Back in the day, people went to a restaurant in order to be served and to eat their meal there. While there are still plenty of people that do that very thing, we find that in today’s modern age, that more people than ever are inclined to order takeout, which provides them with the option to eat their food at home or elsewhere, while also doing whatever that they want to do while eating their meal, which serves to be satisfactory for them, and saves them the time and trouble of not only not having to cook, but also of having to sit in a restaurant when they rather be elsewhere.
The first thing about takeout, is that the experience is different, because whenever a person eats within a restaurant there is a certain order of things which is followed, in which, first the customer has to be seated, then they have the opportunity to order drinks and/or appetizers, followed by the ordering of the main meal, and finally the eating of a possible dessert, in which those being served aren’t being rushed, which allows them to have a conversation, take in the atmosphere, and to enjoy their food and service. However, all of this takes time, and for many people, they don’t really want to devote that time because they would rather spend that time doing something else. Further to the point, for those who are going to eat alone, eating inside a restaurant is typically not something that they really want to do, so they often prefer to order takeout instead.
So too, takeout is a convenience for the customer, in which a good meal is purchased, to be enjoyed at one’s leisure which makes sense for people that have worked a long day, don’t have time to cook, or just prefer having a meal already prepared that they know they are going to enjoy. In other words, people order takeout because they have a need to eat, and want to eat something that they know they are going to like, and don’t see the point of having to eat that meal inside a restaurant.
Indeed, the restaurant business has changed because an ever higher percentage of meals for many a restaurant, is now devoted to takeout orders, which typically requires that order to be completed sooner than for a person that is eating in-house, because the customer ordering takeout, isn’t interested in waiting around for their meal, but pretty much wants it as soon as they can get it, or else they will take their business somewhere else. This signifies that restaurants have to be more cognizant of meal demands, especially peak meal demands, so that they can more readily accommodate their customer base, without upsetting either those that eat in-house or those that have ordered takeout, signifying that the logistics of getting orders done has to be synchronized in some sort of sensible way, and when done right, everyone is more satisfied, which sets the stage for more repeat business, which every restaurant desires and counts upon.