more the engrish!

more the engrish!

I am currently a food consultant for a well known Asian sauce company. Every work day, I visit around ten restaurants and after a few hundred in a month, it is obvious why some fail while some flourish and make millions of dollars.

As visual creatures, most customers are attracted to design. While this may be true, most restaurant fall very short and make major mistakes.

Top 3 Mistakes

1) Promoting mistakes. You’re a Chinese restaurant, but you

-hang furniture flyers on the outside wall
-place real estate business cards next to your cashier

2) Ugly website. Especially in this economy, customers are king and have a plethora of choices. In this internet age, customers view the website for information and a hint at what the restaurant experience will provide.

Ugly. Hunan Homes (notice Chinese Dracula picture)
Well Done. Little China Kitchen (notice quality in the food pictures)
Professional. P.F. Changs (a great example of a Chinese Chain)

3) Spellcheck. I constantly see menu items misspelled. “Oodles” instead of “Noodles.” This shows that the owner is not detail oriented and does not care enough.

Take away: I advise restaurateurs to treat their business as if an important person such as a diplomat or the President of the United States visiting your business. Presentation includes food, décor, and everything that attracts our sense.