What Would Be a Reasonable Restaurant Offer That You Cannot Refuse?

Llukejen on 14/03/2025 - 14:03
Last edited 14/03/2025 - 15:57 by 1 other user

Long time lurker… first time poster, and yes I had to finally create an account to post in the forum (hence newly create account).

I have a genuine concern and need your opinions, input and help! My friend owns a restaurant in Melbourne (Indian cuisine), unfortunately I cannot name the restaurant as he has no idea I am posting this here, I just wanted to know if I can help him out. Also, the restaurant's name does not really matter for this post as this essentially applies to all restaurants.

The concern is that his business is not doing well. He has tried multiple different offers like % off total bill, and various offers on UberEats etc. He says the offers get a few customers in but then it is the same. He does social media marketing, has reasonable rating on Google (4.4 stars overall) as well. From a customers perspective the food is good quality, tastes good, service is really goos, customers are generally happy.

The main reason for this post is to understand what would be something that he could do to increase their regulars. I am asking from you guys as I have seen you guys usually have sensible opinions (sometimes harsh) and genuine ones! What would you want in a restaurant that would make you return and be your go-to restaurant?

He is really struggling at this stage to make sure his business survives and I often see him stressed due to this. He has tried multiple things that the marketing world tells him. They do fb/insta ads as well + organic posts almost every other day. So basically he has tried pretty much everything I would say.

So the main question being… what would a reasonable promotional offer for you be to get to a restaurant you have never tried before! As I feel once people try the restaurant, there is not much to not like about it, it is decent.

Any help/input is much appreciated and please don't be harsh as it is my first post in the forum, thanks guys!

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  AS2035 on 19/03/2025 - 15:46

  +1

  You do not need offers if the food and the service are great.

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  marchozb on 21/03/2025 - 10:24

  +3

  My old man has owned a Western restaurant for the last 14ish years, hospitality is a difficult business! He has been very lucky and successful and has churned 5-6 figure profits over this time (excluding COVID of course).

  First things first - restaurants barely make money, net profit could be as high as 15% on revenue, most restaurants are break even (after the owner pays themself a wage though). So your friend shouldn't be too hard on themselves if its not going to plan. Many many restaurants do not survive.

  One thing that most restaurants don't pay enough attention to is cost price of their meals - you need to have some stupid markups in there. The chefs need to focus on ordering the cheapest materials possible without compromising quality (i.e. ingredients, meat etc) and using their skills to make the best dish possible. For reference, a chicken parma shouldn't really cost more than $4 to make (before wages and overheads) and should sell for about $28. Garlic bread should cost 30 cents per serve but sell for $7. This could mean things like prep for dinner service is now more intensive because they are doing things like making the butter chicken sauce themselves as opposed to buying it in. 99 times out of 100 it is always cheaper to make things in house compared to being bought in.

  Another thing to focus on is to not be overstaffed. I often see too many restaurants with 1 wait staff per 10 people. You can easily push this out to be 1 wait staff per 20-30 people. On days where the restaurant isn't busy, there should be a skeleton crew (1-2 wait staff).

  Finally, staff should be trained on upselling. Always offer another drink, always offer a dessert. As soon as a table is seated, give them 5 mins with the menu and ask if they want entrees. If they seem hesitant make a suggestion for them "What about Garlic Bread for the table?".

  Best of luck though :)

  TLDR; Keep costs down

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    payton on 22/03/2025 - 13:54

    Jesus K Rist, capitalism at its finest here, good tips though :)

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      marchozb on 23/03/2025 - 11:46

      +1

      Unfortunately hospitality survive on profits and not passion for food!

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