By Jacob David

“Dining in at restaurants is for the wimps,” people say. I don’t endorse that statement. So they designed drive-thru’s *yep, they abbreviated “through” to “thru”, it’s a time of abbreviations and fast food deliveries. People rarely have the time to sit down and eat at leisure. It is always a gobble up in your car, a swig of your cola and honk in rage at your neighbor in front of you or in the next lane. Where’s politeness gone these days? And where’s leisure time and family night Fridays? Some families still religiously follow family nights on Fridays. The rest of the week they’re just members of different clubs living together as a set up family.

Given the changes society faces everyday that changes like the fluctuating moods of people, restaurant owners have to patiently put up with the demands that customers dole out each and everyday. And in the end, if the restaurants have still won the customer on several levels: pleasing attitude, taste, ambience (entrance greeting, music, lighting, atmosphere, friendliness, cleanliness (restrooms included), scented air, live music, knowledgeable and attentive wait staff, table settings, convenience of reservations, tone of voice, physical appearance of the waiter / waitress, greeting on departure) quality of food, taste that is consistent, menu pricing,  the restaurant  finally gets an award for their day in – day out slavery. Sometimes, it goes unnoticed and unappreciated.

Most restaurant owners are daunted by having an empty restaurant most nights of the week. Even though they might do very well in take-out orders, their restaurant space is not being put to good use. This worries them. This is potential space that is not being used. But as a restaurant owner, they still have to pay rent for the dine-in space each month. Most customers do not realize this and frankly, they don’t care.  There are several things a restaurant may or may not be doing to retain the interest of a customer. Customers cannot be blamed wholly for their attitude or choice to take-out instead of dining in. What can you as a restaurant owner offer your customers? Second, is your restaurant inviting enough to stay and dine-in?

When a customer chooses to take-out his/her order, it means an empty restaurant for the owner. This is an illusory trap. What I mean by that is this: All people who step into the restaurant, sees an empty restaurant. They wonder if this restaurant is successful. Unless you have a barrage of phone calls asking for take-out orders while that customer waits, the impression of a sick restaurant sets in the visitor’s mind. The restaurant owner has to change this initial impression and create a healthy appearance for his / her restaurant. It is called Restaurant makeover in terms of crowd presence. And this is crucial for the success of any restaurant that has a dine-in facility.

Here are a few suggestions that you as a restaurant owner might try to keep your restaurant busy with a crowd. Even it is half full, it is a taking a leaf from lessons in psychology "If you see a glass filled with ... " you know the rest

1. Have a Karaoke night for the young crowd. Announce it ahead of time. Clear the tables or have a row of tables along the wall - two rows and center stage for singing. It will bring in a crowd. Thursday nights.

2. Have a Dine-In Night special for families – Friday Nights are the best. Most families will come in. Dine-In-Only - Kids eat FREE. This will help parents buy orders for them too. It will keep your restaurant busy. You have to hire 2 or 3 wait staff for Friday Nights.

3. Give a Dine-In Card (One Free Dinner) for every 10 Take-outs ordered by families. They mark it on their card. Once they have taken 10 Take-Outs from your restaurant, they get to eat a FREE Meal at / in your restaurant Value of each meal (two plates not exceeding $12) When more families take out more than 10 times, you ask them to visit your restaurant for the FREE Meal. This will keep diners coming in. Valid only on Wednesday nights or Saturday nights (You can choose based on how busy you want to be). Give them 2 days in a week for this card so you can give them a choice to come in on any 2 days of the week.

4. Have a Charity Fundraiser Night - contact organizations, ask them to bring the crowd in. Let them do the work. Monday or Tuesday Nights. But you can announce it to religious organizations, city officials, and other charity establishments. They will announce your restaurant as the venue. You give them $2 off each plate or more as you can allow your profit margin to reduce. Your main purpose is to keep the restaurant packed. Visual perception is the key.

An empty restaurant maybe a misjudged visual threat

to the health of your restaurant business

Each month has to be planned well and on time. Restaurant owners have to be ahead of their game and plan 1 Month ahead of time - for charity events, or Fundraisers.

