How Traditional Restaurant Surveys Fail: What’s Next for Customer Feedback

Restaurant surveys were once considered the gold standard for gauging customer satisfaction.

But now? Traditional customer feedback methods are starting to fall short.

Surveys have low response rates, delayed feedback, and often biased results.

Thus, they fail to capture the nuanced, real-time experiences diners have.

Meanwhile, online reviews tell a different story.

Instead of being privately held information by the brand, they are shared publicly on platforms like Google, Yelp, and social media.

In addition, reviews offer a broader, more dynamic snapshot of customer sentiment.

For restaurant brands staying competitive, solely relying on outdated surveys won’t cut it.

So, as the landscape shifts, it’s time to consider:

Should we ditch Surveys and move to online reviews?

The Shortcomings of Traditional Restaurant Surveys

Traditional restaurant surveys have long been the go-to tool for gathering customer feedback.

However, their limitations are becoming increasingly apparent.

These surveys rely on a set of questions set by the brand. This makes them inherently biased.

Instead of getting honest, specific, contextual feedback on things you actually need to improve, brands instead control the narrative – putting guardrails up that restrict the value of the feedback they receive.

Think about it.

If you ask a guest specific questions about specific elements of their experience, how can you expect them to be forthcoming about things they – rather than you – care about?

Brand influence on the response is too overbearing.

Surveys therefore fail to capture the guest’s experience truly, leading to biased answers and results.

Moreover, surveys typically focus on quantitative data.

Thus, it’s easy to miss the emotional component of a dining experience.

Without tapping into these crucial feelings, restaurant brands are left with an incomplete understanding of customer satisfaction and areas for improvement.

And some of the top performers in the industry agree.

As Former Brand President & Chief Operations Officer of Huddle House, Troy Tracy stated:

“Surveys have their value, offering valuable insights into various aspects… in my perspective, surveys alone don’t paint the complete picture… On the other hand, the data and insights gleaned from social media platforms present a different reality. It’s unfiltered, reflecting what guests and customers are genuinely expressing across various platforms…”

Advantages of Leveraging Online Reviews Over Surveys

Leveraging online reviews over traditional surveys offers significant advantages for restaurant brands.

Customers provide immediate feedback, often right after their dining experience.

This gives restaurants a current snapshot of performance in real-time.

And if you analyze them properly, you can dig deep into the why behind the what.

In other words, what is causing guest sentiment to be at its existing level.

The public nature of reviews also amplifies their impact.

Future customers see existing feedback, influencing which restaurants they even visit – let alone where they spend their moneys.

Thus, this unlocks a vast opportunity for brand perception.

Furthermore, online reviews deliver richer, more contextual data.

While surveys put up guardrails, reviews are like a blank canvas for your guests to talk about whatever’s on their mind.

Therefore, guests tend to be much more likely to share detailed accounts of their experience by this feedback mechanism.

Which in turn means it’s easier to analyze common themes and detect recurring problems.

Moreover, it helps successes stand out, so you know what your brand is doing right.

With real-time alerts, brands can also respond swiftly to negative feedback.

They can demonstrate proactive customer care, while showcasing opportunities for actionable improvement.

Importance of Average Star Rating

Average Star Ratings (ASR) is a major factor in a restaurant brand’s success or failure.

We all have the power to vet a location and see the reviews before we actually go there.

And reviews not only influence our perception of a brand, but influences our desire to purchase a meal or not.

Black Box Intelligence’s data shows a direct correlation between weekly sales and a brand’s ASR.

Bar chart showing the annual value increase of improving average star ratings by 0.5 units in different dining segments. Fine dining results in the highest increase at $111,078, while QSR has the smallest increase at $20,075.

Limited Service brands with an ASR of 4.4 or higher see their Average Weekly Sales at around $57k, compared to those with an ASR of 3 or less, which see only $30k.

And Full Service? The gap widens: brands with an ASR of 4.4 or higher see their Average Weekly Sales at around $100k, compared to ones with an ASR of 3 or less, which saw only $30k.

Consistently high ratings is statistically proven to drive customer traffic and boost sales, while a poor review footprint and management of reviews received leads to a decline in both.

So, it’s all linked.

Revenue is directly impacted by ASR. ASR is a product of reviews you receive. The content of your reviews therefore presents a signpost for how to improve ASR and revenue.

Surveys Aren’t Dead Yet

So are surveys completely a thing of the past? Are they a waste of time?

Not exactly.

Surveys definitely still have their place and hold value for restaurant brands, but their use should be more selective.

For example, if you are looking for direct feedback on a new menu item, you can ask for targeted feedback in a survey.

The key is the objective: what do you want feedback on? Always aim to keep it short and retain a focus on the reason for doing it.

Conclusion

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, traditional surveys alone no longer suffice for capturing customer sentiment effectively.

While surveys still serve a purpose for specific, targeted insights, they fall short in delivering the real-time, unfiltered feedback that is meaningful in that it will tell you what you need to do to improve business performance.

By leveraging reviews, restaurant brands gain access to detailed, immediate customer experiences that can drive quick, actionable improvements and foster brand loyalty.

With the power of online platforms like Google and Yelp, guests now have the opportunity to share—and others to see—authentic accounts of their dining experiences.

In turn, these public insights can directly impact brand perception, intent to visit/purchase, and customer satisfaction.

As the industry continues to evolve, balancing both traditional surveys for specific insights and real-time reviews for ongoing sentiment monitoring is the key to staying competitive and responsive to customer needs.