Restaurant survey questions are the ultimate call for customer feedback. Forget scrambling for positive reviews online and give your customers extra direction through restaurant survey questions. Surveys are incredible ways to understand better how your business is going. You can prompt customers to tell you exactly what they like and don’t like about your current service. And all feedback - good or bad - is vital when boosting your restaurant and making impactful decisions.
This guide will examine the best ways to run a food survey questionnaire. It can seem daunting to launch a complete survey, but in actuality, it’s a total breeze. It’s easy once you know what makes good questions, how to get participants, and have a few question ideas. And restaurant surveys pay out in dividends the amount of effort they require to set up - you’ll soon see benefits. Here is everything you need to know before handing out those all-important restaurant surveys.
What Are Restaurant Survey Questions
Restaurant survey questions are simple to understand. They are just survey questions that a restaurant business asks customers to improve their business. The easiest way to picture a restaurant survey is just a list of questions. You can run restaurant surveys digitally or on paper. So a survey could be handed out in person or accessed online via a QR code or email list. However, the essentials are always the same; restaurant surveys collect customer opinions through a list of questions.
Questions in restaurant surveys can be formatted in all sorts of ways. You could find a restaurant survey to have questions on a scale. Here, you may rate your answer on a scale of 1-10. Alternatively, you might find more qualitative questions inviting long, descriptive answers. For instance, ‘Can you describe the atmosphere you felt while dining at our restaurant’? Restaurant survey questions can be quantitative (number-based) or qualitative (description-based). The business owner’s choice depends on how they analyze data and what results they want.
Restaurant survey questions are an effective and flexible way to collect customer feedback. Surveys are a brilliant way to measure customer satisfaction and learn more about the customer experience.
What Makes Good Restaurant Survey Questions
So, now that you know what restaurant survey questions are, how do you write good questions? In short, good questions are questions that have been carefully thought out. And to reach this stage, you need to be crystal clear about what information you’d like to get from the survey.
Do you want to learn about customer experience and how to improve your restaurant atmosphere? Or do you want to get customer feedback on food quality or customer satisfaction ratings regarding pricing? First things first, get clear on what exactly your goals are by running a restaurant survey.
Next, there’s the difference between open and closed questions. Open questions prompt explanation - for instance, asking someone to describe something. Closed questions can be answered in a single word - usually yes or no. For example, ‘Did you like dining at our restaurant’? The obvious flaw of closed questions is a lack of detail. Open questions are much better if you want detail.
Choosing open or closed questions also depends on the data you want to collect. Quantitative data is numerical and convenient to analyze for patterns. And closed questions are fantastic for quantitative data. You can just count how the yes and no answers, and participants can whizz through without sacrificing too much time. Open questions give more qualitative data, meaning more detail but a longer completion and analysis time.
So, how do open and closed questions reflect on writing good restaurant survey questions? Choosing the question techniques that best match your participant’s commitment level is essential. Quantitative data might be best if you know people who want to answer quickly. Open questions are best if you need qualitative data to make it worthwhile. Let your needs and customers guide you.
How To Get Customers To Answer Your Restaurant Survey Questions
Getting restaurant survey participants can seem daunting. Of course, you could rely on customers to answer your restaurant survey questions to be nice. But in reality, that won’t get you the volume of survey participants that you require. Instead, you should offer participants a bit of temptation.
A common way to do this is by placing a QR code near the checkout or on the menu. Next, with the QR code, you can advertise a 10% discount - or something similar - when customers complete your survey. Bingo, right? Placing this survey prompt somewhere associated with money makes it tempting for customers to complete it. And if customers know that they have a 10% discount, they’ll be more likely to splurge when ordering. It is a win-win.
Another option for getting survey participants is to email surveys. A really popular technique is to email a five-star rating system. The guests click on the star they feel resonates with their restaurant customer experience, perhaps elaborating on their choice below. This type of quick and easy restaurant survey has a brilliant response rate. Not only does it appeal to the customers’ desire to feel heard and valued, but it’s also super minimal effort. The visual element of the stars is also enticing. So if you’re happy to go for quantitative data (and occasionally some qualitative data if customers elaborate), then it’s perfect.
Another option is to require a survey completion in exchange for Wi-Fi. You can easily automate this through a captive portal system. And if you already have a captive portal WiFi system or offer restaurant Wi-Fi, we highly recommend considering this route.
