A New Restaurant

I’ll let you in on a little business secret; the one thing your customers are looking for that will bring them back to a restaurant again and again, is value.  If you can deliver value, you will be successful in this business.

The hard question is, what is value?

Value may or may not mean low prices.  Value may or may not mean large portions.  It might be both, or it might be neither.  Like beauty, value is in the eye of the beholder.  It means different things to different people, and could mean different things to the same person depending on the circumstances.

I have two teenage sons.  When our family goes to a restaurant value is typically defined as large portions at a reasonable price.  When my wife and I are on a date value is more about atmosphere.  We don’t go to any one restaurant for both.  When we are looking for price and portion value we go to one restaurant, and our dates are at a different restaurant. 

My last job at a restaurant was in a place that just opened up.  The food was decent, the dining room was clean and comfortable, but the comments I heard usually fairly good, but they typically ended with, “I paid too much for what I got.”  They didn’t perceive it to be a good value.  It wasn’t about the price per se, it was about what they got (or didn’t get) for the price.  I have been out with my wife and spent nearly $100 for dinner for two, and felt like it was worth the money.  On the other hand, we had lunch together today, spent around $15, and felt like it wasn’t worth the money.  It’s about the value.

I wrote in an earlier post that people do not want to be disappointed when they go to a restaurant. This goes hand in hand with that concept.  Occasional value will not keep you in business.  You have to deliver value day in and day out.

Figure out how you are delivering value, then do it consistently.