Ambiance influences guest satisfaction at Canadian restaurants, finds Technomic

Quality, service, convenience and value are the cornerstones of a positive restaurant dining experience, but a recent white paper incorporating first-quarter data from Technomic’s Canadian Consumer Brand Metrics (CBM) program reveals that ambiance plays a critical role as well.

The white paper, titled “Setting the Stage: Consumer Assessments of Décor, Music and Atmosphere at Leading Canadian Restaurant Chains,” finds that although ambiance can be easily overlooked because of its intangible nature, it can also be an important factor in a consumer’s decision to visit a restaurant. Ambiance is associated with higher consumer experience ratings and overall satisfaction.

“It’s essential for operators, particularly in the full-service segment, to consider how atmosphere can play a role in the way consumers rate their overall dining experience,” says Darren Tristano, Executive Vice President at Technomic. “Tracking consumer perceptions of restaurant ambiance over time, operators can obtain a clear vision of how consumers experience a brand when dining in and how it measures against their experiences at leading competitors.”

Highlights from the white paper include :

• Restaurant ambiance drives traffic across segments: A strong majority (86 per cent) of casual-dining restaurant patrons say that an appealing ambiance influences their decision to visit a particular concept. For quick-service restaurants, 82 per cent of customers say it is important that the units they visit have a welcoming and comfortable atmosphere.