When people come in for take-out order, they will see the restaurant packed most times, events going on, charity events - people announcing the events on speaker - Have a few speakers and microphone installed with a stage at one corner for announcers, singers, etc.

5. Have a Chef's Night - Invite a different chef each time to take Cooking Lessons - one night a month, Tuesdays or Thursdays only.  Arrange a makeshift stove to the center of the room and have a cook do cooking lessons in the hall.

6. Have a Music Band - hire a group to sing at your restaurant - They can play Jazz, R & B, and other interesting cultural songs. When people see a band, the crowd will start coming in. The music band can come in 3 - 4 times a week, Or maybe 3 nights a week. You can even employ different music bands to give your restaurant diners variety.

7. Have a Romance Night  - for young couples – no ticket - they can dance to slow music and have great food. Free Appetizers for the couple - Wednesdays ONLY.

8. Have a Senior Citizens Night Out - They get to eat at 25% discount - or maybe 50% discount. This is one way of giving back to the community. Instead of WASTING money on costly magazine advertisements, give the senior citizens half off for the food. They may even bring their young children or grandkids. You could charge them regular price. Sunday Nights are superb for this as most members of the family will be free. This is a great way to pull the crowds in.

9. Offer Business Lunch Specials or flyers to offices, clinics, and companies. This suggests group company discounts on lunches. But what it gets you is a crowd.

You don’t have to spend on costly advertising to get a crowd in. What works or what might not work is purely done on a trial and error method. As time goes, you perfect those that work for you. Drop those disaster ideas that take too long to plan or are too expensive to implement.

Give your restaurant a festive look. Hang in decorations and have the decorations changed on a monthly basis. Make your restaurant inviting. Don’t make it look like a circus. Have tasteful decorations after consulting a professional interior decorator that suggests a vibrant, yet inviting look for your restaurant. No, don’t let your sister’s daughter to become an interior decorator overnight. That will fail.

Have a Bulletin Board with UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENTS - to get the people to read who will be coming, what your restaurant is hosting each month.  Have a professional graphic designer design the upcoming events poster for your restaurant each month for a reasonable fee.

Even if the economy seems headed for a recession, families still have to eat. If you want to stay in business as a restaurant owner, do two things: Cut down on costly advertising. Advertise directly to families in ethnic newspapers that reach your target crowd. Reach your families through personalized surveys or questionnaires. You can also talk to them informally while they wait on their take-out order, get a feel for what they want to see done at your restaurant.

In the restaurant business, there is the illusion technique. It gives you a 50/50 chance to get your business noticed and successful.  What I mean is, you still promote these events, believing it will work. The crowd will make its decision to stay and dine-in based on if they like your promotions.

There are restaurants that provide expensive entertainment based on ticket sales – these are the most successful ones that can retain a crowd. From Magic shows to Mystery Theater to Stand-up comedy, the shows are based on how best it can pull and retain crowds. Mystery Theater – where the audience can participate and guess who murdered the victim or who stole the Jewels, provides active audience interaction, and keeps the crowd glued to their seats while you serve a full 4 course meal for $60 a person.

So my advice is: No harm in trying these ideas. Survey them before you implement them. Even before implementing these ideas, you can survey your diners or take-out patrons, asking them if they'd like to see all these 9 items (ideas) put into effect. Will they participate? 

Type the 9 ideas on a 8.5 x11" sheet of paper make 100 copies and have the participants offer their yes no and if no, why answers.  For doing the survey, offer them a free appetizer plate or a hot soup of their choice. Thank them for their input. Get their e-mail address to notify them of the monthly promotions at your restaurant. After doing a field study, you can implement those ideas your survey participants chose.

This way you have more strength that your ideas will positively work. The crowd pulling techniques work most times. There are families who want to get away from the confines of their homes and have a fun night out, if that means saving them from the routine boredom of their insane lives. The fun ideas you are implementing as a restaurant owner promises to save them from this impending boredom they face. Most families have designed Friday Nights as family nights just to get together and bond as a family.

As a restaurant owner, if you can create a successful family night out for each and every family in your neighborhood, it will keep them coming back for more fun. It also gives them a chance to meet their neighbors and new business acquaintances. Good luck!