Just Do It? What Do Consumers Really Want From Restaurants?

Do consumers want more or less service from restaurants? Or do they really just want it to be right?

By Patricia B. Dailey, Editor-in-Chief -- Restaurants & Institutions, 8/1/2007

On a recent Sunday morning, I bought The New York Times at a self-service line at the supermarket, where I carefully scanned the little barcode, stuffed the paper into a plastic bag (a step I wouldn’t have added except that the machine—like HAL, made anthropomorphic by an irritating computerized voice—kept carping at me to do so; in fact, it refused to budge until there was total compliance on the bagging issue). Then I jammed some dollar bills into the payment slot, got a receipt and wandered off in search of a cup of coffee.

At the coffee place—one of the major chains—the barista made my espresso drink and then handed over the beverage cup, sans lid or sleeve, napkins, stirrers or any other embellishment that might be desired. It was my job to head over to the condiment station to finish the store’s job. Task completed, I settled in to read the newspaper—the one for which I had completely disintermediated the expert services of a supermarket cashier.

Two stories in that day’s paper dealt with the do-it-yourself-trend that defined both of my morning transactions, although the articles were built around opposing philosophies. And while disparate, both offered important, though somewhat contradictory, insights into the conflicting needs and desires of the foodservice industry’s consumers. They raise the big questions: How much service do consumers really want, and when do they want it?

The first article, by Stanley Fish, was titled “Getting Coffee is Hard to Do.” Its tone, which was pretty clearly indicated by the headline, essentially was that of a nostalgic dirge—a lament over the lack of service that has become so much the status quo. It was based around the coffee experience, something that once most likely took place at a counter and included such quaintly old-fashioned amenities as cream added as requested. The modern-day equivalent entails what Fish describes as a “coordination problem,” and he clearly is not happy about the burden of work it places on him—from getting his own sugar to taking out the trash when the coffee cup is drained.

In another section of the paper, another point of view emerged, this one emphatically in favor of customers assuming a more-active role in creating their service experience. In www.FriesWithThat?.com, Stephanie Rosenbloom explored the fast-growing number of customers who prefer to use online rather than phone-in ordering for takeout or delivery. Reaping the benefits of greater control and order accuracy, the tech-savvy, do-it-themselves consumers quoted in the story indicate that they are more likely to spend more money on Web-ordered meals and to order from restaurants with greater frequency—and what’s not to like about that?

Consumers can be hard to figure out, vexingly quick to change habits and wildly inconsistent and unpredictable—truths that foodservice operators learn to live with on a daily basis. But if the two stories have a common theme, perhaps it is this: Consumers really do like service, and they prefer to be cossetted and spoiled by it.

But if you can’t get that part of it right, then at least get out of their way.