The Only 4 Ways to

Increase
Restaurant Sales
Contents
3 Introduction

4 Chapter 1
Attracting New Customers
Mastering the World Wide Web
Get your Face Out There

8 Chapter 2
Encouraging Repeat Visits
Respond to Customer Feedback
Provide Incentives
Hold Special Events

12 Chapter 3
Generating Higher Tickets
Upselling, Upsizing, and Customization
Menu Planning and Design

16 Chapter 4
Turning More Tables
Staffing
The Restaurant Environment
Menu
Technology and Equipment

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 Introduction

“One thing has not changed”

Earlier this year, something extraordinary
happened in the food service industry. For
the first time in history, consumer spending
on dining out overtook that of grocery sales
in the United States.1 This is incredible news
for restaurants and bars yearning to increase
sales, but there are challenges that come
with this opportunity.
Restaurants have always had to face
competition from other establishments with
similar menus and price points in their area.
But now, they are also facing grocerants
that offer eat-in experiences and other
restaurants across the industry spectrum
that blur the lines between quick service, fast
casual, and even fine dining.
One thing has not changed, however.
There are still only four ways to increase
restaurant sales: increase the number of new
customers, increase frequency of visit for
your existing customers, increase the amount
of spend per check, and increase the number
of table turns or flow-through per day.
In this book, we’ll be looking at each one
of these four methods for improving your
bottom line, starting with attracting new
customers.

1
“Americans' Spending on Dining Out Just Overtook Grocery Sales for the First Time Ever” http://www.bloomberg.com/news/
articles/2015-04-14/americans-spending-on-dining-out-just-overtook-grocery-sales-for-the first-time-ever
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Attracting New Customers
Traditionally, restaurants — like the real
estate and auto industries — have relied
heavily on placements in print media to drive
new customers.
Today, newspaper ads or free-standing
1 Chapter

common thread for all of these practices is

inserts in local papers and magazines
reach less consumers as subscription rates
continue to plummet.2 Direct mail is still a
common practice in most industries, but can
easily get lost in the overwhelming amount of
junk mail your potential customer receives on
a daily basis.
And direct mail’s effectiveness is even lower
when not sent frequently and consistently,
and when not used in combination with a
discount or value offer. This is critical to
help you break through the thousands of
messages consumers receive each day. The
the large expense necessary to execute this
type of marketing initiative, as well as the
ROI. Often, your return on investment does
not justify the time, resources, and energy
needed to make a direct mail campaign truly
successful.
Programs like Groupon® have recognized this
shift, and have sought to offer an incentive
to new customers by selling discounted
digital deals that they have bulk purchased
from restaurants and other businesses.
What seemed like a sure driver of traffic at
the height of its popularity eventually cost
businesses a lot of money upfront (without
driving return visits to compensate) and
overwhelmingly attracted existing customers,
not new ones.3

2
“Newsonomics: Single-copy newspaper sales are collapsing, and it’s largely a self-inflicted wound” http://www.niemanlab.
org/2015/03/newsonomics-the-collapse-of-single-copy-sales/
3
“Bice: Groupon Isn’t a Good Deal for Businesses” http://www.cnbc.com/id/49092709 rewardsnetwork.com 4
What a lot of restaurants also learned was And in 2015, it’s a consumer expectation
that offering discounts in bulk undermined to get an online preview of their dining
the value of their menu, their service, and the experience at your restaurant, including
experience they had to offer customers — up-to-date menus, beautiful photos of your
both new and old. food and environment, and an easy way
to contact you for reservations or to ask
So, how can you drive new customers
questions.
without devaluing your brand through
discounts?
Mastering the World Wide Web How can you drive new
The biggest hurdle for acquiring new
customers is simply letting them know you customers without
exist. In today’s world, you must be proactive
in reaching out to customers. And where are devaluing your brand
through discounts?
they? The Internet.
It’s long been understood that customers
engage the Internet in their dining decisions
at a much higher
rate than in regard to Building your website out is only half the
other industries, with

