Which restaurant to trust: an open or closed kitchen?

Suppose you see two restaurants of which you like the menu they are communicating. Menu’s are comparable, look & feel of the restaurants is comparable, but there is one small difference. Restaurant A has a great looking open kitchen, the chef is working in a very transparent room in the middle of the restaurant. Restaurant B has a closed kitchen and the only thing you see is some smoke that pops out of the kitchen door. Which restaurant will you choose?

If we would do the experiment, most of us would go for the restaurant with the open kitchen. Why? Because it creates trust. An open kitchen has the advantage that it keeps the kitchen clean. If everybody can see how you work, there is no other option than to work in a nice and clean way. There is no room left to cheat on your clients.

This story is easy to understand for most managers and they agree with it. And still, it is hard for them to translate this simple metaphor into their own business context. The same philosophy is true for any brand in the world. If you are managing your brand from an open office, people will trust it more than when you don’t act/communicate open. The open office is the evidence towards consumers that what you communicate is actually correct. They don’t just belief you anymore. It’s the stuff that you do that makes the real difference, not what you say.

Go for the open kitchen and show/proof your consumers that you are a trustworthy brand/company/product.