QSR December 2022

DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS

Dollars andSenseof Reviews Engaging with feedback shouldn’t be an afterthought in today’s digital world. B Y A D A M L E F F

sharing feedback, the manager or staff would respond, but online, guests are being ignored. It’s as if a guest is complimenting the manager on her experience, but the manager is standing with arms crossed not saying a thing. Even worse, when it’s online, brands are doing that in front of tens of thousands of pro spective guests who are considering whether they will select that restaurant. The number of restaurants brands choosing to respond online and, as a result, the percent age of guest reviews we see being responded to is increasing, but is still surprisingly low. Many brands have not made engaging with their guests online a priority. Not yet, at least. Likely, those brands are thinking most reviewers are negative or fake, other priorities are higher, it costs too much, there is no reward to responding, or if they ignore it, it won’t matter. These thoughts are changing as data, tech nology, and experience are proving otherwise. As it turns out, most reviews restaurants receive are positive.

Online reviews can be troublesome and downright dishonest at times. But there are ways to turn them into a positive data tool.

The average rating of guest reviews for the entire industry is hovering around 4 stars out of 5. Furthermore, there is signif icant statistical evidence that a brand’s ratings correlate to their sales success. A Harvard study found that a one-star increase is associated with a 5–9 percent sales increase. Merchant Centric has repeated similar analyses many times and found a one-star increase cor relates with a 4–22 percent increase in sales, depending on the brand’s starting point. Brands that respond to their guests and value their online star rating as an insightful business intelligence tool are reaping benef its that provide a virtuous cycle—they are enhancing guest relations, understanding guests better, identifying operational themes impacting business positively and negatively, building brand value, getting more reviews ( particularly positive ones) and likely improving SEO ranking, which is critical since search site algorithms promote businesses that engage online with users. Having responded to more than a million reviews on behalf of brands we represent, we’ve developed best practices we share with all our restaurant partners. These best practices also reveal how important [CONTINUED ON PAGE 62]

W hen I recently asked a group of restaurant operators how many reviews they believed the industry gets monthly, I was surprised at their estimates. Before sharing their answer, consider the question yourself. The answer? We see about four million restaurant guest reviews each month. That annual level has teetered up and down slightly from 2020 yet remains high at about 50 million reviews per year—and that’s just the res taurant industry. Dining and ordering out is a frequent occurrence, and people love to talk about food and share their experiences. Most of this feedback used to be exchanged face-to-face, often directly with the restaurant staff or to friends. Technology, smart phones, and social media have changed this, along with the impact of COVID, causing more and more guests to opt for online com munication. Despite an increased inf lux of online reviews and guest commu nication, restaurant brands aren’t drinking from the online guest feedback firehose as expertly as they should. The CEO of a large restaurant brand explained it well: If a guest was in the restaurant

ADOBE STOCK / MEEBOONSTUDIO

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DECEMBER 2022 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com