75
battle, however. The real work is in letting
92% of consumers
having searched for
% potential customers know it’s there. If your
website is optimized for search, Google can
a restaurant on their do quite a bit of that work for you, but there
computer (and 81% on are many ways to get your name out there
their mobile device).4 and drive even more traffic through your
What’s more telling, of customers doors.
however, is that 75% chose a
chose a restaurant restaurant based Maintaining a social media presence on
based upon those on internet Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram is one way
search results. search results to advertise through modern word-of-mouth
the type of experience you have to offer. In
This puts having an our recent survey, 46% of consumers said
online presence at the top of your marketing recommendations from others, both on- and
needs. It’s true that assembling a website can offline, was their primary method for finding
be an expensive endeavor, but it’s also one restaurants.
of the best tools for establishing your brand,
providing great information, and welcoming Sharing photos of your specials and talking
your new customer before they ever set foot up your most popular dishes is a great way to
into your restaurant. drive interest. Also, make sure your listing at

4
“New Research: Mobile and Web Search Leads to Action for Restaurants” http://www.singleplatform.com/blog/2013/04/17/
mobile-and-web-search-leads-to-action-for-restaurants
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Yelp or other socially-driven consumer sites
is up-to-date and complete with photos and
content that will stand out in a sea of search
results.
Of course, engaging a marketing program
can also reap exponential benefits and draw
in new customers. For instance, Rewards
Network members spend 25% more on
average per check than other consumers.
You not only get the benefit of additional
website exposure, but inclusion in email
campaigns targeting local customers who
dine out more frequently and are looking for that can be otherwise difficult to locate for
new places to try. first-time visitors. And the more well-known
your restaurant becomes to out-of-towners
Get Your Face Out There
looking to experience what they’ve only heard
The other natural place to seek out new about, the more critical making yourself easy
customers is in your local community, and to find becomes.
that marketing begins with the outward
The state of your grounds and exterior
appearance of your restaurant itself.
facade can also have a tremendous impact
Having clearly visible signage that draws
on drawing in new customers. Do you
in undecided customers is still the least
have ample parking available so that new
expensive form of advertising in cost-per-
customers won’t leave in aggravation without
thousand impressions.5
dining? Is your entrance clearly marked and
This is especially important for welcoming to passers-by?
establishments set off of the main traffic
Curb appeal isn’t just for homes and garden
pattern (highway or foot traffic) or those
tours. It’s an important factor to your ability
to draw in people who don’t know you well.
Vegetation should be well-tended. Windows
should be cleaned and free of graffiti or
scratches. Sidewalks should provide a safe
path to your door without risk of falls.
Participating in co-branded events — or
larger events in your community — is another
great way to reach customers who may not
have yet been exposed to your menu and
brand experience. Keep your eyes open for

5
“SIGNS: Showcasing Your Business on the Street. The Importance of Signage for your Business” http://www.comptonduling.
com/images/pdfs/SBA%20Importance%20of%20Signs.pdf
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opportunities to showcase what sets your restaurant apart
from others in your area, and be open to cross-promotion
with other business owners who could benefit as much as
you in the process.
Partnering up with another business can reap long term
rewards — if you’re careful. Just make sure your brand is
well-represented and doesn’t feel out-of-place or diminished
by the other one. From neighborhood street fairs to more
sophisticated event catering, expanding beyond your
dining room will certainly bring challenges to the table, and
likely require some open-mindedness on the part of both Positive
organizations.
But if the experience is favorable, positive word-of-mouth
word-of-mouth
marketing could make the difference between a so-so
holiday season and a massively successful one for you. marketing
Now that we’ve looked at how to attract new customers to could make
the difference
your restaurant, we tackle the next big task: making sure they
come back! Onwards to encouraging repeat visits!
 
between a
so-so holiday
season and
a massively
successful one.

