Is Your Restaurant A Bomb?

If you read my post on June 2^nd, Music to Your Ears, you know about matching the music you play to the target group of customers you’re trying to reach.

But what about the general noise level in your restaurant? Research has shown that next to lousy service, the noise level in a restaurant is the biggest concern of the guest.

Just two days later, the San Francisco Chronicle published a story entitled: The Din of Dining.

Boy did they tell it like it is!

The story outlined the concerns of patrons and reported on the research results the Chronicle had discovered by checking out dozens of restaurants in the Bay Area. Keep in mind, San Francisco—and the Bay Area, is likely one of the top three most competitive restaurant markets in the U.S.A.

Did you know that once you get up to a level of 80 or more decibels, you are unable to even hear a conversation with your dining partner? The Chronicle found many restaurants with noise levels well above 70…they called them the BOMB level restaurants…and they published the names: the quietest and the very loudest restaurants.

‘You ready for this? Now all restaurants reviewed by The Chronicle (with the exception of what they call Bargain Bites) carry noise ratings. You can find complete information for all these restaurants online at www.sfgate.com/food .The database there is searchable by noise ratings as well as by price, location and type of cuisine!

They even explain how their ratings are measured: e.g. a noise rating of ONE BELL means: ‘pleasantly quiet (less than 65 decibels)’. However, a rating of more than FOUR BELLS (which is 75-80) – what they call a BOMB – is described as: “too noisy for normal conversation (80+)”

They invite their readers to comment on the restaurants too. Here are just two of the dozens of comments this story generated:

(1) “Thanks, Stacy Finz, for a useful article. Now that I know the Chronicle gives noise ratings in its restaurant reviews, I'll turn to the Chronicle more often when selecting a restaurant. I can't stand it when it's so loud I can't have a conversation with my wife without shouting”.

(2) “Very nice and useful article. I will always walk out of a restaurant that has loud noise, uncontrolled kids running around and crying, loud music and idiots next to me yapping on their phones. Not my thing. If I'm going to spend my money out, I certainly won't spend it where I can't hear or be heard. ‘Peace and quiet. Not enough of that anywhere these days”.

Are you hearing this?

Here’s the take-away on this one: you may not have your local newspaper reviewing the noise ratings in restaurants yet…but its likely coming…and soon…especially if you’re in a major metro trading area. Why not “listen” to your customers and pipe it down a bit. Conduct decibel rating measurements for your own restaurant. See how you measure up…then fix any problems.

Now you can start to put the words: ‘quiet’, ‘not noisy’, even phrases such as: ‘…a restaurant where you can actually hear what your partner says!’ This copy says a lot about you; but it also says even more about your competitors… without you having to say it…out loud.

What do you think? Care to share your 2 cents? I'd appreciate your feedback and comments below.