5 things to consider before chipping at a restaurant
The debate surrounding restaurant falls continues to infuriate, with different cultures taking different views on the shift in etiquette.
No brand – Lifestyle
New research shows that rude service, long waits and sticky menus are enough to ensure that our diners don’t leave or return the restaurant.
Consumers are also experiencing transformation fatigue.
In a survey of 1,000 diners in the US, nearly a third or 30% leave the restaurant before ordering for a long wait, and 1 in 5 or 20% leave for rude staff.
According to a research by Lightspeed Commerce, sticky menus and sticky tables are enough to determine that 24% will not return to the restaurant. USA Today was given the exclusive first look of research by POS’s POS commerce platform, serving various retail and hospitality clients.
Good service is more important than ever
“In an age where people are choosing a more intentional dining experience, we deliver more basic foundations of good service, like hot food, respectful service and reasonable waiting times than ever,” said Adoniram Sides, Senior Vice President of Hospitality at Lightspeed, in a press release. “Customers are trying to feel valuable the moment they walk through the door.”
Customer expectations continue to rise as food becomes more difficult to handle as inflation and other economic stress drive people back spending, the side told USA Today in an interview.
If customers go to the restaurant and find sticky menus or tables, they will be off, he said.
“I’m sure you’ve been to a restaurant where you got a torn menu. Maybe it was a bit rough or dirty and you said, ‘What’s going on in this place? Is the kitchen clean?”
Paul Keely, 64, of Seattle, considers himself a foodie and likes to go to pop restaurants and upscale establishments with his little mom.
Keely said he would give the small local eatery an extra blessing. There you know that the food is not clean and sticky menus and surroundings are good.
Still, the cleanliness of the tables and menu, and the bathroom, reflects the cleanliness of the kitchen, Keely said.
“If customers don’t pay attention to the small details they are experiencing inside the restaurant, if they have food on a chair or sticky menu, yes, you need to extrapolate from it, and perhaps the situation behind the kitchen door is not what you want,” Keely said.
Rude Service is a turn-off for many diners
In a LightSpeed survey, 40% of US respondents said they would prevent rude services from returning to restaurants. Other reasons why restaurant participants said they wouldn’t come back include cold food (35%) and long meetings (27%).
Keely said he would never leave the restaurant mid-dinner, even if he had gotten bad or rude service.
But “If it’s a rude service in the order of ‘I’m going to argue with you about something at the table’, then yes, I’ll never come back,” he said.
He also has a rule that he won’t let his meal buddies abandon the restaurant while they’re still sitting there. Kiely has friends in the restaurant business and knows it’s difficult to run a restaurant, so he hasn’t even posted public reviews criticizing the location.
But he may personally tell his friend that he does not have the best experience.
Customers have chip fatigue
The investigation also showed that chips and chip fatigue was also significant.
- More than half (54%) of diners feel pressured on preset chip screens from 47% last year.
- 44% of consumers report reducing tipping.
- 29% of consumers say they prefer to eliminate tips entirely.
- 59% say that switching delivery drivers is important. 33% say the same thing about coffee shop staff.
- The most common range of powerful services remains at 15% to 20% tip.
More diners are eating out solo
According to Lightspeed Commerce, solo dining is on the rise, with 55% looking for tables. Thirty-three percent of respondents said eating alone is self-care, and 30% would use it as a way to try new places.
“Solo dining has really become mainstream,” Said. He said some people are checking out restaurant solos to see if they are worth bringing in friends or have a future date.
Adults order more from the kids’ menu
Research shows that kids’ menus are also becoming a reliable option for adult diners.
In the survey, 44% of adults ordered from the children’s menu and said they were drawn with less parts, simpler meals and lower prices.
“It’s appealing,” Said said. “But I think there’s a certain degree of sensitivity there. One reason is the smaller portion size and lower prices. Side also said they believe that the growing trend in adults with GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy plays a role in adults looking for smaller dietary portions.
Overall, diners want a good experience when they choose to spend money at restaurants, Said said.
“Consumers should be good, especially if they spend money going out and sitting and eating,” he said. “They don’t have the potential to waste most of this income they probably had a few years ago.”
Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA Today. Contact her at blinfisher @usatoday.com or follow her on X, Facebook, or Instagram @Blinfisher, @Blinfisher.bsky.social.. Sign up for our free daily money newsletter. This includes Friday’s Consumer News.