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Encouraging Repeat Visits
It’s a common misconception that quality of
food is the driving force behind
repeat visits to restaurants. Of course, if the
food you serve isn’t exceptional, you may not
see a customer return, but great food is no
guarantee of that return visit either.
Food is only one part of the overall
experience a diner has at your restaurant,
alongside service, value, and atmosphere. All
four of these factors come together in overall
experience to drive return visits. Don’t believe
us? We have the numbers to back it up.
Based on 99,000 verified diner survey and
actual dollar spend across our network of
restaurants, Rewards Network data shows
that overall experience is the #1 influencer
for return visits, not food alone. Even if your
food is ranked higher than overall experience
Chapter
2
in online reviews, the likelihood of a return
visit is lower.
In fact, when the food rating is one point
higher than the rating for overall experience,
we have seen a 20% drop in the likelihood
that diner will return to your restaurant. And
when the food rating is two points higher than
that of overall experience, the chance of that
diner returning is actually 38% lower than if
the ratings were equal.
Research also shows that overall experience
factors into diner perception after they leave
in terms of recommendations as well. 95%
of diners who rated the overall experience of
their meal a 5 out of 5 also said they would
recommend the restaurant to others.
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But if overall experience was only rated a 3,
the likelihood of a recommendation to friends
and family drops to 6% (and to only 1% with
a 1 or 2 rating in overall experience). If you
wouldn’t recommend a restaurant to a friend,
why would you return yourself?
Your reply should be
personal to the customer,
but not personal to you.
Offering exceptional service alongside
exceptional food is a tried and true method
of ensuring customer satisfaction with their
meal, and remains a significant factor in why
a customer would choose to sit down at your
table. Consumers want to feel cared for. They
want to know that they are getting a good
value for their time and the expense.
Efficient, accurate, and pleasant service
goes a long way toward making customers
feel like they’ve gotten their money’s worth.
And providing that in a warm and engaging
atmosphere that is both clean and up-to-date
is a proven start to keeping your customers
coming back to you again and again.
But there are three more ways to capture
a return visit and increase frequency in
customers after they leave your restaurant.
Respond to Customer Feedback
We often think the restaurant experience
ends with a paid check and the drop of the
napkin as your customer leaves their table.
But having an engaging experience with your
customer after they leave your restaurant is
just as important as what happens when they
are sitting at the table.
Monitoring customer reviews — either
through a plethora of online outlets or a
more formal comment management system
— doesn’t just keep you informed of public
perception. It offers you an opportunity to
keep your diners engaged even when they’re
not sitting in your establishment or waiting
on a delivery at home. Addressing customer
concerns quickly and calmly goes a long way
toward turning a negative impression into a
positive attitude about your responsiveness.
Do take the feedback seriously, but don’t
let your emotions get the better of you. Your
reply should be personal to the customer, but
not personal to you. Just let the customer
know you care and that you will take steps to
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ensure the problem never happens again. You’d be surprised
how far a well-worded apology can go toward securing a
dissatisfied customer’s future loyalty.
But responding to online reviews is not just for fixing
problems. Take the opportunity to say thank you when you
receive a positive review from a customer. Responding to
compliments from customers who thoroughly enjoyed their
experience won’t just make them feel appreciated. It will also
make you feel more connected to the people you serve every
day and serve as a pleasant reminder of exactly why you
opened your restaurant in the first place.
Provide Incentives
With every consumer outlet offering loyalty programs, from
The expectation
grocery stores and gas stations to high-end department
stores and the travel industry, the expectation for additional
for additional
rewards with every purchase is at an all-time high among
your customers. Credit cards are chosen not just for their
rewards with
interest rates anymore, but also for the cashback, miles, or
point rewards they offer on every purchase. So, why should
every purchase
restaurants be any different?
is at an
all-time high
It’s important to offer customers rewards that resonate with
them, and not simply what is important to you. Points or miles

among your
earned toward vacations, money saved for a child’s education,
or contributions to a charity can influence return visits more
than priority reservations, two-for-one specials, or other
discounted or free items from your menu. customers.
That’s why it’s important to look at a loyalty program that
offers every consumer their rewards of choice: to motivate
return visits to the establishments in our program. Based on
103,000 verified surveys and over 12 million annual visits
to program restaurants, bars, and clubs, we’ve found that
diners who initially visited a restaurant based on Rewards
Network participation are twice as likely to return to the same
restaurant than diners driven by some other factor. Simply
put, rewards work.

