What changes would you like to see in the local restaurant scene this year? Here are the top 10 resolutions I wish Chicago restaurants would adopt in 2010.
- Tone it down. Diners shouldn’t have to risk their hearing to eat in your restaurant. Put up baffling, lower the volume on the sound system, do whatever you have to do to keep the decibels within reason. I don’t want have to shout to converse with my dining companions.
- Stop the flash. The three top reasons I visit your Web site are to find out your restaurant’s address, when you’re open and what kind of food you serve. Don’t make me sit through a long flash animation or click through several pages before I can get to this information.
- Honor reservations. Is there a reason, beyond pure greed, for any busy restaurant not to accept reservations?
- Give me elbow room. I don’t want to sit so close to strangers that I have to hear their intimate conversations. Leave enough space between tables so servers can get through without sticking their butts in my face. And communal tables may be just the thing for singles on the make, but if I wanted that kind of interaction, I’d sit at the bar.
- Learn when to clear. Train bussers and servers to leave used plates alone until everyone at a table has finished eating that course, so as not to make diners feel rushed. (But remove unneeded place settings promptly instead of letting solo patrons sit there looking as if they’ve been stood up.)
- Print it out. Give diners a print-out of the daily specials with prices. Nobody enjoys listening to servers reciting long lists of specials or peering at far-off menu boards.
- Brighten up the bathroom. I don’t care what your decorator said about mood lighting. I want to be able to see whether my slip is showing or if there’s spinach caught in my teeth.
- Fix the wobbles. Whoever sets the tables should fix any jiggles before customers are seated.
- Bring back phone booths. The old-fashioned pay phone has gone away, but we still need somewhere for people to talk on the phone. Make it easy for diners to politely excuse themselves by having a designated place away from the dining room for people to take cell phone conversations.
- Banish TVs. The spread of television screens across public spaces is one of the blights of modern civilization. Put them in the bar, if you must, but expel them from dining rooms.
Good tips. I hope the restaurant owners/managers out there can hear….
I definitely agree with banning TVs. I could also do without piped-in music.
And although restaurants can’t prohibit children, how about charging MORE for items on the kids menu as a way of reducing the number of Nuclear Families From Hell whom I’m obliged to endure?
Good job! And I completely agree about the flash websites. Not just for the reasons you mentioned. Since we develop restaurant websites, I see no sense in making a site that the search engines cannot find, nor can flash sites be easily updated. Just plain dumb marketing. Leah, send all those flash restos to us and we will do it right. FYI, the number one reason consumers go to a resto website is for the menu. I see menus buried in flashland all the time. Oh and research has also shown that the top website turn-off is music. (written while shaking my head) Thanks for this!