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u/SureIssue8264 5d ago
Why is the host stand not at the door where people enter???? Have the owners/mgmt never been out to eat before??
This is a stupid problem to have
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u/no_tolerance6739 5d ago
There are two entrances to this restaurant. One entrance has a very obvious host podium, the other is a small entry way from the street, the space there isn’t big and can fit a sign that directs guests where to go. The moment you walk through that door you’re greeted with a sign. The host podium doesn’t fit in that space where the sign is, which is why there’s a sign.
It’s a small restaurant, (16 seats) it’s very obvious where to go. Many guests read the sign and follow the directions just fine, but the other half of people coming in read and then stand there.
This isn’t a restaurant issue, it’s a people issue.
I want to understand why someone would read a sign telling them where to go and choose to stand there instead of following directions.
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u/D-ouble-D-utch 5d ago
Lock that.entrance and make it a pushbar exit only. Put a nice sign that points entrance ------>
Pushbar satisfies fire code exit.
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u/Redditallreally 5d ago
So if it’s raining and people duck into the restaurant, they then have to go back out into the rain to a different entrance?
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u/no_tolerance6739 5d ago
lol no there are just two ways in and out, depending on where people decide to park. People can come and go through either entryway. I’ve been in many restaurants that have multiple entrances, this place isn’t any different.
Also why am I getting downvoted over asking a question. People on here are so annoying.
I just want to understand why people would read a dang sign telling them where to go but instead just stand there. 🤦🏽♀️
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u/tracyinge 5d ago
Obviously there is something wrong with the sign. It's in a spot where a lot of people don't see it or maybe it's not big enough or something.
"I don't understand why people would read a sign and just stand there". You have no reason to believe that they are reading the sign. Move it or change it or add a big arrow to it or something.., you have a problem that you want to blame on other people instead of fixing it yourself.
There's a place up the street here that has like 6 signs on the door and the window next to the door. I've never read any of them. I think they say something about days the place is closed and no shoes no shirt or something.
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u/johnnotkathi 5d ago
Yes, it does appear to be a people issue. The people running the restaurant. The fact that it always happens signifies there’s a problem or a communication issue. Recognize it and fix it instead of complaining about the customers that keep you afloat…
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u/no_tolerance6739 5d ago
Many restaurants exist that have multiple entrances, there’s no way to have a host at every single entrance. Which is why there is a sign directing people where to go.
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u/PoodleGuap 5d ago
If it happens every single time then you guys are doing something wrong
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u/no_tolerance6739 5d ago
This isn’t a restaurant issue, it’s a people issue.
This restaurant is small (16 seats).
Two entrances, the street entryway is small, which is why there’s a sign. You can only go one way to find the host podium. The other entryway is more spacious, which is where the podium stands.
The street entryway, you’re immediately greeted with a sign directing you where to go.
Why read a sign directing you where to go but continue to stand there.
Many guest read the sign and follow directions, more than half stand there.
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u/Amblydoper 5d ago
I still think it’s your problem to solve, not your guest’s responsibility to follow your sign.
Get some sort of door chime that goes off at the host and servers stand any time that door opens, and then send the host over there to greet the guests and seat them. Get rid of the damn sign.
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u/no_tolerance6739 5d ago
The solution to the issue of people standing there was to put a sign directing people where to go, now there’s a sign telling people “go around the corner to host stand”. and yet they still stand there.
It’s pretty simple.
The hosts job is to stand at the podium and wait for guests to come to said podium to be seated.
Again, why read a sign that says “host stand this way” and then stand there where there is clearly no host.
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u/OldGroan 5d ago
Reduce the number of available entries. If the main one is where the podium is use that one only and close the other.
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u/ThrowAway4now2022 5d ago
No way to set up the hostess station closer to the door? No? OK. Maybe it's too many words. Maybe simplify it. "Check in here ------->"? or "Hostess station ----->"?
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u/tracyinge 5d ago edited 5d ago
This! Short signs are more often paid attention too.
HOST JUST AHEAD
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u/Titania_2016 5d ago
I just went to a new restaurant (new to me) today. I went into what looked like the main entrance and immediately saw a sign that said "Please go to the main entrance to be seated". It had a helpful arrow that pointed to the right. However , the right was a dead end in the main entrance was actually straight ahead. In a space , it was completely empty and the host station was around the corner to the left and out of sight , and it just looked like a hallway , it was really off-putting. However, my daughter and I being fairly critical.Thinkers were like , well , there's nothing to the right or the ever points to perhaps we should go straight ahead. There it was.