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Hold Special Events
Often planned around increasing sales during off-peak
hours, special events can also be a prime motivator for
increasing the frequency of your repeat customers’ visits.
What could be more enticing than an activity you enjoy at a
place you already know and love?
In states that don’t prohibit it, Happy Hour is of course
a classic way of bringing customers in at a time easily
remembered and very attractive for those just leaving the
office. Trivia nights can not only drive repeat customers
through your doors, but also their friends looking to
compete for bragging rights (or maybe a discounted drink
or two).
Or if your restaurant attracts a quieter crowd, a wine tasting
or other gastronautical event could be just what diners need
to remember how much they love the experience they have
with you. In all of these cases, having a limited time offer
menu or menu item can drive customers back to you to try
something new as well, and often at a premium. Putting
a time limit on your LTO, even a vague one, can make the
difference between thinking about dining with you and
actually walking through the door.
Events like these lead to customers you get to know well
and can count on for years of faithful patronage. For your
customer, it creates the personal feeling of a second home
right at your table or bar. Who doesn’t want to go to a place
where everybody can easily call you by name? And with
these type of events on your restaurant’s social calendar,
you’ll be shouting “Norm!” in no time.
So, now that you’ve earned a customer’s loyalty, how can
you encourage them to spend more on each visit? That’s
what we explore next: generating higher tickets.  
Generating Higher Tickets
Every so often, we see a nightly news
expose or popular website article about
how businesses “trick” their customers into
spending more money. The tenor of these
pieces can be pretty harsh.
Chapter
3
you offer, maximizing enjoyment of the meal
in a way that also benefits you financially.
There are two key areas to consider when
working with your staff and marketing team to
increase spend: upselling and menu design.
But most restaurants — even on their best
Upselling, Upsizing, and
days — run on tight profit margins, offering
Customization
a product that people often take for granted
with a quality of personal service that is How a server interacts with a customer
frequently under-appreciated. There’s no from the moment they‘re seated can change
shame in wanting to see your business everything about the quality, size, and price of
succeed, support your employees, and deliver the meal by the time they set their fork down.
an exceptional experience to your customer Customers expect a personable, but non-
all at the same time. intrusive, demeanor from restaurant staff, but
just being friendly and helpful isn’t enough
Finding a balance between your bottom
to increase ticket size (and their percentage-
line and the care and best interests of your
based tip). Suggesting an appetizer or
customer doesn’t need to be difficult. What it
cocktail once seated, even going so far as to
takes is a focus on the quality of experience

