by Nathan Green
As a self-admitted foodie, I love everything about the “experience” of sitting down and breaking bread at a restaurant with a group of friends, colleagues or family. Anyone who has had dinner with me before will tell you that I relish every bite and love to have a wide variety of apps, entrees and beverages on the table to imbibe and tickle the palate.
It's at the top of the list of things I missed during the recent pandemic shutdown, which made me appreciate the simple act of going out to dinner even more.
But, in addition to the quality and presentation of the food, there are other vital factors that determine if a dining experience is going to be hit or miss, including service, decor and the overall ambience, three items that a guest has zero control over.
So,
since my expertise is music
and not waiting tables or decorating restaurants, let’s examine how what people hear at a restaurant can play a major role in creating the optimal vibe to accompany the food and conversation at the table.
Once you take into consideration who the client is, a carefully crafted, custom-made playlist should match their tastes. Additionally, the playlist should seamlessly adapt on the fly as the age likes and tastes change. If at lunchtime the guests are mostly older and in the evening your place is filled with a younger crowd, it is absolutely essential you play music that caters to each of these much different audiences.
“Music has an effect on our physiological system,” Dipayan Biswas, Professor of Business and Marketing at the University of South Florida Muma College of Business, once told TODAY Food. “Restaurants and supermarkets can use ambient music strategically to influence consumer buying behavior.”
Secondly, the music at your restaurant must match “who” you are. You want your music to complement both your brand and the guest experience you are attempting to create.
Is this a high turnover venue, serving a crowd that wants to get in and out and move on with their day? Or, maybe you want to manufacture an atmosphere for guests who plan to be at the table for hours, savoring every bite, sip and conversation. The tempo of what these customers hear in the background can help dictate their mood and encourage them to eat faster or slower.
“A more relaxed environment increases satisfaction and decreases consumption," said Brian Wansink, Ph.D., director of Cornell's Food and Brand Lab, who conducted a study from Cornell University that showed softer lighting and music was linked with fewer calories consumed by restaurant diners. “There are clear implications for restaurants wishing to help consumers slow down and enjoy their food.”
A study by the Association for Consumer Research in Scotland found that restaurant guests increased spending by 23% when slow-tempo music was played with the majority of the additional tab going toward drinks and spirits, which soared 51%.
Speaking of cocktails, if you have an area of your restaurant specifically for drinks, studies have found that louder music leads to “more spending in less time.”
"Previous research has shown that fast music can cause fast drinking, and that music versus no music can cause a person to spend more time in a bar," said Nicolas Guéguen, a professor of behavioral sciences at the Université de Bretagne-Sud in France. “High sound levels may have caused higher arousal, which led the subjects to drink faster and to order more drinks.”
Keep in mind, there has to be a balance. Your guests shouldn’t be distracted by what they hear. But you also don’t want the volume levels to be too soft or it will adversely affect the environment. And much of that may depend on the kind of acoustics your restaurant is equipped with.
Not sure about the optimal volume for your venue? Watch your tables closely. Ask your guests. They will be more than happy to provide you the answer.
New Level Radio has been providing customizable radio networks with unique playlists and messaging for hundreds of businesses across more than 20 U.S. states since 2007.
