Negative Cues

From VANEEpedia

Don’t Un-WOW your customers! Eliminate the “negative cues” that are killing your customers’ experience.

You’ve poured time, effort, and money into your operation. You’ve built out a physical space, designed a menu, hired a staff, and advertised to bring customers into your restaurant. The food was good, the staff attentive, and the price was right. But they didn’t come back. What did you do wrong?

Consumers are complicated animals and their psychology is subtle. But with intense competition for the consumers’ dining dollars, even small psychological cues can make the difference between a merely satisfied customer and a repeat customer. Unfortunately most restaurant operators are so busy working on the primary tasks of restaurant execution that they don’t have time to spare on the “little things” that are negatively impacting their customer experience.

You should conduct a “negative cue” audit of your operation to identify and eliminate the subliminal signs that are keeping customers away. You could do this yourself, or better yet, ask an outsider to help (maybe your distributor sales rep or another restaurant operator).

Some common Negative Cues:

1. “Out of Order” signs - If something that customers use isn’t working, get it fixed immediately. Or at least order a proper sign that communicates a higher level of sophistication than a hand written note taped to a door.

2. Any sort of hand written promotional material. Unless you are a true artist, let a computer do the work. If you aren’t comfortable designing these on your own, there are numerous ways to get help. Your distributor probably has resources you could use. Or ask your staff - someone might have a hidden skill with graphic design that you don’t know about. Also, be sure your designer is familiar with your institution’s colors and style to ensure continuity.

3. “No” signs - Signs that tell customers not to do something (no smoking, no checks accepted, no parking except for restaurant patrons, no trash in the recycling bin, etc.) should be rephrased to make a positive statement. While these rules are in place to make the dining experience pleasant for everyone, nobody likes negative commands. By changing the wording of the message to be positive you can get your point across without a negative connotation.

Vanee Regional Sales Managers and Broker Sales Agents are available to help operators eliminate their negative cues. Contact Vanee to schedule an appointment with one of our consultants.