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point out popular items, can set the tone for
higher tickets right away.
As customers share their order, servers
should not miss opportunities to suggest side
dishes or other upgrades — in moderation.
No one likes a hard sell. Train your servers to
read nonverbal cues and not overstep in their
eagerness to pile more onto the check.
But by the same token, don’t rush your
customers out of enjoying more of your
menu either. Many a dessert upsell has
vanished with a prematurely delivered check.
Customers will rarely feel comfortable making
you adjust a total to add on dessert if they
see you have already rung up the meal.
Upselling is not just about adding whole
dishes to an order, however. For the limited
service sector, upsizing has long been a
regular practice. Every cashier knows the drill.
“Want to make that a combo? Would you like
a large soda for only twenty-five cents more?”
This practice isn’t lost to restaurant staff in
other industry segments. Offering wine by
the glass and the bottle, soup in cup and
bowl sizes, or lunch and dinner-sized portions
are standard opportunities you can give your
waitstaff to suggest the value of the larger
choice.
But limited service restaurants don’t always
just offer size as an option. Giving consumers
the option to add “extras” to their meal
— such as avocado or more protein, or a
Give consumers the
option to add “extras”
to their meal.
housemade lemonade over a fountain drink
— may seen like small increases, but those
individual items can add up to a lot of profit
over time.
Instruct your servers to clarify the quality of
liquor — house brand or top shelf label —
your guests prefer in their cocktails. Most
casual drinkers will prefer the brand they
purchase themselves for home, and that can
translate into a premium add-on.
Depending on your menu, the same option
can be offered for proteins, with different
grades and origins of beef becoming
more and more popular with consumers.
Most grocery stores offer choice between
conventional and organic produce or between
conventional and cage-free/organic/
sustainably raised proteins. If your inventory
can support it on a limited number of dishes,
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why not offer that upsell opportunity on your restaurants can generate tickets that outpace
menu as well? those with exclusively pre-priced pizza
options.
It’s also important to consider customization
that can be suggested by servers without
disrupting your kitchen staff. According
to research firm Technomic, the ability to
personalize and customize menu items is
a key millennial expectation in restaurant
dining, particularly in the quick service and
fast casual sectors.6
The future of your increased revenue
likely rests with the generation that now
outnumbers baby boomers — and wields
roughly $200 billion in purchasing power
nationally.7 So offering options on your dishes
that play into that desire, at a reasonable per
ingredient premium, is a win-win scenario for
Constructing your entree menu — both in
you and your customer.
store and online — to prompt these types of
Menu Planning and Design customizations (gluten-free options, roasted
instead of raw ingredients, gourmet cheeses)
We’ve seen this customization trend will not only increase ticket amounts, but
maximized on limited service pizza menus for will also make your customers feel like you
years. For example, offering a plain cheese care enough to accommodate their personal
pizza offered at an attractively low price, tastes and interests.
but every topping adding is an additional 50
cents to $1 charge. Customers get exactly But even without offering a wide range
what they want. Kitchen staff maintain a of customization, there are many ways to
turnkey station set-up that allows for it. And impact ticket amount with menu design that
don’t significantly change how your back of
house functions. Limited service restaurants
traditionally see a strong increase in spend
There are many ways to every time they have a combo offer. Likewise,
in the full service sector, smart pairings of
impact ticket amount appetizer and entree (or entree and wine) can
be priced attractively to inspire customers

with menu design. that might have ordered an entree alone.

Tasting menus — where small portions of
multiple dishes are offered at a single price

