Restaurants need to up their game

If there's one major thing that the global pandemic has given consumers around the world - it's perspective.

Right now - there is a lot of information being published forecasting that the future behaviour of consumers is estimated to be vastly different to what it was in say...January of this year.

But what this very academic collection of graphs and numbers fails to convey, is the fact that industries like hospitality and retail have just become bloody lazy.

Look, my wife and I enjoy going to restaurants.

We have a regular weekly date night, which almost always revolves around us going to explore great restaurants.

Since the easing of the South African lockdown restrictions, we've been to a restaurant just three times - and in all honesty, I can't say that any one of those experiences was really worth the money.

For what it cost us - I could have cooked something better, cheaper and the experience of being at home far outweighs the hassle of venturing out into a cold, dark Cape Town night (with everything else that this entails).

What restaurants offered us before - is somehow not as compelling as to what is on offer now.  

That's not because what is being sold is any different, but because our perception of value has now changed.

Tourism, retail and hospitality are very quick to blame the government for shutting down the economy and putting severe restrictions on their liberty to trade (which is very much a valid complaint), but my sense is that far too much time is being spent on blaming others; what is missing from the 'platter of concern' is that the product that is being offered out there - is just not good enough to warrant the risk undertaken by consumers, of going out and consuming.

If restaurants want to get people back in their numbers, they're going to have to innovate the experience that they offer.

They're going to have to seriously lift their game.