R. BENJAMIN WILLIAMS
  Restaurateur | Restaurant Consultant

 

    
  PO Box  3  Kearsarge, New Hamshire 03847

 
 

Booths For The Ladies

Last fall all the televised major sporting events aired the same commercial. The product was one of the season’s manly new pick-up trucks. There was a pack of rugged cowboys riding in the cab, rolling their eyes, as one happy guy in the back seat absentmindedly sang Shania Twain’s, “I feel like a woman.” The unexpected contrast achieved the desired humor and the spot probably sold a bunch of big wheeled rigs. I didn’t buy the pick-up, but I was struck by the pitch.

Feel like a woman? Hell, no! Just like those guys in the truck, I don’t have a bleeping clue. What guy does know what a women feels, what it feels like to be a woman? What we should all know however is that women are our biggest potential market. Our industry is just now starting to wake up to this blinding flash of the obvious. We should all realize that we need to find exactly what it is that a woman is looking for in a restaurant or hospitality experience. And right now, “I don’t have a clue.”

 

I’m told that there are differences between men and women that go far beyond that old “hunters and gatherers” thing. Us men, we like simple straight facts. Here are a few worth mentioning. Between the years 1970-1998, men’s median income rose 0.6%. During the same period, women’s median income rose 63%. In 2005, 83% all consumer purchases were made by women. Better yet, women made 92% of all vacation decisions. Want a piece of this pie for your business?

 

There's a famous Irish bar in Dorchester, MA called, The Erie Pub. It’s famous mostly as the place Ted Kennedy goes for a pint every election day with the CNN cameras following. The Erie has an ageless gold on green sign across the front of the building with the slogan “Gentleman’s Prestige Bar”. Very cool, classic sign but it is the smaller, second sign that tells the story of this lesson, “Booths For The Ladies”. This was extremely progressive marketing in its day.

 

Admittedly all bars, all but a few restaurants and the majority of the lodging properties were designed and still function with a distinct male ambience. A bar is supposed to feel a certain way. Bars have dark, men’s club colors, whore-house artwork, and multiple screens constantly showing the sporting event du jour. The surfaces are hard and so is the noise. The beer has to be cold. The wine choices are irrelevant. Everything on the menu has to bleed, and if it doesn’t bleed, melt cheese over it. I may not know what women want in a restaurant, but I do know that you can’t take a saloon and paint it pink. If our businesses are going to attract women, they have to be built for women, with the women experience in mind, not as an afterthought. Each aspect of the operation, from service to rest rooms, needs to satisfy the needs of our potential women guests. To identify some of those needs, let’s revisit that “hunters vs. gatherers”, “Venus vs. Mars” thing. Come now gentlemen, let’s be brave.

 

I have it on good authority that, men tend to be self-orientated while women are oriented to others. Men take pride in their self-reliance, while women take pride in the accomplishments of the group. When men go out, they go to get what they want, grab it and head for the door. Women are more interested in establishing a relationship, enjoying the experience. Anytime women are out they want to make a connection.

 

Shortly after our species dropped out of the trees and starting walking up-right, our senses began developing in two different directions. The male hunter needed a focused, single target vision. Their female partners developed a wider, more peripheral view to protect the cave from approaching predators. Furthermore, a women’s sense of hearing became twice as sensitive as a male’s and now may be uncomfortable with loud noises men easily ignore. And finally, a women’s olfactory sensitivity is twice as acute. I still don’t know much, but I do know very little of this information was utilized when designing most of the places I’ve been to lately.

 

This isn’t about political correctness. This is about serious revenue enhancement. How about your place? Is your menu a simple list of efficient choices or does your menu read like an Oprah Book Club selection? Are you contemplating another oak stand-up drink rail or would your women guests appreciate a few couches arranged for conversation instead? Are your servers engaging your guests, giving your visitor a chance to connect? Or, is the management focus on turn over and cover count? Is the video game louder, than the background music, which is louder than the television but not quite as loud as the blender? Maybe an investment in a quality sound system with appropriate programming will produce a better environment. And lighting, don’t get me started on lighting.

 

Why do think cosmopolitans have become so popular? Perhaps it’s because they are colorful, comfortable to hold and invoke immediate conversation. Are you making your women customers feel comfortable and wanted?

 

Is this worth all the trouble? Here’s one more difference between the sexes. Men tend to make quick decisions but they are fickle. Women are much harder to convince. They need to check you out, experience what you have to offer, consult with friends and then hopefully develop a relationship with your business. It is a lot more difficult, but here’s the payoff. Once you have earned a woman’s business, she is more than loyal. She adopts you. And she’ll tell all her friends.

 
Do I feel like a woman? No, Shania but I do feel better with more women are in our restaurant.