Music in restaurants can often be a disaster; a great dining experience is not just about the food, as any diner will tell you.
It is also about the ambience of the restaurant…its decor, the service and the vibe; The vibe is defined by the music the restaurateurs choose to play throughout the evening and this is a real skill that in our experience many restaurants get badly wrong.
We recently ate in a Michelin Star restaurant in the West Country (UK) and our (superb) meal was accompanied by Beethoven`s 5th!! and not just once… the restaurant played it 3 times during the course of our night with them. It was so bad it was funny but actually we would not return to that restaurant because of it
And there lies the issue; Get the music right in your restaurant and you will get diners staying longer, chilling more, spending more, recommending the restaurant to friends, and coming back themselves; quite a result!!
So here are our 5 best tips for getting it right in your restaurant:
Get your attitude right as a restaurateur. Running a successful restaurant is not just about the food, although of course you have to deliver great food as the starting point. Once you embrace the idea that your great food, service and decor must be accompanied by the creation of a great vibe, then you are well on the way. This attitude is crucial and must come from the boss and once implemented will make a huge difference to your restaurant, its repeat business and, as a result of recommendations from diners, its turnover.
Don`t leave the music choices to your staff. This is a classic and very common mistake made by restaurateurs. The boss doesn`t necessarily feel he or she knows enough about music so leave the choice to a young member of staff, maybe a waiter or waitress. Diners are therefore subjected to totally inappropriate music that happens to be on the iPod of an enthusiastic waiter! Wrong! Take control of this ‘loose cannon’ approach and get in the driving seat of music choices for your restaurant.
Decide on what ‘genre’ of music suits your restaurant. You don`t need to be a music expert to get this right; just trust your instinct and use some common sense; you wouldn`t, after all play Italian Folk Music in an Indian Restaurant would you? And you will have a sense of what genre/style of music is right for your restaurant even if you don`t know the specific music yourself… so maybe chilled classical is right for your restaurant, or smooth jazz, or romantic songs or authentic ethnic international… Italian, Indian, Chinese etc.
Get your sound system right. This is really easy to get right and is not at all expensive. You don`t need to spend a fortune, but simply need a basic CD Player or MP3 player (like an iPod) and a few SMALL speakers dotted around your restaurant, maybe with a couple of quiet spots for diners who would rather not be in direct line of your music. This sort of system is dead easy to install these days with the ability to ‘daisy chain’ one speaker to the next, in sequence or even with wireless speakers that require no cables at all.
Find an efficient way of sourcing your preferred genre. Finding the exact music that`s right for your restaurant could take you hours of listening and sifting through, which is not a great use of your time and energy as a restaurateur.
Check out websites like www.restaurantmusicreview.com which offer a FREE review service of albums which are suitable for restaurants and are pre-categorised by music genre… and are available in CD or MP3 formats… Job done! Getting the music right in your restaurant will make a big difference to the dining experience of your diners; If you get it right they will come back time and time again… and so will their friends
Ronnie G is a retired music industry professional who with his wife Annie have set up a music review website especially for restaurants: [http://www.restaurantmusicreview.com]
Music is reviewed by genre… smooth jazz, chilled classical, romantic songs and International (Ethnic)
All albums reviewed are linked to Amazon for restaurateurs who want to purchase the albums reviewed
The web site is updated regularly with new reviews.
By admin
Music in Restaurants: 5 Tips for Getting It Right
Music in restaurants can often be a disaster; a great dining experience is not just about the food, as any diner will tell you.
It is also about the ambience of the restaurant…its decor, the service and the vibe; The vibe is defined by the music the restaurateurs choose to play throughout the evening and this is a real skill that in our experience many restaurants get badly wrong.
We recently ate in a Michelin Star restaurant in the West Country (UK) and our (superb) meal was accompanied by Beethoven`s 5th!! and not just once… the restaurant played it 3 times during the course of our night with them. It was so bad it was funny but actually we would not return to that restaurant because of it
And there lies the issue; Get the music right in your restaurant and you will get diners staying longer, chilling more, spending more, recommending the restaurant to friends, and coming back themselves; quite a result!!
So here are our 5 best tips for getting it right in your restaurant:
Get your attitude right as a restaurateur. Running a successful restaurant is not just about the food, although of course you have to deliver great food as the starting point. Once you embrace the idea that your great food, service and decor must be accompanied by the creation of a great vibe, then you are well on the way. This attitude is crucial and must come from the boss and once implemented will make a huge difference to your restaurant, its repeat business and, as a result of recommendations from diners, its turnover.
Don`t leave the music choices to your staff. This is a classic and very common mistake made by restaurateurs. The boss doesn`t necessarily feel he or she knows enough about music so leave the choice to a young member of staff, maybe a waiter or waitress. Diners are therefore subjected to totally inappropriate music that happens to be on the iPod of an enthusiastic waiter! Wrong! Take control of this ‘loose cannon’ approach and get in the driving seat of music choices for your restaurant.
Decide on what ‘genre’ of music suits your restaurant. You don`t need to be a music expert to get this right; just trust your instinct and use some common sense; you wouldn`t, after all play Italian Folk Music in an Indian Restaurant would you? And you will have a sense of what genre/style of music is right for your restaurant even if you don`t know the specific music yourself… so maybe chilled classical is right for your restaurant, or smooth jazz, or romantic songs or authentic ethnic international… Italian, Indian, Chinese etc.
Get your sound system right. This is really easy to get right and is not at all expensive. You don`t need to spend a fortune, but simply need a basic CD Player or MP3 player (like an iPod) and a few SMALL speakers dotted around your restaurant, maybe with a couple of quiet spots for diners who would rather not be in direct line of your music. This sort of system is dead easy to install these days with the ability to ‘daisy chain’ one speaker to the next, in sequence or even with wireless speakers that require no cables at all.
Find an efficient way of sourcing your preferred genre. Finding the exact music that`s right for your restaurant could take you hours of listening and sifting through, which is not a great use of your time and energy as a restaurateur.
Check out websites like www.restaurantmusicreview.com which offer a FREE review service of albums which are suitable for restaurants and are pre-categorised by music genre… and are available in CD or MP3 formats… Job done! Getting the music right in your restaurant will make a big difference to the dining experience of your diners; If you get it right they will come back time and time again… and so will their friends
Ronnie G is a retired music industry professional who with his wife Annie have set up a music review website especially for restaurants: [http://www.restaurantmusicreview.com]
Music is reviewed by genre… smooth jazz, chilled classical, romantic songs and International (Ethnic)
All albums reviewed are linked to Amazon for restaurateurs who want to purchase the albums reviewed
The web site is updated regularly with new reviews.
Access to the reviews is FREE
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Ronnie_Gleeson/1388928