Considering how much restaurants invest in creating the ideal dining atmosphere, it’s surprising how few treat heating and cooling equipment maintenance as equally important. It’s not just the mood music or the right lighting that can have an impact on customer behavior. The optimal temperature is a key part of a restaurant’s overall experience — and a positive overall experience is what keeps diners returning for another meal.
An uncomfortable temperature can damage the reputation of your business. If a customer feels that you’re skimping on maintaining your heating and cooling system, they may wonder where else you may be cutting corners — on the quality of your ingredients, proper food storage and handling, even the cleanliness of your kitchen.
And don’t forget, word of mouth goes a long way. When you fail to meet one customer’s expectations, news can travel to another potential diner, and so on.
When it comes to restaurant temperature, it’s important to find the right balance. The constant change in headcount and the use of kitchen equipment will ultimately have an effect on the temperature. A temperature-regulated HVAC system is critical to keeping customers happy, which in turn makes them more likely to recommend your establishment to family and friends.
After considering all of the benefits that arise from a more comfortable environment — satisfied, repeat diners and a steady profit — it’s not unrealistic that the savings generated by a reliable HVAC system could cover the cost of an annual preventive maintenance agreement and then some.
Don’t let a not-so-comfortable temperature chase away the dinner crowd. Grab our free guide to Calculating the Hidden Costs of Poor HVAC Maintenance for more details on a preventive maintenance agreement.
