Lack of flexibility is costing restaurants millions

8th February 2010, 3:23pm

Owners of restaurants and cafes across the UK are missing out on millions of pounds worth of business by simply not being flexible enough for customers, according to tourism and hospitality experts iknow-uk.

iknow-uk has seen an increase in people looking to make restaurant bookings at times that are traditionally out of hours - such as mornings, or mid afternoons - and businesses are losing out as a result.

Some 62% of people questioned had tried to call a restaurant to book a table, only to find that they were closed - and as a result 48% decided to favour convenience and book with a different company altogether.

Marcus Simmons, managing director at iknow-uk, said: "It sounds obvious, but if no-one is around to answer your phone when it rings, then you aren't going to get the business.  But we've found that there are significant numbers of customers who still can't get in touch with restaurants when they want to - so obvious or not, it's definitely an issue.

"Setting up online booking, or at least an email address which people can use to make their reservation is also a good way to address the out of hours issue.  If it's setup with an automatic reply, customers know their enquiry has been received, and a member of staff can follow up when they arrive at work."

Dan Visser, from Purdey's Restaurant in Ambleside, added:  "Restaurants really do need to consider the changing marketplace, and adapt to the fact that consumers are increasingly looking to contact businesses outside of normal trading hours.

 "Our restaurant is actually part of a larger resort and hotel, so it has been easier for us to adapt our procedures to fit the needs of customers.   We have an integrated system, and staff who are available right through the day and night - but, I can imagine that it's much more difficult for small restaurant businesses, who can't afford to have contact with clients out of hours."

Click here to submit a comment!

Have your say!

To comment on this article, simply enter your name and email and send us your views. Please note that your comment will appear publicly below this article once it has been processed. For enquiries please email info@eatoutmagazine.co.uk.