Why Use New Restaurant Survey Questions Before Opening
You may wonder, ‘Why use new restaurant survey questions before opening,’ you may wonder. Well, asking survey questions before opening lets you get informed before making impactful decisions. You can ask all sorts of valuable questions. For instance, gauging interest in certain dishes, opening times, and restaurant decor. Opening your restaurant is when you make many decisions - so why not ask people?
You could host a survey night with complimentary wine or snacks. This can double up as an opportunity for the public to have a sneak peek at your almost-open restaurant. Alternatively, you could put a QR code in your restaurant window to advertise a discount reward upon opening. Collecting survey responses before opening is super easy. It takes some extra thought and creativity.
Making the right initial decision can help support your restaurant through growing pains. The first few months of any new venture are intense, and not to stress you, but pretty make or break. The decision to set yourself up for success is a smart one. And why not let the people visiting your restaurant have a say? It is these same people who will be increasing your profit with their business in a few weeks. It is also brilliant to establish some sort of customer relationship before opening.
Ultimate Inspiration: A Restaurant Food Survey Questionnaire Sample
Ready for some real-life examples? This is our ultimate inspiration as you create your restaurant survey questions. This restaurant food survey questionnaire sample contains the bare bones of a perfect survey, so just fill in the gaps.
A solid introduction is super important. This section is where you establish immediate rapport, emphasize the benefits of completing the survey, and state how you’ll use answers. You should lay out exactly what customers can expect from the survey. And by giving a vague outline of how long it should take, you’ll ensure more customers complete the survey.
For instance:
Hello from everyone at insert restaurant name! Thank you for completing our 5-10 minute restaurant survey. We’ll ask you 10 questions about your dining experience today and use this information to continue improving our service. Ultimately, you’ll get a QR code with a special 10% discount. Remember to show this to your server to redeem your reward.
Next up are your questions. These could be open-ended or closed questions - whatever you have decided will be beneficial. Keep questions clear and avoid jargon (words that require specialist knowledge or understanding). To keep questions accessible, you should also ensure sentences are simple.
For instance:
How would you describe the customer service you experienced today?
What rating would you give food quality out of 10 today?
Your conclusion and debrief are a chance to reiterate how you’ll use customers’ responses. Remember that private data is a sensitive topic.
For instance:
Thanks for taking part in our survey. Your valuable feedback will enable us to continue to evaluate and improve our service. Remember to redeem your 10% discount.
10 Most Popular Restaurant Customer Satisfaction Survey Questions
Restaurant survey questions are something lots of people either overthink or need to choose more carefully. We suggest allowing an hour or so to draft a list of questions. After this point, walk away and take a break before returning to evaluate each question with fresh eyes. If you can also get an outside opinion, that’s an added bonus.
These 10 popular restaurant customer satisfaction survey questions should provide some food for thought. Feel free to add any of these to your growing list of survey questions.
- What was the best part of the customer service you experienced today?
- What was the worst part of the customer service you experienced today?
- Out of 10, with 10 being the best and 1 being the worst, how would you rate service speed while dining with us today?
- Out of 10, with 10 being the best and 1 being the worst, how would you rate our food quality today?
- How likely would you recommend dining at insert restaurant name to a friend?
- If you have any food allergies or dietary requirements, how well did you find your needs to be met?
- Of the following options, which type of dishes would you be excited to see added to our menu?
- Out of 10, 10 being the best and 1 being the worst, how did you find the restaurant’s cleanliness today?
- What did you choose from the drinks menu today, and did you find it a good value for money?
- How did you find your server today, and did they positively or negatively impact your dining experience?
How Hard Is It To Create Restaurant Survey Questions
Restaurant survey questions are exciting once you start drafting ideas. The insight that an excellent restaurant survey can bring to your business is astounding, and creating surveys is easy. The trickiest part is narrowing down exactly what you want to gain from your survey. Because with this in mind, you can keep your questions as relevant as possible. Once you’ve done this, the rest of the restaurant survey process is a breeze.
Are you looking for some extra guidance on restaurant survey questions? At Beambox, we are always happy to help. As experts in content marketing and growing your business, we can help start your journey using surveys. Outsource to us, and let’s take the following steps together.
Let’s get the ball rolling today. Beambox offers the best all-in-one Wi-Fi marketing platform. We leverage a dynamic approach to connect, capture, and get more customers. Start your Beambox free trial today, and let us help you maximize your business potential.
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