Toast’s Guide to the Restaurant Guest

Nearly 50 percent of Americans place cleanliness and safety as most important when ordering delivery.

And 64 percent expect restaurant staff to wear PPE.

Those are among the insights on the evolving restaurant diner contained in Toast's industry survey, Guide to the Reestaurant Guest. More than 700 guests sharee how their expectations have changed and what a great restaurant experience looks like today.

"Everyone is navigating the new normal with a new perspective: changed expectations of restaurants, how they choose whether and where to eat out, and what great hospitality looks like to them," said Kelly Esten, Toast VP of Product Marketing.  "A few months ago, my own decisions, like those of the guests we surveyed, were based primarily on value and food quality. Now, though, safety is top of mind, with the majority of guests sharing that certain safety measures like PPE and staff interactions would determine whether or not they’d return to a restaurant at all. Guests also have new expectations for the role technology should play in creating safe dining experiences. Wherever your restaurant is on the curve — still sticking with takeout and delivery, open for outdoor dining only, or navigating new regulations for indoor dining,— meeting guest expectations is as important now as it’s ever been."

Guests are using DoorDash more than any other third-party online ordering system. Forty-two percent of guests reported using DoorDash in the past month. Uber Eats comes in at second, with 34 percent of guests reporting using Uber Eats in the past month. Grubhub comes in at third, with 33 percent of guests reporting using Grubhub in the past month.

Seven percent of guests reported ordering takeout through a third-party app multiple times a day, while nine percent of guests reported ordering takeout through a restaurant’s app or website once a day. Sixteen percent reported ordering takeout through a restaurant’s app or website multiple times a week. And 20 percent of guests reported ordering takeout through a restaurant’s app or website once a week.

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