Music adds to dining experience and makes the spending easier

When it comes to music in restaurants, most guests don’t give it much thought … or at least they don’t think they do. Music done well in restaurants makes all the difference in how long you will stay, what kind of a time you will have and, most important to the restaurant, how much money you will spend.

How many times have you gone out to dine and come home and said, “I’m not going back there because the music was so loud.” Music and dining are all about expectations. When you go to a nightclub or live music night at a bar, the expectation is that it will be loud and you and your friends may have to shout to be heard.

However, when you go out to dine, it is all about being social, having great conversations and enjoying each other’s company. If the music is too loud, your night is ruined and your money wasted, no matter how good the food or service were.

Music is money

Many owners of restaurants don’t understand that music done well means more sales. No music means lower sales, and music done poorly (too loud, wrong genre, etc.) means not only lower sales but also less return business, which is the lifeblood of every restaurant.

Let’s look at the reasons that full service/fast casual restaurants may have music issues. The most common reason that these restaurants don’t play music is that the managers/staff forget to turn it on at the start of the day. Before anyone realizes it, the day is over.

I’m sure that you have asked yourself, “Why is the music so loud?” My experience with this issue is that the managers and staff set the music to the levels that they like. They are not concerned about the guest experience; rather, they are concerned about having a good time at work.

I was at a restaurant last month and watched the server double the decibel level because they loved the song. It made our experience intolerable, but no manager/owner stepped in to make the correction. There is a simple fix: Have the music levels preset and locked so the staff can’t make any changes.

No music gets you moving … out of the restaurant

Not having music sends a message to the guests: GET OUT. Think about all of the fast-food restaurants you go to. Do they have music? Most don’t, and that is by design. They know that customers don’t dwell in restaurants with no music. Their goal is to get you in and get you out and, without music, that is what happens. Turning tables is how they make their money.

However, when full-service restaurants don’t have music, they are unwittingly sending the same GET OUT message. Not having music in these restaurants can mean a guest leaves 50% faster.

We did a study with one of our full-service operations and found that guests spent 30 to 40 minutes in the restaurant with no music. Once we put music in place and made sure it matched the restaurant’s concept and ambience, guests began staying for more than an hour and, of course, the check average went up along with guest satisfaction.

Music as a brand

Brand sound is essentially a way for the music in a restaurant to connect with guests on an emotional level. Simply put, you go to a restaurant/bar and, while you’re there, you comment on how great the music is. This connection is so important that the music may be one of the key parts of the experience that brings you back again and again.

I love it when a Mexican restaurant plays Mexican music, or an Italian restaurant does the same with Italian music. The well-themed or well-designed music program tells me that the owners have considered every aspect of a memorable experience.

To take the brand even further, a well-thought-out restaurant will play music to match the day parts. This means that the music and the sound level will be different at breakfast than it is at lunch, different at dinner and different again at late night.

Restaurant owners need to consider all of the factors that bring in their target audience. Certainly great food and service play a big part, but a thoughtfully designed music program is the subtle salesperson.

• Izzy Kharasch is the founder of Hospitality Works, a consulting firm that has worked with 700+ restaurants and small businesses nationwide. He is offering Daily Herald restaurant owners a free consultation by contacting him at Izzy@HospitalityWorks.com.