Hospitality – Lets Talk Reputation

30 May 2019

Lets Talk Reputation

A food business reputation can mean the difference between a packed house or a slow Friday night with empty tables and no one on the waitlist. All food business need to ask them selves, how much does their reputation truly weight in the eyes of the consumers and does it really impact the decision of going or not going to a restaurant? According to this Small Business Trends report survey, 94% of diners will choose your restaurant based on online reviews. Bad reviews can spread like wildfire, especially in this digital age.

This is a trend that isn’t likely to go away any time soon, if ever. Another study conducted by TripAdvisor revealed the same information, that the vast majority of diners consider online reviews before choosing a restaurant. The market is highly competitive nowadays.

Trip Advisor report

This report also revealed that more consumers than ever use and trust online review sites and social media for recommendations on where to eat – both at home and while traveling. Tripadvisor’s latest survey examines the impact of today’s most popular digital marketing channels and what factors influence diner decision making.

Closures

In April of this year, the FSAI closed down 6 premises in Monkstown and Booterstown for breaches of food safety legislation. This was announced by several news outlets including this Irish Times article and the Journal. This information will forever be on the internet , it will be difficult to restore their reputation.

Avoiding closures should be top priority for food businesses, one way to make sure you are compliant is to make sure your staff are up to date with courses under legalisation. From these courses your staff will know what is expected by law and the best practices for health and safety over a wide variety of topics.

Responding

Do you respond to your reviews? Responding to both positive and negative diner reviews can help you improve your restaurant’s service and reputation which will ultimately attract new customers to your business.

In fact, up to 94% of respondents to this survey indicated that they have read a Management Response to reviews, with the majority noting that they found it helpful and that it encouraged them to try a restaurant, despite a bad review as they saw the management taking constructive feedback on board and showing that they care about their customers and are always striving to improve themselves.

Let Us Help You

It has never been more important to make sure you are compliant with legislation. Let us help you. Not sure what you need to be compliant? We can help you with a FREE Training Needs Assessment.