Having comfortable restaurant furniture in place could be much more persuasive than you realise in terms of convincing customers to make a return visit to your venue.
Research conducted by consumer analyst Mintel found that comfortable restaurant furniture is one of the top three concerns for families when deciding where to eat out, with 91% of those surveyed citing it as a key concern.
The only issues to outrank comfort were the variety of items available on the menu, which 94% of people take into account before making a booking, and cleanliness which, at 96%, ranks as the single greatest concern for restaurant-goers.
While comfortable restaurant seating is clearly an advantage, the research suggested that easy-to-clean restaurant tables could also have an important role to play in ensuring customers are happy with their visit, and are more likely to return again in future.
More than three quarters (76%) of those surveyed said they would not return to a restaurant again if, during their first visit, the table or its surroundings were dirty.
Other issues became apparent for specific age groups - such as the over-65s, 93% of whom find noise levels to be a make or break consideration - but were less significant when measured as an average across all age groups.
Julia Gallo-Torres, foodservice manager at Mintel, says: "Because the vast majority of consumers find cleanliness, menu selections and comfortable seating most important, it is vital that restaurants address these areas first, before looking at the needs of specific demographics."
By focusing first on meeting the general needs of all customers, through comfortable seating, clean tables and a varied menu, restaurateurs can leave themselves well positioned to then place more of a focus on demographic groups within the market, based on local demand at the time.
Once the customer base is built, the issues become more about the quality of service than about the dining environment itself - not only keeping the tables clean, but also serving customers politely, and keeping other parts of the restaurant clean, such as the bathrooms.
Ms Gallo-Torres adds that "competition is tough, and these issues must be addressed by restaurants in order to ensure that the consumers they do attract will want to return".