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According to SMG’s Benchmark Database, they are not. Diners are actually more satisfied on other weekdays in February than they are on Valentine’s Day. Our research indicates Pace of Experience is the reason behind the less-than-amorous feelings: Only 63% of diners were highly satisfied with the Pace of Experience on Valentine’s Day compared to 68% of diners on other days in February. To turn Valentine’s Day diners into year-round lovers of your brand, restaurants should consider ways to improve on Pace of Experience. A prix fixe menu may be the key to speeding up operations while still delivering a memorable experience to diners.

SMG’s Benchmark Database reveals fine-dining customers experience more problems than any other customers. Despite the perception of frequent mistakes at quick-service establishments, these fast-food customers experience the fewest problems. Why are fine-dining experiences fraught with errors? Expectations of fine-dining restaurants are much higher. When customers pay more money, they expect better service. This heightened expectation causes an increased perception of problems during the experience. Fine-dining restaurant operators should be aware of these amplified expectations and take extra steps to make the fine-dining experience flawless.

Guests are more satisfied overall when they sit in the bar area for their meal compared to sitting in the dining room. SMG’s Benchmark Database reveals this discrepancy has much to do with pace; dining room guests are less satisfied with the pace of experience than bar guests. Restaurant operators should take note and use the pace in the bar as a model for the pace in the rest of the restaurant. Most business comes from patrons sitting in the dining room, so it’s important to please these diners to keep them coming back.

SMG’s Benchmark Database shows both Apparel and Big Box concepts suffer a dip in customer satisfaction scores during the holiday season. With more people in the stores and more hands on the merchandise, it’s not surprising that many shoppers may find the experience to be less than highly satisfying. But, retailers shouldn’t get the holiday blues and accept defeat. There’s a golden opportunity here to “wow” those customers who only come into your stores once each year and transform them into loyal customers. This might mean examining your staffing model to make sure you have the right people in the right place at the right time.

You should also make sure your team knows how important it is to go above and beyond for ...