Insight: Connections

Restaurants are weird, but we go. People gather in unfamiliar environments for what? A good meal? Or maybe it's the server and the luxury of being served? Or maybe it's the ability to spend time with other people? Hmmm...now we're getting somewhere.

To look into this phenomenon more, we can look at a great crowd pleaser improv game called First Date. The game works like this with variations depending on the performance: a couple from the audience comes to the stage and tells the players on stage the story of how they first met and the details of their first date. The improviser then continue to perform that first date. As an improvisor, you will quickly notice that the entertainment value of the game doesn't come from following the exact details given, but rather, they come from the interactions between the couple and others.

Now, what does that have to do with real life? You may have guessed it, but the answer is in the interactions and connections that are made at a restaurant. People don't just go to a restaurant for good food and a place to get away; they go for the people. People do go to restaurants alone, but those experiences really are outliers in this observations as they happen rarely in comparison.

According to a study I recently did in grad school, three categories of reason to eat-out rise from the rest: service, food quality, and people. Service and food quality are important, but the winner is people! Individuals don't just go to restaurants for the service or the food quality, it's for other people. More specifically, it's the connections that are made with others that you go with to the restaurant. Think about it: why go to dinner for a date, especially a first date? Why do we order drinks even thought we know they are overpriced? Why do we make sure the service is good? The answer to all these questions is that people enjoy connecting to other people, and a restaurant is the perfect environment to do so in. We make sure every piece of the experience is ideal to connect.

Insight: People go to restaurants to establish and maintain lasting connections.

Feel free to comment. I would love to hear your thought!