Have you done a general search lately for something like "Denver Restaurants"?  What you find on Google Places in the first 10 pages is one hundred restaurants that have received in many cases hundreds of ratings and 92% of them have and average rating of 4 out 5 stars.  That means only 8 restaurants (from my count) of a hundred received a sub 4 score.  Does the old adage of
"When you love something --you will tell two people. When you hate something, you'll tell twenty" not apply anymore?  I doubt it.  Does Denver simply have an overwhelming majority of fantastic restaurants?  Again, I doubt it.  Or, is there very little value in the current rating system?  Most likely.  I submit that the biggest issue at stake here is that people need education on how to rate restaurants and to expect more from their dining experience.

Rating a Restaurant

Now, you might be asking why the 3 Magic Beans has any authority to speak on the topic of rating restaurants when our focus is Website Design, Brand Messaging, and Graphics.  And you would be right.  But the bigger issue here that the average American might improve upon, is recognizing what is truly special and different rather than lumping everyone together as the current rating system does.  The biggest problem that quality companies or restaurants have in any industry is being lumped together with average businesses where they have to compete more on price rather than the value they bring.  You probably have experiences or frustrations similar to this where in order to not hurt some one's feelings, we acknowledge everyone as being special in their own way and that, frankly, is a great mantra for mediocrity.  So, moving on, how do we rate a restaurant?

1. The most important point to get across for rating a business is the setting of expectations.  For restaurants, adequate parking, clean entry way, friendly reception at the door, organized and easy to read menu, timely service, tasty food, healthy food, clean bathrooms, good atmosphere, and reasonable pricing should not be considered special but should be considered average! That means a restaurant that provides these qualities should be receiving an average or middle of the road rating, a 3 out of 5.
2. You'll notice that I listed "reasonable price" as the last rating item above.  That's because superior quality demands a superior price.  Without that expectation, we're all average.  Don't let higher pricing negatively impact your dining and rating experience because you will mislead those who truly want something special.  To truly rate an excellent restaurant, one might argue that price should not apply to the rating metrics.
3. A restaurant who is truly excellent, maximizes all of the sensual experiences (not talking sexually here).  Great food needs to be balanced with great smells, great visuals, spacial concerns, touch.  A restaurant that has great food but lacks in another area is not an excellent restaurant but an average one.

It's possible to dig deeper into educating people on how to rate a restaurant, but we have covered the big topics here.  I would like to provide a good link to a more defined educational process on rating, but I did not find one.  The biggest thing to remember, no matter what you are rating, is that meeting all your needs is not exceptional, but average at best.  Exceptional businesses and restaurants give you more.  That is our goal at the 3 Magic Beans.

Sincerely,

3 Magic Beans

Tags: Denver Restaurants, Rating a Business

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