The cost of living is rising and people are treating themselves less, at least that’s what we see when reading a new survey. In Quebec, fewer than one in two people will leave a restaurant feeling satisfied in 2023.
• Also read: A third of Canadian restaurants are in deficit
Depending on the money spent, Quebecers are 42% satisfied when they go to a restaurant, according to a survey by Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytical Sciences Laboratory in collaboration with Caddle.
In Manitoba, the satisfaction level drops to 15%, while in Ontario it is 28.5%.
“In Quebec the situation is clearly the least serious,” notes Sylvain Charlebois, director of the laboratory at Dalhousie University.
In addition to satisfaction, the pollsters also wanted to measure what customers noticed about the difference in the restaurant compared to 12 months ago.
For example, four out of five customers have noticed higher prices. Of course, this doesn’t take into account the 7% of Quebecers who never go to a restaurant.
More than six in 10 respondents (65%) also said that “redeflation” isn’t just happening on grocery store shelves. This is the percentage of people who find that portions have been reduced when they are served a plate.
“The results of the survey are alarming for restaurateurs, who have to innovate if they don’t want their customers to leave,” believes Sylvain Charlebois.
Not profitable, catering
According to the Restaurants Canada Lobby, more than one in three restaurants across the country are not profitable (34%).
According to the lobby, only 7% had a deficit in 2019, before the pandemic.
However, total foodservice sales will reach $110 billion by year-end, higher than the $100 billion in 2022 and the $95 billion in 2019.