Page 32 - foodservice magazine September 2019

M
32
MANAGEMENT
EYES BUY MORE THAN EARS
TONY ELDRED
FOOD SERVICE
Ikeep coming across restaurants whose wait staff still come to the table to verbally present
the daily specials. This I can handle when there are only one or perhaps two items, but any more than that and the procedure defeats its own purpose.
The average person’s ability to absorb a verbal message, composed of familiar words,
is not very good – we only absorb a quarter of it. People tend to remember the first and last things they hear, and will confuse or forget the stuff in the middle. I find myself struggling to remember the choices presented to me in restaurants quite often – and when I do,
I default to the written menu. This practice is hard on the
staff as well as the customers. I’ve seen the embarrassment caused by a memory lapse and have felt for the waiter concerned. On one memorable occasion, when a mammoth feat of recall was performed flawlessly,
some seven specials complete with detailed and flowery descriptions, the young waiter received an ovation from the table – and then was called back
Tony Eldred operates Eldred Hospitality, The Hospitality Management Specialists. Contact him on (03) 9813 3311 or at www.eldtrain.com.au
The least effective way to sell is a verbal description.
A written description is better, and pictures are best. When
a person reads they actually speak the words in their own mind and then comprehend the message in a similar manner to the spoken word. The best way to create a buying response is by using an appealing image. Pictures are processed by a different part of the brain and in a different way to verbal communication, and are far more powerful persuaders.
I guess this is where artistry and sensibility clash. I can see that a restaurateur wishing to create ambience and sophistication may want their staff to put on a bit of a show at the table and gild the lily in the menu descriptions, but what has a greater priority here: art or business? If you’re making a fortune, feel free
to dismiss these as the views of an unfeeling philistine,
as I have a personal dislike
of obscure language in menu descriptions.
THE LEAST EFFECTIVE WAY TO SELL IS THROUGH VERBAL DESCRIPTION. AND MENU SPECIALS ARE HARD TO REMEMBER WHEN YOU’RE RUNNING AROUND A BUSY RESTAURANT. TONY ELDRED EXPLAINS THE BENEFITS OF VISUAL SELLING, AND HOW TO IMPLEMENT IT SEAMLESSLY (AND AFFORDABLY) INTO YOUR BUSINESS.
to repeat the lot when no one could remember what he’d said.
The provision of special- menu items allows you and your chef four main advantages: to use produce that is only available for a short season; to push high- margin items; to offer something different; and to clear items before they pass their shelf life.
Specials, like any other menu items, are better presented visually rather than verbally. The eyes will always buy more than the ears. I learned about visual selling years ago in the fast-food industry. When we changed from simple written menus
to pictorial menu boards, sales increased considerably, so I studied the psychology of selling to make sure I understood why.
You further defeat your sales efforts when you compound the problem of customer comprehension with the use of culinary jargon,
or the bizarre ‘pidgin’, which seems to get invented when a chef wants to turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse.
Writer Luciano de Crescenso put it well: “It makes people feel important and increases the power of whoever uses it ... the problem is that experts are always afraid that the use of simple language may be mistaken
for ignorance.”
From my perspective, it’s simple – if your customer doesn’t understand what the menu item is, they won’t buy it.
“On one memorable occasion, when a mammoth feat of recall was performed flawlessly, some seven specials complete with detailed and flowery descriptions, the young waiter received an ovation from the table – and then was called back to repeat the lot when no one could remember what he’d said.”
G
N
E
A
T
N
E
A
M