How does a restaurant achieve its scores? Most people are familiar with the scoring system of guides such as the Mobil Travel Guide, the Michelin Guide or Zagat’s Survey – or at least think they are.
Zagat’s Survey has people from all over the country turning in reviews of restaurants where they supposedly have eaten. They fill in a form, which allows them to score from zero to three. All ratings are then averaged and multiplied to give them a score of maybe 25 or 30. Participants are asked to rank restaurants not only on food, but décor, service, average cost of the meal, etc. Zagat’s respondents are not asked to submit proof that they actually ate there – given the case of one survey several years ago where one of the “reviewers” commented (making it all the way to the book) that one particular restaurant offered “chicken soup that will cure anything short of amputations”. According to sources, the restaurant was a kosher restaurant and had never in its history served a bowl of chicken soup.
From reading a commentary called “The Zagat Effect”, the author takes the survey to task for reviewing restaurants before they open, little or no description of the actual food served and the editors conforming the reviewer’s opinions to their own opinions. They prefer to use “white collar” reviewers.
Mobil Travel Guide does their reviews or inspections consisting of a detailed checklist that includes over 175 items. The only ones done without the restaurant’s knowledge are the top-level restaurants (the top scorers). To give you an idea of their star system, a one-star restaurant “provides a distinctive experience through culinary specialty, local flair or individual atmosphere”. A three-star restaurant “has good food, warm and skillful service and enjoyable décor.”
The very first restaurant guide, published in 1900, was the Michelin Guide by the Michelin Tire Company. Michelin has been criticized for “information given is too sparse, and does not give a true picture of what the restaurants being rated are really like”. It is also said they are slow to recommend new places.
In doing my research, I found one comment regarding Zagat that stood out – “Influencing the results of the Zagat Surveys is not as difficult. Restaurant owners actively encourage their regular clients to send in evaluation forms; some of the self-appointed critics register with as many as five different names so that they can have five different votes; and many of the respondents recruit their family members and friends to cast votes for them.” This fact is particularly interesting to me.
I do understand that there are many people who have their favorite restaurant and that’s the only place they will go, time after time. In this scenario, they cannot objectively look at their “favorite”, nor can they credibly compare it to other places, because in actuality, they have little to compare it to.
This brings to mind an incident we experienced early on in our reviewing. We visited a well-known local restaurant where our first observation was that everyone was elderly. There was a sizeable line waiting for tables – with the majority age probably being 70 and above. The food we were served was absolutely tasteless, bland, dry and unappetizing. In our review we mentioned this fact and said they needed to taste their own food because the restaurant obviously was not attracting any new customers. We even mentioned it to one of the owners who caught us as we were leaving and asked us our impression of the food.
Several months down the road this restaurant closed – and one of the reasons they gave in an interview was that their elderly customers were dying and they were losing business. I hate to see a restaurant close (unless it is just so bad and disgusting no one wants to eat there), but in this case, all they had to do was taste their own food and hopefully, that would have helped them solve the problem and give their business a lift rather than closing. The point is that the people had been eating there for years and years and didn’t notice the gradual decline in the quality and taste of the food because they weren’t going anywhere else for a comparison. New customers, upon trying the food, found the quality so poor they saw no reason to make a return visit.
If you have checked out our web site, you are aware we score on the “star” system. In no way do we use the same system as any of the review lists previously mentioned in this article. Our system is strictly “our” approach to the scoring of “our” visit. We do not accept reviews from others, nor do we score on “hearsay” – everything is strictly in terms of what happens to us on our visit.
If you will look at the chart which accompanies each review, you will see a list of items that we look for when eating at a restaurant; items that are important to your average restaurant-goer. We are the average customer, who expects a restaurant to provide us with good food and service in a clean surrounding in exchange for hard-earned money. If they cannot do that, then they do not need our business (money).
There are people who get upset with us when we have a bad experience at their favorite restaurant (we, too, get upset with a bad experience), and that is why we tell you on the Chattanooga Dine Out site “The best way to know a restaurant is to try it for yourself”, because everyone does not have the same experience at the same restaurant – even on the same night. We have also witnessed when you are very familiar with a restaurant and its employees (and they with you), you tend to get better service and do not see if from a “newcomers” eyes.
