Restaurant: 5 mistakes that damage the customer experience (and how to avoid them)
September 17, 2025
What's the difference between a successful restaurant and one that's struggling to fill up? The customer experience.
It's a word that's come up everywhere in recent years, and not just in marketing speeches. The "old-fashioned" restaurant, where all you had to do was serve a good dish without too much waiting, no longer appeals.
Today, the experience encompasses everything: speed of service, quality of the meal, personalization, and even what happens after the customer leaves the table.
The challenge is that even the most dedicated teams come up against situations that detract from the experience: waiting too long to order, cashiering that blocks a table, communication that breaks down between the dining room and the kitchen.
Little things that, when put together, are enough to put a customer off for good.
Here are the 5 most common, and how to avoid them to offer your customers an experience that makes them want to come back.
Error no. 1: Slow order taking
A customer who waits too long to order is already beginning his meal in frustration. In a restaurant, first impressions count. If the order is delayed, the entire service suffers, even if the cuisine follows suit.
What is the impact on the customer experience?
Slow service gives the impression that the establishment is disorganized. Customers become impatient, ask questions and call on the waiters more often. The atmosphere in the dining room becomes tense, and the final satisfaction score drops, regardless of the quality of the dishes.
Why is this error so common?
Slowness often occurs when the room is full and staff have to alternate between several positions (reception, order-taking, service, cashiering, etc.). Round-trips are time-consuming, manual order-taking accumulates, and a simple oversight can slow down the entire service.
How to correct it effectively?
Visit control terminals frees waiters from time-consuming initial steps. Customers place their orders directly on arrival, reducing waiting times and making service more fluid.
QR codes provide even greater flexibility:
➜ customers simply consult the menu to be ready when you order
➜ they can order directly from their table
➜ you can also combine the two solutions: consultation + order via QR code.
The benefit is twofold: your customers wait less, and your teams gain time to focus on quality of service, rather than the rush of note-taking.
Mistake No. 2: Poor communication between dining room and kitchen
Smooth service relies on one essential point: the order must pass from the dining room to the kitchen without any loss of information. When this isn't the case, one mistake follows another, and the customer experience suffers.
What is the impact on the customer experience?
A forgotten dish, botched cooking or poor delivery are enough to irritate an entire table. Customers sense that the team is not coordinated, and satisfaction drops, even if the meal is good. At the same time, your servers spend more time dealing with complaints than with service.
Why is this error so common?
Paper tickets that get lost, orders taken from memory or oral communication alone create areas of friction (and hassle!). Add to this the noise in the dining room and the rhythm of the kitchen, and misunderstandings become inevitable.
How to correct it effectively?
A all-in-one control solutiondirectly connected to your cash register, eliminates the risk of errors and lost information. Whether placed from a kiosk, a QR code or by the waiter at the table, the order is instantly sent to the kitchen and displayed on dedicated screens.
There's also the advantage of letting the customer order independently: no more risk of misread notes or forgotten details. Modifications or specific requests are entered directly and forwarded as they are to the kitchen.
✔ every order is complete and precise
✔ servers save time and focus on service
✔ the kitchen keeps a steady pace with no unexpected surprises
✔ service remains fluid, even when the room is full
Error 3: Lack of service personalization
Serving quickly and well is no longer enough. If the customer leaves with no connection to your establishment, there's no reason for them to return. Today, personalization is a digital process: it's the loyalty that makes all the difference.
What is the impact on the customer experience?
Without loyalty program structured, the experience remains a one-off. The customer consumes, pays and then disappears. With digital tracking, each visit becomes a step in a wider journey: accumulate points, receive a targeted offer, benefit from an advantage on the next visit.
Why is this error so common?
Many restaurants still use paper cards or (worse) have no program at all. In this case, no data is collected, which makes it impossible to personalize offers. The service remains the same, whether you're a regular or a new customer.
How to correct it effectively?
A loyalty program integrated directly into the ordering and checkout solution, changes the game. Whether a customer orders via kiosk, QR code or server, his or her purchases are recorded in the database.
You can then :
➜ send a targeted offer after your visit
➜ offer a reward as soon as it reaches a points threshold
➜ customize your marketing campaigns according to your habits
From there :
✔ every visit strengthens the customer relationship
✔ your loyalty offers become visible and motivating
✔ you create a solid foundation for your marketing and event operations
Error no. 4: Time-consuming and laborious collection
The last impression counts as much as the first. If the customer has to wait ten minutes to pay, the positive experience accumulated during the meal can collapse.
What is the impact on the customer experience?
Slow checkout creates frustration, especially when the room is full and customers want to leave quickly. Groups are even more sensitive to this point: managing several checks by hand takes time and complicates check-out.
Why is this error so common?
The need to go to the counter or manually manage notes lengthens the wait. Waiters navigate between collections, ongoing requests and new tables, creating a bottleneck at the end of the meal.
How to correct it effectively?
A payment solution integrated into the cash register makes this moment even more fluid. QR codes at the table allow customers to pay independently, in shared or grouped bills.
And with a control terminalThe customer pays for the order at the outset. He no longer needs to go through the checkout process again when leaving the restaurant, making his departure much quicker.
For those who prefer, over-the-counter payment is still available, but without the usual delays.
Mistake n°5: Lack of attention after meals
Loyalty doesn't stop with the bill. It's the logical continuation of the personalization process seen above: if you've taken care to identify your customers and offer them a tailored experience in the restaurant, you need to extend this link once they've left. Otherwise, all the effort is wasted.
What is the impact on the customer experience?
Without post-visit follow-up, the experience remains a one-off. The customer consumes, pays, and you lose the continuity created by the loyalty program. Conversely, a message or offer received after the meal maintains the relationship: an opinion requested on the spot, points credited in real time, or a tailor-made promotion.
Why is this error so common?
In many establishments, service stops when the customer pays: no data is used, no feedback is requested and no follow-up is planned. The experience is cut short, with no post-visit extension.
How to correct it effectively?
By linking your ordering and loyalty solution to the point-of-sales softwareyou'll follow up automatically.
As soon as the meal is over, you can :
➜ send an SMS or e-mail to say thank you and ask for advice,
➜ credit loyalty points in real time,
➜ trigger a relaunch campaign if the customer does not return after a certain time.
This way:
✔ each visit extends the experience beyond the room,
✔ your marketing campaigns are relevant and targeted,
✔ your loyal customers feel valued and have a clear reason to come back.
Ready for action?
Eliminating these errors means turning everyday irritants into strengths in the customer experience.
And several chains have already done this with Obypay :
➜ Le Palais Nancy : a hybrid food court that has streamlined its service with Obypay
➜ 3 Brewers : a loyalty program and QR code payment integrated into the in-store experience
➜ Krispy Kreme : a connected experience, from ordering to payment
Do you want the same level of efficiency in your facility? Contact our team today.
