We Don't Have WiFi! Are You Missing an Opportunity?

We don't have wifi - talk to each other!

I’ve seen a few of these signs around in the past few weeks, in Greenwich and in Jersey, Channel Islands. All of these signs are outside eating establishments. ‘We Don’t Have WiFi – Talk to Each Other’.

It’s a really sorry state of affairs to see people who are supposedly together, because they’re sitting on the same table, but they’re not talking to each other, and have their noses buried in their smart phones. I find it mildly irritating and more than a little sad. I think we should all put our phones down and talk to each other. Agreed!

What worries me is that proprietors might be missing a valuable opportunity.

Providing free WiFi for customers is not only a great way to encourage them to say nice things about the place online. It’s also a great way to field any negative comments that might come up.

I was reading a recent article on Entrepreneur.com, which states that 3 out of 4 negative tweets happen while customers are still inside the restaurant! That means, if restaurants, cafes, bars etc. make it easy for people to connect to the internet for free, and staff monitor social media for mentions of the establishment, there is a rare opportunity to turn those negatives into positives. This has got to be a good thing, no? 

The same must be true of positive comments. If someone has had a nice experience, they’re more likely to upload this to their social media whilst they’re still inside the establishment. Once they leave, the moment will pass, they’ll have forgotten to take a photo to go with the post and they’ll forget about it. I always take a photo of good food and upload it to Facebook and Twitter, to give credit where credit is due. 

A positive comment about an establishment on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, is seen by hundreds of people, many of which, especially on Facebook and Instagram, will be friends or family to the person who made the comment. As people trust their friends’ and family’s recommendations far more than they trust advertising and promotional materials, that positive comment could be the best marketing money spent all year! 

The thing is, even if free WiFi is not provided, if people really want to be on their phones, they’ll use their 3G or 4G allowance instead, but they’re much less likely to use that allowance for uploading images of their lovely lunch.

I guess my point is this. In this world of selfies, viral images, social proof, online games and constant contact with friends and family via social media, we’ll never stop people using their phones to connect to the internet at any given opportunity. So, as businesses, why not use that to our advantage?

To me, refusing to provide wifi to customers in this way, seems like its based on a misguided principle and could be a wasted opportunity.

Just a thought. Feel free to disagree with me.