Picture this: A table of four Insta-obsessed foodies is about to post your brand-new truffle-something-or-other. Then they see “truffle desert.” BOOM. Phones down, eyes rolling, free PR gone. Typos aren’t “cute,” they’re silent revenue leaks, and you sure can’t comp every disgruntled influencer, especially in this economy.
To stay on the right side of your influencers, here are ten mistakes to avoid:
- Third-Party App Drift – Your printed menu says $14. GrubHub still shows $11 from last spring. Uber Eats rounded up to $16. Customers screenshot the cheapest version and argue at the register. Assign one person to sync every platform the same day prices change.
- Apostrophe Abuse – “Taco’s – 3 for $9.” Plurals don’t take apostrophes. Neither do panini’s, burrito’s, or margarita’s. Ever. A single rogue mark makes the whole menu feel amateur.
- Wine List Whoopsies – “Sauvingon Blanc,” “Pinot Grigot,” “Chardonay.” Spell-check might catch these because proper nouns tend to slip right through. Cross-reference every bottle against the distributor’s invoice before the menu goes to print.
- “Market Price” With No Market – Scallops listed at MP, and the server just shrugs when asked. That’s a $52 surprise at the table and a chargeback on Monday. Pre-shift, brief the floor on today’s MP items so the answer is instant.
- Ghost Items – The “seasonal risotto” that’s been on the menu for three seasons and 86’d for two of them. If the kitchen can’t actually fire it tonight, it doesn’t belong on tonight’s menu. Print inserts or stickers beat a disappointed guest.
- Photo-to-Plate Gap – Menu pic shows a double-stack burger with four strips of bacon spilling over the edge. The plate arrives with two limp strips and a single patty. Either over-plate to match the photo or reshoot the photo. Guests notice.
- Happy Hour Time Zone – Menu says “4–6 PM, Mon.–Fri.” Sandwich board out front says “4–7.” Insta bio still says “5–7.” Guests will always hold you to the longest window, and they’ll be right to.
- “Homemade” Landmines – The “homemade marinara” that’s actually from a #10 can is a truth-in-menu violation in a growing number of states. Reserve “homemade” and “house-made” for things you genuinely make on-site, or just describe the dish without the claim.
- Diacritical Mark Inconsistency – “Jalapeño” on page one, “jalapeno” on page two, “Jalepeño” on the specials insert. Pick a spelling, run a Find-All across every document, and hold the line. Same goes for “crème,” “purée,” and “soupçon.”
- The Rogue Old Menu – New menu printed for the dining room. Old menu still on the website. Ancient laminated menu on the takeout counter. The one with last year’s allergen info is always the one a first-time customer finds first. Audit every touchpoint — print, web, review sites, delivery apps, QR codes — on the same schedule.
Quick Fix Checklist
- Export to PDF and proof the PDF, not the design view.
- Read printouts backward (line by line) to force your brain off autopilot.
- Bring in a fresh set of eyes—ideally ours, but we’re biased.
- Freeze the design file. Nobody touches anything after final proof.
Ready for a typo-free menu? Take our free menu audit and sleep like you just sold out of “friend chicken.”