Consumers likely to share complaints about restaurant cleanliness

Consumers are likely to share complaints about restaurant cleanliness and decide if they'll come back or not.

The facilities at Disney World are immaculate. It's not a profit center, of course. They don't make them clean because they're going to charge you to use them. They make them clean because if they didn't, you'd have a  very good reason not to come back.

SCA's third annual 2012 Tork Report reveals that 92 percent of U.S. consumers said they will complain about an unfavorable dining-out experience. Of those respondents, nearly 25 percent will bring up issues regarding cleanliness.

The 2012 Tork Report, titled The Sustainability Gap, examined hygiene issues in restaurants and how likely consumers are to share information regarding restaurant cleanliness with others. Ninety-six percent of unhappy restaurant patrons are "likely" to share a complaint with family or friends and, of those, 65 percent are "very likely" to do so.

Notably, many of those unhappy patrons are complaining via social networks.

Additional key findings of the report include:

• 60 percent said they were at least somewhat likely to share that complaint with their social media networks while 65 percent said they are at least somewhat likely to share a complaint on a restaurant review site;
• 32 percent of patrons would bring up issues with poor quality product or food;
• 25 percent of patrons would bring up issues regarding poor service or issues with employees; and
• 50 percent of those surveyed say when selecting products, a business or a restaurant to patronize the topic of sustainability at least sometimes influences their choices.

Your restaurant should be spotless, and you should make your best effort in creating an environment where care and trust are expressed. If you take a lot of time to ask, "how will this pay off," you're probably asking the wrong question. When you are trusted because you care, it's quite likely the revenue will take care of itself.

Andre Plessis

AP Consulting

Restaurant & Hospitality Consualtant

Tel: 310-266-9463