6
“The Custom Meal Deal for Millennials” https://www.gfs.com/en/idea-center/culinary-ideas-running-your-business/the-custom-
meal-deal-for-millennials
7
“10 New Findings About The Millennial Consumer” http://www.forbes.com/sites/ rewardsnetwork.com 14
danschawbel/2015/01/20/10-new-findings-about-the-millennial-consumer/#74cbc96d28a8
 — can also be an enticing opportunity for the
adventurous or indecisive diner, with higher
prices on those items generally meeting
consumer expectation.
The inverse to this would be limited service
dollar-style menus or full service small plate
menus, where customers can customize their
entire order piece by piece. Limited time
offers are also a prime tool for increasing
ticket amounts, as customers can be spurred
to impulse purchase on something that may
not be available the next time they visit.
Legibility plays a huge role in both making
your guests more comfortable and increasing
Your guests will “ooo”
and “ahh” even before the
dish arrives at their table.
spend per visit. Yes, there are savvy choices
like leaving the dollar sign ($) off of prices or
using whole numbers without decimal places
if your menu is filled with higher ticket items.
But the psychological impact of your menu
structure is not limited to softening sticker
shock. Having too many items crammed onto
a menu page can overwhelm the consumer
and lead to guests retreating to “safe”
choices, i.e. ones that may be less creatively
challenging, and therefore lower in price.
Highlighting special items in a boxed out
area on the page can keep a customer’s eye
coming back to it as they scan other items.
Use descriptive language that makes higher
priced dishes more enticing. Would you be
more likely to order “salmon in dill sauce” or a
“pan-seared Atlantic salmon filet with garlic-
infused crust, dressed with our chef’s classic
dill rémoulade”? Your guests will ooo and ahh
even before the dish arrives at their table.
Their experience becomes about more than
just taste, but an entire evening of intellectual
pleasure, so long as their choices live up to
the descriptions.
Of course, being able to incentivize a
proportion of your diners to spend more
through rewards of choice is also an excellent
tool for increasing restaurant sales. A recent
Rewards Network study showed members
spent 25% more on average per check than
their non-member counterparts.
The drive to get a better value for their
money, even if it means spending more,
remains a powerful motivator that restaurants
can profit from. And at the end of the night,
both you and your customers benefit — no
trick to it.
So, after you’ve brought in a new customer,
encouraged them to return, and seen more
spending from them per visit, what’s left?
Making sure you have as many of these
profitable customers as possible by turning
more tables.
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Turning More Tables
Moving more customers through your
establishment on any given day is definitely
a challenge, and being filled to capacity
requires different tactics to manage than it
would if you’re under-booked. Marketing and
consumer influence can’t get tables turned at
a steady pace or keep customers progressing
swiftly through your ordering line. You have to
rely almost entirely on the efficiency of your
staff and the infrastructure of your restaurant
itself.
Conducting a thorough audit of what happens
from the moment a guest walks through
your door until they pay can expose areas of
improvement for you and your team. What
follows are four factors to keeping service
moving at a profitable pace: staffing, your
dining space, the menu, and your equipment.
Chapter
4
Factor One: Staffing
More than with any of the other four ways to
increase restaurant sales, your entire staff
can have a profound effect on generating
faster table turns and flow-through at
your restaurant. Of course, no one wants
customers to feel rushed or “managed”
through the process of dining out. That
doesn’t make for a good experience — or
a return visit. But prompt attention at every
stage of the customer’s visit can make the
difference between three or four seatings in a
dinner shift and just one or two.
If your restaurant is full service, begin
with looking at your host’s process of seat
management. Savvy restaurant operators will
divide their tables into quadrants, filling them
with guests as they arrive in rotation so no
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 one area becomes overwhelmed. Your servers will be able

Four factors to to maintain an even pace in caring for their guests, and no
employee ends up with less to do (or less tips) than any other.

keep service Your kitchen staff will also thank you, as no one section or
server will end up dominating their prep line, making orders

moving at a more difficult to execute, and the potential for tension much
greater.

