Influence Tips for Running a Restaurant – Part 2

I started this series last week by mentioning all the traveling I’ve done during the first half of the year and how it has given me plenty of opportunities to observe how restaurants operate. Employing the psychology of persuasion can help customers enjoy the whole dining experience more, which, in turn, benefits the restaurant through repeat customers.

Since my interaction is primarily with the waitstaff, most of the ideas I’ll share will revolve around them.

Have you ever had your server come up and ask, “Does everything taste fine?” Of course, you have—and so have I. In fact, that’s what I hear more often than not. When I think about that phrase, it reminds me of someone who, when asked how they’re doing, typically says, “Not bad.” So, bad is the standard, and they’re just not bad?

Many of you might think you know what they mean, and I do, too, but isn’t it more uplifting to hear something like, “Doing great. Thanks for asking”? Of course, it is.

C. Britt Beemer, in The Customer Rules: The 14 Indispensable, Irrefutable, and Indisputable Qualities of the Greatest Service Companies in the World, explains this concept perfectly:

Bill Pulte, founder and chairman of Pulte Homes, explains, “At Pulte, we work on the premise that we don’t want to satisfy the customer; we want to delight the customer. Here’s what I mean. When a husband and his wife go to a restaurant for dinner and have a nice meal, they are satisfied with it. So they go home, and that’s the end of it. They forget about it. On the other hand, if they had a fabulous meal and extraordinary service, what do they do? They tell their friends about it. With this in mind, we don’t think that just being satisfied is good enough.”

Let’s return to our server. When you go to a restaurant, aren’t you expecting the food to be good, great, tasty, delicious, or something better than just “fine”? I know I am.

If I were managing a waitstaff, my instructions would be to ask customers questions like, “Does your food taste good?” or “Isn’t the chicken delicious?”—phrases that prompt customers to reflect on how good the food is, rather than settling for “fine.” When customers affirm that the food is good, tasty, or delicious, they’re likely to feel better about their dining experience. That will make them more likely to return and probably tip better.

Why do I believe they’ll enjoy the dining experience more and tip better? Because the principle of consistency dictates they will. This principle of influence tells us that people feel internal psychological pressure to be consistent in what they say and do. If you want a simple way to remember this, think word and deed—because people like their words and actions to match.

If I affirm that the food is good when asked, it would be inconsistent for me not to return at some point. The server can strengthen these odds by asking, “That’s nice to hear. Do you think you’ll be back to see us?” Most people would likely say yes to that question, and as a result, more will return.

I also think tips will increase because of this approach. People usually tip based on good service and good food. Poor service or poor food is disastrous for servers who depend on tips for a living. When customers affirm that the food was very good, it makes tipping generously feel consistent—assuming the service was good as well.

Next week, we’ll explore more ways to use the psychology of influence to run a successful restaurant.

Brian, CMCT
influencepeople
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.