniqueness, Arby’s also wanted to try a medium that was easily trackable, unlike traditional marketing methods, mobile enabled Arby’s to achieve a level of trackability,” (Tsirulnik, 2009). The article referred to was on the campaign in the Alabama market and it is stated that coupons were redeemed in 250 locations with a total of more than 850 respondents, (Tsirulnik, 2009).
The technology that made this ad campaign possible was created by Ping Mobile. Shira Simmonds, president of Ping Mobile stated that “Mobile enabled Arby’s to reach out to their desired demographic and offer their customers a promotion that was targeted and relevant, while at the same time being convenient and instantly available,” (Tsirulnik, 2009).
That’s all for now…this is Rachel reporting from the SIN…OVER & OUT!
References:
Arby’s Ad. (2009). Scanned from FSI in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 26, 2009.
Funny Arby’s Commercial. (2009). Retrieved June 1, 2009 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1rRxxMfLpY&feature=related
Tsirulnik, G. (2009). “Arby’s Uses Mobile Coupons to Generate Buzz for New Roastburger.” Mobile Marketer. Retrieved June 1, 2009 from http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/commerce/3198.html
Back in May, Lifeware TEK debuted a “premier online foodservice platform” called i-COOK Professional at the National Restaurant Association Show in Florida. This system is a business-building software system that includes “recipe management, integrated nutrition calculator, menu planning and costing” features that will “automate and streamline common, time-consuming processes through and ‘operator-centric’ suite of user-friendly, intuitive tools,” (PR Newswire, 2009).
Ok, so what’s so exciting about that?
Well, I’ll tell you…this software system also includes a “foodservice-focused social network enabling direct communication between key stakeholders,” (PR Newswire, 2009). These stakeholders may be owners, managers, chefs, key employees, CEO’s and marketers for any number of large, multi-unit brands. Some possible users may include Darden Restaurants (Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, and Longhorn Steakhouse) or the Applebee’s Company Stores and franchisees.
The social network allows for a “targeted, cost-effective forum for sharing ideas, receiving brand and product information and promotions and messaging vendors and customers,” (PR Newswire, 2009). This system can also be upgraded to distributor information. I used to work for Applebee’s, and in the Pittsburgh Metro Region US Foodservice was our contracted supplier. This kind of software system like this would allow managers to immediately view nutritional information such as how many carbs are in the quesadillas, or many grams of fat are in the Oriental Salad Dressing, (trust me, its’ VERY High as it contains LARD!) This type of information is not required to be printed on foodservice packaging as it is never seen directly by the consumer, so finding this data is quite hard. Sales reps have access to it, but not usually readily available, and in my experience, are not real quick about getting back to you with an answer. (It could hurt a sale.) So sometimes it’s pretty difficult to get answers from those who know, even if it is for the benefit of the customer or business.
And the price is right, as it costs only $29.95 per month, although the release doesn’t say if that’s the price per restaurant group or for each individual location. Either way, it is still quite affordable.
Once again, bringing you the news of media in the foodservice field, whether you want it or not, this is Rachel…OVER & OUT!
I am sure that you have gone to a causal restaurant at 7:00 PM on a Saturday and had to wait for a table. This wait could have been short, maybe 10 minutes, or perhaps as long as 45 minutes. Maybe you went to the bar and had some drinks while you waited, or perhaps you went outside and meandered around the mall or shopping center. But I bet you have all (at some point) gone back to the host stand because you thought they forgot to call you…or because you heard a name called that sounded like yours…or you were just hungry and wanted to be seated. Now imagine that none of these scenarios were necessary.
Say hello to GuestBridge, a software company that has created a “host stand management system” that captures guest information, tracks repeat diners, records birthdays and other important holidays to your repeat diners, personalizes their visit, invites them back to dine again works with other restaurant computer systems and your own website, and pages your guests to come to the host stand to be seated via their own cell phone. No more weird little pagers or hostesses who don’t like to use the intercom system because it sounds funny. This system can also change plotted tables to accommodate large parties and walk-ins, makes the seating more equal to your staff, tracks guest spending and when a party is about to be done eating, paying the check and leaving.
