In the hospitality industry, guest feedback is one of the most important ways to understand how your restaurant is performing. It is also a great way to learn what your restaurant can do to offer a better dining experience, especially with the evolving situation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guests will enjoy the opportunity to give their feedback too. They visit restaurants to enjoy a hospitable experience and will be delighted to share their opinions. The key is that questions need to be simple enough to encourage your guests to answer them. Give them a chance to rate their experience on scales in between yes-or-no questions. At the same time, it is also important to ask open-ended questions that allow guests to explain their opinions further.

Here is a list of 20 questions to help you get started on asking the questions that are most relevant for your business. We have also included questions that are highly relevant to restaurants today, such as questions related to technology and coronavirus safety precautions.

20 Important Restaurant Survey Questions

Starting Questions
Whet your guest’s appetite with these first few questions that are more straightforward to answer.

  • What did you like the most about your visit?
  • What did you like the least about your visit?
  • How did you first hear about us?
  • How often do you visit? (Once every few months, once a month, a few times a month, every week)

Food Questions
Looking for ways to improve your menu or new dish ideas? Your guests definitely have their own ideas for what they want to see on the menu.

  • How would you rate your meal today? (Rate from 1 to 5)
  • Were you pleased by our menu offerings? (Yes or No)
  • What else would you like to see on our menu?

Service Questions
Guests visit restaurants for more than just food and drinks. Servers are the main contact point between your restaurant and guests. Service can make or break whether guests choose to return.

  • How did our servers do? (Rate from 1 to 5)
  • How satisfied were you with the speed of the service? (Rate from 1 to 5)

Technology Questions
Did you just launch a digital solution for ordering or paying at your restaurant? Gather feedback on what they think about it to help staff members encourage adoption.

  • Was contactless ordering and paying easy to use? (Yes or No)
  • Would you want to use this technology again for your next visit? (Yes or No)

Coronavirus-Related Questions
As guest expectations for safety go up, are you doing everything that you can to ensure that guests feel comfortable while dining out at your restaurant? These questions are perfect to ask after reopening or implementing new safety measures.

  • Please rate the overall cleanliness of our restaurant. (Rate from 1 to 5)
  • Were you pleased with the cleanliness of your table and seating area? (Yes or No)
  • How satisfied are you with how the restaurant is taking safety precautions overall? (Rate from 1 to 5)
  • How satisfied are you with how staff members are taking safety precautions? (Rate from 1 to 5)
  • Are you satisfied with how we communicate the safety precautions we are taking? (Yes or No)
  • What else can we do to make your dining experience feel more safe?

Final Questions
Allow guests a chance to share their final thoughts and rate their likelihood of returning.

  • How likely are you to dine at our restaurant again? (Rate from 1 to 5)
  • How likely are you to recommend us to your family and friends? (Rate from 1 to 5)
  • Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

Now that you are prepared to start receiving guest feedback, what can you do with all of this new information? It is important to evaluate and analyze feedback at least once per week, in case there are any large issues that could be immediately resolved with a quick fix. You can automate this by implementing your restaurant survey digitally. Guests just need to scan a QR code at their table to order and pay, and they will receive a survey at the end to complete easily on their phone. Once they submit their feedback, you can easily sort the information to identify trends, and even send coupons to guests who were not so pleased with their experience. Visit presto.com/contactless to learn more about this digital surveying solution.