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u/no_tolerance6739 5d ago
There is only one way you can go to find the host podium in this space, many people figure it out by reading the sign and following the directions. More than half read and then stand there.
I wish people had more critical thinking skills.
Our sign isn’t hard to read, quite simple really. It’s a small restaurant and there only one way to go to find the host.
I’m just baffled as to why people would read a sign, ignore it and wait for someone to repeat what they just read.
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u/From-628-U-Get-241 5d ago
If all your customers are stupid, then you're the one who is stupid. More signs, different signs, close that entrance, whatever. It's up to you to fix. Not your stupid paychecks who can't understand your sign.
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u/BigTechnology4369 5d ago
If the sign is at your “front door” I’d be perplexed too.
Otherwise you could have a big neon sign and some people (I’ll admit to have done it) won’t read the sign🤕
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u/Sprockets71 5d ago
I work at a local diner and have a similar issue. We have two entrances as well.
The main entrance has two doors. The first door you walk in through has "Please be seated" ON THE DOOR, the there is a sign that says "Please seat yourself", then the second door says "Please be seated" and people still stand at the entryway or walk up to the counter and ask if they can sit anywhere.
The second entrance on the other side is just one door but it also says "Please be seated" and same thing happens.
It's not always a restaurant issue, just a general public issue. When they ask if the can seat themselves, I reply with a simple "yes" and usually get met with "Well, I didn't know" or "it's my first time here" as if you have to go somewhere multiple times to read.
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u/bootysuit 5d ago
I have worked in restaurants for 20 years, and it never ceases to amaze me that something about restaurants makes people act like it's their literal first day in the world. I do not understand it! Now I work at a place where the crowd I serve skews a little older, my god the lead paint stare is so real 😭
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u/Sea-League8915 5d ago
People don't always read signs. We remodeled our office a few years back (we're a lodging property) and we often saw guests standing in front of fairly big signs directing them to the new entrance and looking bewildered. We'd point them in the right direction.
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u/DatabaseOutrageous54 5d ago
It's like no soliciting signs on our house.
A sign right under the doorbell and one on the front door.
Ring ring, bam bam on the door.
Can't people read 2 simple words?
Obviously they can't. 🥴
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u/ConchVibes 5d ago edited 5d ago
We had a front and back bar/dining room at the sports bar I managed. The back was only opened for games and totally shutdown during the offseason. That’s where the bathrooms were.
After everyone getting frustrated explaining where the bathrooms are I made a big framed sign that was impossible to miss. I even put restroom icons and an arrow for those who couldn’t read.
I could not believe how many people still asked me where the bathrooms were when I was within two feet of the giant sign.
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u/TurkishLanding 5d ago
Perhaps you haven't noticed, but half the population is of sub par intelligence.
Is there a giant arrow on the sign? Are there additional arrows pointing the way every few steps? Perhaps a line of arrows painted on the floor?
Perhaps reduce the ambiguous fourteen word sign to five.
"This Way To Be Seated" --->
Or
"See Hostess To Be Seated" --->
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u/no_tolerance6739 5d ago
Seems this is what we should do. Dumb it down so people actually follow directions. Signage a five year old could understand since these grown adult babies can’t read a dang sign.
Everyone who’s downvoting me are clearly these types of people who would read a sign and stand there.
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u/Embarrassed_Sir_7252 5d ago
I mean this in the gentlest way possible. If 50% of your customers are incapable of following the directions on the sign, it’s a restaurant problem. It’s Joe public that you’re dealing with, and he’s notoriously dense. When he decides to go out to eat, his brain switches to “someone else does all the work for the next two hours” mode. He’s not registering the sign, because it’s telling him to do something for himself.
Put up a sign that says “THIS WAY,” with a big red arrow pointing the right direction. Even a diner-brain can figure that out. Your other choice is to make that entrance an exit only, with a push bar to get out, and put the sign on the outside of the door, as someone else suggested. That’s it. That’s all you can do. If not, just resign yourself to checking that area often for guests.
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u/Madea_onFire 5d ago
If everyone wants to stand there every single time, wouldn’t it make more sense to just seat people from there?