Hand Sanitizing, Temperature Checks & Partitions: Survey Reveals Customer Must-Haves When Restaurants Reopen
Over 3700 restaurant goers surveyed by 5pm.co.uk and simpleERB.com to find out attitudes to dining out when restaurants reopen.
Eager to dine out soon
5pm restaurant goers are eager diners. They dined out a lot prior to COVID-19, and they plan on eating out again and very quickly when restaurants reopen.
When asked, “How often did you visit a restaurant in the 12 months prior to lockdown?” 60% said “Several times a month” and 8% “Several times a week”.
When asked, “How likely are you to visit a restaurant when they re-open?”, 60% said “Extremely likely” and 21% “Very likely”. Only 5% said “Not very likely” or “Not at all likely”.
To the question, “After an ease in restrictions, within what time frame would you want to visit a restaurant?”, 33% said, “ASAP”, 32% said, “In the first month” and 24% said, “in the first 3 months”.
Hand Sanitising, Temperature Checks & Partitions
When diners return to restaurants, they definitely want to see hand sanitising stations, partitions between customers and temperature checks for staff.
These were the most popular answers to the question “Which of the following would give you confidence to visit a restaurant when they reopen?”.
Customer temperature checks and face masks were also high up the list.
Respondents weren’t so concerned about staff wearing face shields or gloves.
Other customers are key concern
So what should a restaurant be aware of when implementing changes for a COVID-10 world?
When asked, “What elements of the restaurant experience, if any, concern you when it comes to the transmission of COVID-19?”, respondents’ main concern was ‘Other customers’, hinting at how important implementing social distancing will be for restaurants to win the confidence of customers.
Chief among other concerns were bathrooms, surfaces and staff.
People were less concerned about transmitting the virus to others or entering/exiting venues.
There are good pointers here for restaurateurs wondering what to do to reassure their guests.
Customers happy to comply with hygiene & social distancing practices
To the question, “As a customer, how willing would you be to do the following at a restaurant?”, customers were happy to comply with most of the options suggested with using hand sanitiser, contactless payment and washing hands on entry, being top choices.
Over 80% said they would be happy to get a temperature check on entering the venue and over 50% would wear a mask.
Changing behaviour to support restaurants
Restaurants everywhere are thinking, how can I keep my business profitable with fewer covers? The survey highlighted some possible behaviour changes for restaurant goers.
To the question, “In a restaurant, post-restrictions, how happy would you be to do the following?”, over 75% of people said they ‘Definitely’ or ‘Probably would’ preorder their food.
The survey showed that customers were willing to support restaurants when it comes to their future dining experience. Over 85% of respondents said they ‘Definitely’ or ‘Probably would’ limit their time in the restaurant to let the venue take more customers throughout the day.
Ronnie Somerville, 5pm and simpleERB founder says “In these extraordinarily challenging times for restaurateurs this data from a large sample of British diners gives some reassurance that there is at least a chink of light at the end of the tunnel. The study shows that there is both a pent up demand and a recognition that diners have a part to play in making restaurants work and work profitably in the new normal.”
About 5pm.co.uk
5pm.co.uk is a leading restaurant, hotel and salon offers and bookings website based in Glasgow, Scotland. www.5pm.co.uk
About simpleERB.com
simpeERB.com is an easy to use diary and booking management system for restaurants, used by hospitality professionals in over 40 countries around the world and based in Glasgow, Scotland. www.simpleERB.com
