What is restaurant “software” and why does it matter?
Many restaurants look great. Beautiful decor, a lovely location, an attractive menu. But something feels off.
Maybe the lighting is wrong, or the music is terrible and the wait staff are grumpy, if not totally aggressive. The feeling of the restaurant is cold and negative. What’s wrong here?
I call this a ¨software¨ problem.
The hardware is the physical restaurant: the building, the interior decoration, the crockery, the menu. The software is everything else: the friendliness, the service, the music, the lighting, the feeling of being in the restaurant — or to use that overused word …. the vibe.
If the software is right, you are well on the way to having a winner. If the software is wrong, then I don’t think that a fantastic menu and a fantastic building in a fantastic location is going to save you.
Here a 4 things that can help you get the right vibe:
- Hire the right people.
- Pay attention to the music.
- Focus on the lighting.
- Create the right mood that builds energy in the space.