When it comes to dining experiences in Nigeria, I usually save my comments and opinions for my review posts, or in cases when I get an email or DM from people telling me about their terrible experiences.
I’ve been meaning to write an article or use some form of media, be it a podcast or a video to voice my opinions about the Nigerian Culinary Industry, but I’ve not come around to it yet, cause life.
With all my restaurant hopping in Abuja, I’ve always known the industry had a lot of improvements to make, but going through this twitter thread, made me realise how insane it actually is.
I definitely have a lot to say, which I will when I get the time to either write or record and execute it properly. However in summary I’d say;
Dear Nigerian Restaurant & Food Business owners. DO BETTER PLEASE!!!!! You literally have the power to better this industry by paying more attention to these things;
Quality of Staff
Train your staff to provide the best possible customer experience! Emphasis on TRAIN THEM!
Don’t just hire anybody without giving them the proper training that they need. As a business owner, if you don’t have an effecient recruitment process, personalised training exercise, or have no experience in training, please outsource or just watch YouTube even. #DOBETTER
Ambience x Experience
Not everything is about aesthetics, focus on the EXPERIENCE, not just adding things like ‘selfie mirrors’ or ‘flower walls’.
Some non physical things that add to the overall experience involves having good customer service, the quality and presentation of the food, and also the ambience.
Adding a ‘selfie flower wall’ and a ‘coloured bike’ beside it doesn’t mean I’m going to ignore the fact that your waiter kept me waiting for 15 minutes without presenting me a menu, but happily served me some attitude when I eventually asked for it. #DOBETTER
Food
First and foremost. Please and please, if you don’t know how to prepare a particular dish, DON’T go ahead to prepare it. Please DON’T! Either you spend extra time practicing and perfecting these dishes or you just don’t add them to your menu.
How can someone ask for mac and cheese and be presented with this?
Additionally, work on your presentation too please. People eat with their eyes. The same energy you use to decorate your restaurant, use it to decorate your plates!
Most importantly fix this thing of “we don’t have eet ma”. Why are you an operating business if more than half of what is on your menu isn’t available? Why please? #DOBETTER
Online Food Vendors
I genuinely admire and encourage people who have food businesses from home, but please and please, DO YOUR RESEARCH!
Creating an Instagram page and making a menu on Canva doesn’t mean you’re ready. Do market research and focus on giving the best experience possible. #DOBETTER
Customers
This is the most important point to me. These businesses rely on us to make money. If you don’t like something SORO SOKE please! If not, they’re never going to know there’s a problem.
If you got a wrong order, demand for the right one. I don’t want to hear, ‘I was too hungry so I just had it eitherway’. Nooooooooo! This way they don’t realise they need to be more observant of their orders.
If your waiter is giving you an attitude, address it. If they’re still moving mad, ask for a manager and complain. If your food is brought cold, ask for another one! They’ll keep getting away with these things unless you voice out your opinions.
Please and please, Restaurants x Food Businesses, lets #DOBETTER. I have a passion for food and it saddens me that my home country isn’t giving it’s best despite all it’s great potential! Shout out to the real ones that care about their businesses and offer the best they can. I see and appreciate you!
Please share this so we can start to solve this problem.
SalmahXO 