There are so many opportunites for restaurants to use their internet presence to provide a great start to the service experience. We all want to know what the food is like; what the restaurant looks like; how good the service is and, perhaps most importantly, whether we can get a reservation.

This little investigation of the service experience from 3 randomly selected restaurants is designed to uncover what is good and bad about their online presence. I want to see if they are using the web site to work for them - to take bookings, deal with private parties, offer views and videos of the food, the restaurant or the location and whether they are brave enough to show the comments for other satisfied diners.

Well, if we are going to do an investigation of the good, the bad and the ugly of restaurant online service design we might as well start off with a restaurant that has been voted No.1 in the S.Pelligrino World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2010, Noma of Denmark.

Noma, Copenhagen, Denmark
www.noma.dk 

According to the awards site, Noma is a homage to soil and sea, a reminder of the source of our food. Take their starter of crunchy baby carrots from the fertile Lammefjorden region of Denmark, served with edible “soil” made from malt, hazelnuts and beer, with a cream herb emulsion beneath – you are literally eating the earth! Sounds yummy, but how do I get a table?

Well, the first thing is the site is available in Danish and English. On the left side is the main menu and there is a reservations button. On clicking this button, the first thing that is shown is an apology for not being able to make a booking and a request to call the restaurant...not really a good start. On the right is a new sub-menu showing three options (restaurant, reservations 1-10 people, existing reservations). On right under the apology is a reservation calendar powered by DinnerBooking but this is shown in Danish. To see it in english I have to click again.

Next I try to click a date. There was no indication on the calendar that there were dates I could not click, so I merrily started clicking - to be constantly told there was not space. Clearly it would have made sense to to show this by greying out the dates I could not book. Next I tried clicking the "Weekly Planner" to be show a week view of the calendar with "There are no available times for this day" shown seven times. So, this is a reservation calendar that makes it impossible to make a reservation. I am also told that if my party size is bigger than 10, I have to call. Why? Surely the reservation system could send that info to the restaurant. The only other button is the "Existing Reservations" button. Clicking this just tells me to send an email to bookings[at]noma.dk, or call - but not to use the bookings email address for bookings. Weird.

Given there was no reservations available, I could not go further with the DinnerBooking service, so I cannot comment on how well that works.

There is a basic page about the menu, with no images or additional information. The location map takes me to a map showing Denmark powered by Eniro and driving directions takes me to exactly the same place. Absolutely no use of social media and no comments from customers.  I found the Noma site to be unfriendly and lacking functionality that I would expect from a business at the top of its trade. Perhaps when you are No 1. you do not need it, but staying No.1 might require a little more friendliness and functionality online.

Good: simple site that is easy to navigate
Bad: reservation system does not provide information on bookings, no ability to manage booking online 

Zetor, Helsinki, Finland
www.zetor.net

Zetor describes itself as "a summery dairy barn right in the heart of Helsinki. Come to Zetor to grab a bite sitting at a sturdy farm table or to quench your thirst astride a real tractor. Food and drink menus convey the true spirit of Finland, offering a wide selection of familiar classics as well as specialities inspired by Finland's unspoilt countryside." The graphic treatment is fun and in keeping with the theme and the first page is promising, with links for Zetor menus in 18 languages, the opening hours and an add with a special.

I clicked the link for English and was presented with the menu. All of the navigation items also changed to English language. A quick check with some of the other languages highlights that while the menus are in Dutch, Russian, etc, the site navigation is not. 

There is a nice picture gallery showing images for inside and outside Zetor, together with a link called "OPEN". This took me to a page with information on the opening hours, address, telephone numbers but no link to a location map.

The next thing I click is reservations. This opens a blank page with two new sub-links shown: "Table Reservations" and "Ask for an Offer". I then click "Table Reservations". This shows a very simple little calendar with a form below. There is no information on availability and when I click the calendar all it does is place that date in the form. The form itself is quite confusing, and apparently there is no guarantee that you will get your booking until after you have a confirmation from "S-Group's Sales Service", whoever they are.