Another less integrated system is readyping, a Chicago based firm which has created software that sends a text message to the guest when their table is ready.
A third system that I found, Queuent, also calls guests on their cell phones when their tables are ready, but has a back-up plan in case the person doesn’t have one; they use the ‘wait here and come back and check in the quoted time period.’ Well, DUH, this is used already, so it’s kind of a no-brainer. However, the FAQ page of this site reminds the establishment owner that Queuent never sells their contact info: “All phone numbers are removed from the system as soon as guests are seated or deleted from the wait list,” (Queuent FAQ, 2009). This may make us all feel safe and our privacy secured, but it doesn’t say much for the ability of the system to track past diners, VIP’s, or any of the other options listed by GuestBridge above.
There’s a recent trend in eateries that equal savings to friends of the establishment. A sales promotion ran January in the LA restaurants Whist and Blue on Blue during the “Nine Days of 2009” that allowed free food and discounted drinks if you were able to show proof that you were a Facebook Friend. This also happens in San Francisco’s Zare’, Mermaid Café’ in NYC and Rocca in Boston, (Grayson, 2009).
The Publican in Chicago offers promotion via Twitter and the Philadephia pub McGillin’s recently “packed the house” with 350 RSVP’s for a Friday the 13thparty, by sending only 700 Facebook invites to fans of the pub. Their owner, Christopher Mullins, says “social network sites give us direct, two-way communication with guests and save us a lot of time and money…we know that they [fans of the restaurant] are engaged and interested…the response is so direct and so immediate, (Grayson, 2009).
And one of the coolest aspects of this jump by the Food Service Industry into the social networking world is that they are able to create business where there was none, and are not hurting the existing business. By inviting Facebook fans an invite to a party to be held when the restaurant is not normally open allows them to make money when the space is already available and non-fans would not be dining there. The events also can be planned and promoted very quickly and the addition of Twitter allows complaint resolution to happen even quicker; “We had a guest tweet on Twitter that he had had a bad experience at the bar. Within minutes of him posting that, we were able to contact that customer to apologize and correct the problem,” states Mullins, (Grayson, 2009).
The most important thing to remember is that these tools can be of great benefit to the establishment, but they also can hurt them. Your Facebook or Twitter page must “look professional and convey the image of the restaurant…The last thing you want to do is run off half-cocked and hurt the brand,” (Grayson2, 2009).
The Cheers magazine mentioned below is a restaurant industry trade magazine which is sent free to qualifying managers, operators, franchisers and owners.
P.S. Here’s a big shout-out to Anna…I found this article through FohBoh.com!
For two other interesting posts on the use of social media in the Food Service Industry, go to:
This is pretty cool. uWink has created an interactive restaurant concept and began the development of franchising this idea and licensing the technology in 2008, (Business Wire, 2008). So what is uWink? “uWink develops digital media entertainment and hospitality software and an interactive restaurant concept that allows customers to order food, drinks, games and other digital media at the table through proprietary touch screen terminals,” (Business Wire, 2008). The head of this company is Nolan Bushnell, who founded both the Atari company and Chuck E. Cheese, (Business Wire, 2008). Ok, everyone say it with me… “Atari…I miss Atari.” (Back in the day I could’ve played PacMan and The Riddle of the Sphinx for hours, and I did!)
The technology for this company is now called Tapcode and won the 2009 Excellence in Innovation Award from The University of Las Vegas and the Hospitality Technology Overall Technology Innovation Award in 2008, (Tapcode, 2009).
Now supposedly this technology can make a difference in a whole variety of dining establishements. “We put the power to order and pay at your guests’ fingertips (literally!) – reducing frustrating wait times, increasing average checks and speeding table turns. Your staff is freed up to serve more guests, increasing their productivity (and their tip pool!),” (Tapcode, 2009).