profitable pace: It’s also important for every member of the team to stay alert
and responsive to the timing of their duties. Are orders being
taken promptly and input into the POS system immediately?
Are checks being presented and collected in a timely
manner? Are tables bussed and reset as soon as your guests
leave?
Your front of house manager should be able to feel the
Staffing rhythm of service when everything is streaming effectively
— and when things need to be ironed out as well. Identifying
what factor is slowing down table turns or holding up the
order line is key to course correcting a problem before the
end of the shift.
Factor Two: The Restaurant Environment
The space your guests physically occupy is also crucial to
Restaurant maintaining a steady flow of business. Bottlenecks in an order
Environment line can make for some very angry customers by the time
they reach your cashier, but it also can cost you revenue. Not
only are there less people being served in the same amount
of time, but long, unmoving lines can easily deter customers
from eating with you.
If it’s a choice between a confusing, messy line going out
the door or another restaurant with the appearance of quick
ordering and delivery, guess which one a casual diner is likely
Menu to choose.
The same can be said for bottlenecks at the front of full
service restaurants surrounding the host or reservation desk.
Even if the guests waiting made reservations, having to
occupy a physically uncomfortable space before sitting down
for a meal does not leave the best impression.
Adding a separate station for pick-up orders that are called in
Equipment ahead of time can help mitigate this issue, as can remodeling
rewardsnetwork.com 17
your front of house space to allow for enough
room in the entrance to accommodate more
than one or two waiting parties.
Once your guests are seated, do you have
the right mix of tables for your average dinner
party sizes? If you know the majority of your
reservations and walk-ins are parties of two,
but the majority of your seating is four-tops,
you’re likely leaving money on the table (or
making for a lot of unnecessary scramble).
The reverse is also true. If you frequently host
larger groups of diners, consider a standard
large table set-up in one part of your dining
room, perhaps even building out a party room
for private events. You will be saving your
staff time on set-up they could be using to
turn tables in your dining room, and it gives
you an opportunity to monetize options that
match exactly what the customer is looking
for: privacy, extra attention, and a planned
menu.
8
“The Jam Study Strikes Back: When Less Choice Does Mean More Sales” http://digitalintelligencetoday.com/the-jam-study-
strikes-back-when-less-choice-does-mean-more-sales/
Factor Three: Menu
Believe it or not, menu design does have
a significant impact on the ability to move
customers through your establishment.
It begins with the number of choices you
offer your customers. Many restaurateurs
will presume that the more options you give
a diner, the more likely it is they will find
something they’ll want to order. The opposite
is actually true — and scientifically proven
with what has come to be known as the Jam
Study.8
In short, a study conducted in 2000 (and
verified once again in 2015) proved that
offering consumers a display of 24 types
of jam would produce more initial interest,
but ultimately far less sales than a display
of 6 types of jam. One tenth of the sales,
in fact. Why is that? Because consumers
are effected by what’s known as “choice
overload.”
The result for your restaurant may not always
be less sales, but it can frequently lead
to exponentially longer times for ordering,
slowing down service in kind. The more
difficult you make the decision for your guest,
the longer they’ll be sitting at a table without
food resting in front of them. And that means
less table turns for full service restaurants
and significantly slowed flow-through in
limited service circumstances as well.
Keep your menu limited and legible,
particularly if your establishment maintains
low lighting. Nothing is more frustrating when
dining than having to squint to make out item
descriptions. Also, allow for white space on
the menu page. It may feel like wasted space
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to you, but it’s critical in giving your customers’ eyes the ability
to move around unfettered, distinguish between items — and
make their decision without delay.
And studies show most customers will only spend an average
of 109 seconds perusing your menu, so make sure you
organize it in such a way as to make the experience less
frustrating.9
Factor Four: Technology and Equipment
The number of choices on your menu also impacts your back
of house in considerable ways, and can lead to longer wait
times. Too many choices can mean too much disparity in prep
and cooking spaces for a single kitchen to manage without
constant set-up and breakdown. And if your kitchen is not
set up to minimize unnecessary wait, you could be cheating
yourself out of the opportunity to serve more customers —
and turn a greater profit.
Observe a standard night’s service carefully from the
sidelines and see if your kitchen flow makes sense. Are your
chef and staff tripping over each other? Is equipment like
freezers and warming drawers in locations that make for
efficient use? Is inventory managed effectively and organized
for easy access? Do you even have all the tools you need to
quickly produce routine orders without creative workarounds?
Also consider your POS – does it work as well as your staff
needs it to? Technology is a boon to every workplace, but only
when it works the way it should. If your system gets backed
up, experiences lag time in communicating between the front
and back of house, or drops orders, you could have a staff
training issue, or it could be time for a new system.
Either way, ensuring that your POS is configured specifically
to meet your needs can eliminate the kinds of service
hiccups that slow down business — and ultimately affect
your bottom line.

9
“The Psychology of Menu Design: Reinvent Your 'Silent Salesperson' to Increase
Check Averages and Guest Loyalty” http://rrgconsulting.com/psychology_of_restau-
rant_menu_design.htm rewardsnetwork.com 19
To learn more about how Rewards Network can help you
increase your restaurant sales,
CONTACT US TODAY:
Cheryl Parsons
Vice-President of Marketing, Rewards Network
312.291.5830
parsonsc@rewardsnetwork.com

RewardsNetwork.com