By Gilbert Joseph, founder & CEO of MaskdAI In Washington state, restaurant owners are navigating one of the toughest financial landscapes in recent memory. Recent data reveals that the average profit margin for restaurants in the state has dwindled to a precarious 1.5%, significantly trailing the national average of 4%. For the average full-service restaurant grossing $1.1 million annually, that means a pre-tax profit of only $16,500. That’s less than $320 a week — barely enough to absorb one broken walk-in fridge, one off-season month, or a surprise in operating cost. While factors like rising labor costs and increased food prices are well-documented contributors to this decline, there’s a less visible yet equally detrimental issue at play: Unanswered phone calls.

What happens when the phone goes unanswered?

Across the U.S., restaurants miss an average of 150 calls per month. Based on industry studies, around 60% of those are potential orders or reservation requests. If your average order or table value is $25, that’s $2,250 per month potentially left on the table — and over $27,000 a year in missed revenue. (Calculated from 150 calls x 60% x $25 average check) To put that in perspective: For a restaurant operating at 1.5% margin, recovering that lost revenue could double their bottom line. Yet many restaurants don’t track this. The cost of missed calls is largely invisible — unless you measure it. This additional income could be pivotal in offsetting rising operational costs or investing in growth initiatives. And the impacts don’t end with lost transactions. Missed calls also contribute to:

• Negative online reviews citing unresponsiveness
• Lost customer trust and loyalty
• Lower repeat business due to poor first impressions
• Internal staff frustration and burnout from juggling in-person and phone tasks

Why it happens (even in great restaurants)

During peak hours, staff can’t answer more than a few calls an hour. Most customers hang up after three minutes. After hours, 62% of reservations happen when you’re closed. No system = lost calls = lost customers.

What can you do about it?

Here are a few steps every restaurant in Washington can take right now: 1.  Measure the leak You can’t fix what you can’t see. Use our free Instant Missed Call & Revenue Loss Tracker — a one-minute tool designed for operators who want to understand how much money they may be losing daily, weekly, and monthly, the impact on your profit margin—and what they can do about it. (No sign-up or purchase required—just answer a few questions in Google form and receive an instant result based on your input) Instant Missed Call & Revenue Tracker (Google Form) 2.  Build a 24/7 safety net Once you’ve seen your number, the solution becomes obvious: ensure every call is captured — even during rush or after-hours. Some smart operators solve this by:

• Adding AI-receptionist systems (like Rhesto) that capture all your orders, reservations and inquiry calls 24/7 like a human staff.
• Forwarding missed calls to a hosted call
• Offering online ordering and reservation tools with auto-
• Using missed call text-back tools services like GuestGetter let you automatically text back customers who dialed but didn’t connect.

If you want a recommendation, we’ve seen strong success with tools like Rhesto, a hospitality AI receptionist that answers like a real human, remembers repeat customers, and books 100% of orders or reservations even after hours. It also integrates directly with your POS and booking systems, leaving your staff able to focus on in-person services. You’ll find a direct referral and link inside your free tracker result. Washington members also get an exclusive $50 discount on all Rhesto plans. Operators using AI Receptionist phone support have reported:

• 60% reduction in call abandonment
• 25% increase in captured reservations
• Significant boosts in customer satisfaction scores

3.  Make missed revenue a weekly metric Treat this like any other KPI:

• Missed call report
• Time-to-callback
• Estimated revenue loss

4.  Act before the leak becomes a flood Margins aren’t expected to rebound anytime soon — in fact, Washington’s restaurant industry has seen one of the steepest declines in financial resilience. The smartest operators are focusing less on “cutting costs” and more on plugging losses they didn’t know existed.

Final thought

Margins aren’t just thin—they’re shrinking. But what’s truly alarming is that some of the biggest revenue leaks don’t come from big mistakes. They come from five missed calls a day. Start by measuring yours. Gilbert Joseph is a member of the Washington Hospitality Association’s Advisory Network. As part of your membership, you are entitled to 30 minutes of complimentary consulting from each area of expertise. Reach out to your territory manager for more information.