The other day, I came across a very interesting article on ViralFury.com. The article was about a restaurant where the staff was baffled by the large amount of bad reviews they were receiving from customers. They decided to hire a firm to come in and figure out the mystery.
The firm first researched the restaurant and gathered information from staff. Most of the staff said they were a very popular restaurant to both local and tourist groups. The restaurant had been open for many years and while they were bringing in the same amount of customers as they always had, the service seemed to move slower. This baffled most people because the restaurant had dropped some menu items and hired more staff.
The article then explains the firm and a manager looked at some old security tapes to compare what was being done differently. What they found out is so interesting! The article compares 2004 to 2014. In 2004 business was bustling. The average time a customer was in the restaurant from start to finish in 2004 was one hour and five minutes. The 2014 analysis was much different.
The staff and firm figured out the average time for a customer to be in the restaurant from start to finish in 2014 is one hour and fifty five minutes. The reasoning behind this big change in numbers is the result of cell phones. I was shocked when I first read this, but after the article explains why, it makes so much sense!
When going out to eat, people take time to check their phone and look at their social media sites on their phone prior to deciding what they would like to eat. This then takes the server longer to get their order in. Some customers even show the server something on their phone or ask them to take a picture of their group. This then takes more of their servers time than it should have.
A quote from the article, "Given in most cases the customers are constantly busy on their phones it took an average of 20 minutes more from when they were done eating until they requested a check. Furthermore, once the check was delivered it took 15 minutes longer than it did 10 years ago for them to pay and leave."
This shows how important phones are becoming to people in the world. Yes, I do think social media is a wonderful thing, but I do not feel it is necessary to be on your phone when a server comes to your table or even when eating. Eating is a time for people to mingle and learn more about one another. That does not always happen when everyone constantly has their phones out on the table.
Next time you are out to eat, remember if you are on your phone you are not only taking up your own time, but everyone else's time around you as well.
Alex,
ReplyDeleteI saw this article too and I was so surprised by it. I had never thought my habits were causing my food to take longer, but it totally makes sense. We are all guilty up being on our phones during a meal, sometimes I think my mom is worse about it than I am! Maybe if service starts to get too slow, they'll put a ban on cellphone use in restaurants, just like they did with smoking.