Our first item is “Clean Eating Area”. Is the chair or booth clean, or is it full or crumbs and food particles? Is there debris under the table? Has your table been wiped off? Has the ashtray been emptied and wiped out? What about the salt, pepper and other mainstays at the table – have they been cleaned or are they sticky and/or crusty? There are many things to look for as you are shown to your table.
Item number two is “Clean Restrooms”. How many times have you gone into a restroom and wouldn’t even use it? How many times was it inoperable so you couldn’t use it? Have you ever found it to be “empty”? No toilet paper or paper towels – were remnants of paper all over the floor? Would you actually let your child use it?
Item number three – “Taste”. Does the food taste good or is it bland, dry, or greasy? Was it good enough to order again? Would you recommend it to someone else?
“Presentation” is our fourth item. Does it look inviting? Has attention been given to making it attractive to look at, as well as tempting your taste buds? Or – is it just “food on a plate”?
The fifth item is very important. Has it been “Prepared Correctly”? Is it prepared to “your specifications” or was your order completely ignored? If you ordered rare, is that what you got? (I once ordered a steak medium rare and when it was put on my plate I was told “this is somewhere between medium rare and well-done, that ought to get you”.) Well it certainly did “get me” because I found it to be inedible! If you ordered gravy, did you get it? If you ordered dressing “on the side”, is that where it was?
Six – “Correct Temperature”. Was your salad cold and your steak hot – or was you steak cold and your salad warm? Were the temperatures as they should be?
“Freshness” at number seven is very important. Don’t you just hate it when you get those salads with the brown lettuce, as well as being warm, rather than cold as it should be? Or how about the chips that bend instead of break? Then there are the biscuits you couldn’t crack with a sledgehammer – or the gravy you need a paint roller to spread.
The number eight item – “Portions”. Do you feel like you got what you paid for or did you pay $1 for a pudding-cup of lettuce with no tomatoes or any other ingredients, which the menu referred to as a salad? Were you happy about that portion? Did you pay $2 for a cup of stew and find it consisted of maybe four tablespoons?
Number nine is the “Personality” of the wait staff. Did your server greet you with a smile or did they treat you as though you were putting them out by being there? Did they answer your questions – or ignore you?
The “Neatness” of your server is number ten. Was their hair hanging in their face? Were their clothes neat? How about any mud on their shoes (believe me, we’ve seen it all)?
“Keep Drinks Filled” is the heading for number eleven. Did your server keep an eye on your drink to be sure you didn’t run out? Or did you have to flag them down to let them know you needed a refill? If you were given refills, was it with the correct beverage?
“Overall Satisfaction” is the last (number twelve) category. This is how you would score your entire visit. Take everything into consideration, especially items you consider important, but without a category “all their own”. This is any and everything that contributes to an enjoyable meal.
What we present to visitors to the Chattanooga Dine Out web site is a true and honest report of exactly what happened, what we found, how we were treated, etc., etc., on our own personal visit to the particular restaurant. Restaurants with the best of all items, earns top stars whereas a lackluster visit can cause the score to go down. A restaurant does not have to be “jacket and tie” to score points. They have to care about the customer, the food and service they give the customer, and provide a clean, pleasant environment. When a restaurant earns the “5-Star Rating”, it means it has accomplished this on our visit to our satisfaction. It does not mean you are going to find an “Emeril’s” or “Le Bernardin” – but you are going to find one of the best restaurants in Chattanooga where you can enjoy a top-notch meal in a clean surrounding with good service while dressed in your casual business attire.
These restaurants are not compared to restaurants in other cities such as New York, Chicago or Los Angeles – that’s not what Chattanooga is about – Chattanooga is about people – real people such as you, your next door neighbor, your friends and relatives. People who visit Chattanooga come here expecting to find “Southern Hospitality” and a “down-to-earth” quality, not something ostentatious and pretentious.