January rhymes with good resolutions for many. For restaurateur Adrien Martin, who runs Samy’s Diner, in Le Sequestre, near Albi, in Tarn, it was an opportunity to revisit “Dry January” by inventing a new concept: “No phone January” . The principle is simple, do not use your phone at the table. 20 minutes looks into this new initiative with its creator.
Where did you get the idea for such a measure in your restaurant?
I realized that many people spend a lot of time on their phones during meals. I regularly receive families, and we notice that everyone is scrolling on TikTok or another social network almost constantly. As a result, this also had an impact on the relationship between the client and the server. Often the client only half-listens and is truly disconnected in the moment. So I decided to set up this game, in order to encourage customers to “reconnect” with each other. Of course, we are not at school, we do not confiscate telephones, if the customer wishes to make an urgent call, there is no constraint. It’s really more of an incentive. In exchange, if the challenge is met, the restaurant offers a coffee, tea or digestive.
What were the customer reactions?
Many were surprised at first. But it’s not always the ones we think of who have been the most affected. For example, once, an old gentleman replied to me: “Oh good? But what are we going to do? » Which still testifies to the reality that I was able to observe. But despite this surprise, customers have welcomed the change very well, and are easily ready to play the game. I would say that 95% of them are taking up the challenge. It is enormous !
What are the first results that emerge?
I clearly see that people talk more among themselves and exchange more easily. For the servers too, it changes everything because they also have better contact with the customers so even they are happy.