On clicking the button marked "Send" I am told that I have sent a reservation request and that someone will get back to me. There is nothing sent to my email address at all.

The last thing on the site is a feedback form. It is great that this is included, but a shame that there is no customer feedback actually shown on the site - seems like a wasted opportunity.

All-in-all, Zetor starts well but just does not deliver any kind of really online service. Simple forms that do not tell me if I am going get the reservation I want are just not helpful. Again, no social media integration, not even a Facebook page or a Twitter feed. Wouldn't it be good to know what people are saying about this restaurant? Frankly, for me, the site was a little irritating and lacked any service element - it was almost purely informational.

Good: menu in 18 languages, feedback form
Bad: reservation request approach, no availability information, no customer feedback shown 

Il Fornaio, Palo Alto, USA
www.ilfornaio.com 

For the last of the restaurants in this service design review, I decided to go across the water to the spiritual home of the Internet - Silicon Valley. I figured that if anywhere would have restaurants with good online service it had to be there - and I am not disappointed - at least no completely.

Il Fornaio describes itself as an authentic Italian restaurant and bakery. The site is a little busy, but the most important thing is that the reservation form on the top of the front page. There is no question what these guys want you to do! Further down the page is an invitation to join a "passport" scheme and receive information on upcoming events and specialities. There is even a link to Facebook. Finally, there are links to the menu with the offer of a guided tour. From the moment I saw this page I was being drawn to book. I even felt like I could taste that Italian food.

The reservation system is powered by OpenTable, and it works really smoothly. The booking process only asked me for my name, mobile number and email for the confirmation. I then clicked to confirm the booking. This displayed another page where I could join "OpenTable" to manage my booking. I just needed to select a password. On completing this, I was taken to an OpenTable page and not back to Il Fornaio as I expected. This felt a little strange - first I am trying to book a restaurant and next OpenTable are trying to get me to book a limo.

What does work well though is the indication of availability and the rapid email confirmation of both the booking and the cancellation. I think we will cover OpenTable another time, but it is enough to say that the integration clearly works well and could be even better if OpenTable were not trying to promote themselves so strongly.

One great feature is a really simple mobile site. Nothing fancy, just the information you need about the venue, links to make a reservation driving instructions. One poor aspect, though, is that when you leave the site to go to OpenTable it reverts to a standard web page.

Il Fornaio really have spent time and energy on their web presence, and it shows. From the restaurant information, the videos of the venue and service, the free recipes from Chef Mazzon, to the campaigns and invitations for diners to join them both physically and virtually, the restaurant site has a warm inviting feel coupled with great online service. This is a great start for any dining experience.

Again, some might think that the site is too busy, or that the colour scheme is a little garish - but look below that and you see a well thought through online presence that delivers what a good service should - eager customers looking forward to their meal. 

Good: reservations on the first page, use of video, mobile version, invitations to connect by email and Facebook
Bad: might be a little busy layout for some 

Overall, I think I can say that there are a few important aspects to a good online restaurant site:

• make sure reservations can be made from the front page
• ensure you provide availability information to aid the booking process
• do not make arbitrary distinctions between sizes of groups - use the online service to inform you of who would like to visit your restaurant
• use emailers to tell people about your restaurant and invite them to join your groups
• feedback forms are great, but remember to show some feedback (preferably positive) on your site
• perhaps include some kind of loyalty card scheme that allows guests to gain benefits from online booking and repeat custom
• sell gift cards from your site
• use video and great images to encourage people to book
• provide a good map and location service that offers guests driving directions
• make the menu easy to read and provide detail about the meals you offer
• offer guests different ways to connect with you, for example via Facebook or Twitter
• understand that your site is also being used by people looking for work - make sure there is a careers section, as well as the basic information about your business

A great web service is more than just a set of features - but you must remember that the first impression of your entire business may come from your web presence, so be prepare to serve your guests well and consider their needs. 

If there are any good examples of great online restaurant experiences I would love to know about them. Drop me an email at mark[at]hammerkit.com or DM me @hammerkit.