I don’t know about you, but I don’t mind a system like this at say Sheetz, or the grocery store, or even TGI Friday’s, or combined with a jukebox system in a new-fangled ‘old-fashioned’ diner. But the last thing I want in a full-service dining establishment is for someone to get a tip from me who didn’t really work for it. I have been in the food service industry in some aspect for about 19 years and most of that time I have been a tipped employee. I am a big tipper, as it is good karma to do so. The first thing a good server does is create a rapport with the guest, show them their knowledge and offer their assistance. How can you do that if the computer is taking the order? And what about food allergies and questions about menu items? How does a computer answer questions concerning which side dish goes best with the one vegetarian item on the menu, or if any of the items can be modified to leave out dairy, or if the chefs/cooks can make an alfredo sauce because your 12-year-old is on an alfredo kick? This is when a server can shine, can make suggestions and can prove they are worthy of the 18% or better tip that allows that person to put a roof over his/her head, go to school, feed his/her kids and pay for nursing care for an aging parent.
Well, I digress. I guess that currently the hardware/software is only available in their branded restaurants, so no fear that I am going to lose my job to a computer screen, YET! You can watch this video and take a look for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufSy00U8LS0
And there are games to play!
Too bad the actual uWink website shows video but the sound didn’t work. Okay Nolan, get back to the drawing board!
Once again, this is Rachel reporting from the SIN (Service Industry Network, –he he, catchy new name)…OVER & OUT!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: BBQ, BD's, check presenter, customer satisfaction, customer service, ECC, electronic comment card, Food Service, Long Range Systems, LRS, MI, Mongolian BBQ, response rate, survey, technology
You would think that in an industry that has such a long and steady history as food service that big innovative ideas would be few and far between. I mean, how much innovation does it take to cook food and serve it? As I have learned in the past few months of writing this blog, this is not the case. To illustrate, I bring you a story of how technology can accomplish something as simple as increasing customer feedback. My sister, Sarah, and her BF went out to dinner recently at BD’s Mongolian BBQ, a chain restaurant based in Royal Oak, MI and she sent me a text after their dinner about the check presenter…it was an interactive survey! For as long as I can recall, every restaurant I have worked in has placed a paper comment card into the check presenter for the guest to complete. Often, a restaurant will receive more negative comments than good, as when you are unhappy with some aspect of your meal, you will be more likely to let someone know about it, even if it’s after you have left. The possibility of receiving a free coupon in the mail to make up for it may also be a reason for this type of behavior. For the most part, people who are happy about their dining experience are less likely to take the time to fill out the card, whereas an unhappy patron will take the time to let you know what upset them. However, offering a new, fun, interactive, digital way to respond to the proprietor may be a great way to increase the number of responses in general, and may also offer a way to gather a more representative sampling of the overall dining consensus.
Here’s the unit:
Photos by Sarah K.
Photos by Sarah K.
This model is made by LRS, or Long Range Systems. Based in Addison, TX LRS has been in the business of guest and staff management since 1995, and started out as a firm that designed coaster-pagers for wait-list management. They call this model an ECC, or electronic comment card, and they purport that with this system, the percentage of survey respondents reaches about 75%! Other features include the ability to program the system to let the manager know about an unhappy guest immediately upon completion of the survey, allowing the manager to salvage the experience with the diner before they leave…and tell 10 others about their bad time. This option may also save time and money over the standard secret shopper service, and it can be maintained in-house.
From what information I was able to find, BD’s implemented this system in 2006 to “increase customer loyalty and sales.”
And it’s pretty easy to use. Sarah said it took about 1-2 minutes to complete the survey and it asked approximately 10 questions on basic customer service; was the place clean, were the servers nice, the grill persons entertaining, were they greeted promptly, was the food fresh. Sarah also stated the survey was ‘not annoying’ to complete, as it was short and easy to maneuver, but she would have liked to have received a coupon for her next visit for completing the survey. This may be an idea that was utilized at the onset of the system’s integration, but if they are truly receiving the 75% response rate, then offering a coupon is not only not necessary, but would be expensive to implement. And as I have stated before, if a restaurant offers too deep of discounts and tries to incentivize repeat diners on a cost-only basis, then they will fall into a downward spiral of being forced to compete on price alone…a dangerous fate for many restaurants.