The cost of bad restaurant customer service can be bigger than some restaurateurs assume. Many foodservice businesses are still only meeting the minimum standards of guest experience. For an industry that so depends on repeat customers, that\u2019s simply not good enough.<\/p>\n
Even those restaurants with the tastiest dishes in town can\u2019t afford to let their service be subpar. The Soup Nazi may be an indelible television character, but in the real world, restaurant customers won\u2019t stand for bad treatment, no matter how addictive your Crab Bisque may be.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve done you the service of collecting a few best practices for creating a truly welcoming guest experience for your restaurant.<\/p>\n
Service expert Jeff Toister advises restaurant owners to pay attention to their establishment\u2019s signage. He notes an experience he had walking past a local restaurant with a rather off-putting amount of rules posted at their entrance. Toister feels the amount of signs \u201csuggested the restaurant focuses more on making sure guests are well-behaved than providing a great experience.\u201d Do an audit of your signage; are you as welcoming as you could be?<\/p>\n
Restaurants face employee turnover like any other service business, but that doesn\u2019t mean you must always be in a hurry to hire. Customer Care VP Marc Bernica reminds businesses that \u201cthe long-term cost of hiring the wrong person can be much greater than keeping those spots unfilled.\u201d In restaurants aiming for head-of-class guest experience, even one discourteous dining room team member can have an effect on guest loyalty and word-of-mouth. This is particularly key for new establishments, when word-of-mouth is so very crucial.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re big on leveraging digital technology for the benefit of today\u2019s restaurants. Today\u2019s consumers are sharing their latest restaurant experience (good and bad) on their social media channels, writing about them on their blogs, and detailing their experiences on a growing number of review sites. Be aware of the major sites like Yelp, UrbanSpoon.com and Trip Advisor, and find review sites that may focus on local establishments. You can never collect too much feedback from customers, and the negative feedback is typically the most valuable.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s fine to have policies, but make sure your team knows they can break the rules in the name of good customer service. Consider this example from acclaimed service guru Shep Hyken. The main takeaway from Hyken\u2019s experience: \u201cThe employee was just doing her job. She was probably told by a boss not to seat incomplete parties.\u201d Processes need to be designed to be customer-centric, rather than simply focusing on what makes life easier for restaurant staff.<\/p>\n
The service in foodservice doesn\u2019t begin and end with your waitstaff. Kitchen staff are part of the complete experience and can\u2019t be left out of service discussions. Too many times, I\u2019ve watched servers and cooks bickering about who\u2019s at fault for a mixed up or forgotten order. And the person suffering the most from this in-house squabbling is the customer.<\/p>\n
Consider regular staff meetings with both back and front-of-house teams focused solely on guest experience. Any service training literature given to new waitstaff should be read by new kitchen staff members as well. Everyone is on the same team!<\/p>\n
Keeping with the idea of being flexible, author Ron Kaufman says the best restaurants will modify their actions (and processes) according to their customers. He writes:<\/p>\n
\u201c..if you have three types of customers come in \u2013 business people, tourists and a family with kids \u2013 each wants something different. One group wants privacy; one wants to be engaged and hear about the locality; and the other needs lots of attention because it\u2019s a family. To create an uplifting experience, you modify your actions to provide value. You need to educate the waiter that the purpose of their job is \u2013 to take action to create value for whoever comes in. <\/p>\n
Micah Solomon says the exit experience is every bit as crucial to a guest\u2019s perception of your restaurant. He advises that \u201ceven the slightest hint that a server is \u201cover\u201d one party and on to the next toward the end of a meal dampens the entire dining experience.\u201d Are the guests obviously tourists? Perhaps they\u2019d like entertainment recommendations, or even a cab. Service doesn\u2019t stop when the credit card slip has been signed.<\/p>\n
Gordon Food Service is committed to delivering uncompromising quality, outstanding value and exceptional customer service. Gordon Food Service entered the Canadian market in 1994 and has grown into a national presence, distributing to foodservice operators coast to coast in Canada and throughout the Midwest and Eastern half of the United States.<\/p>\n
Source: foodtender.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The cost of bad restaurant customer service can be bigger than some restaurateurs assume. Many foodservice businesses are still only meeting the minimum standards of guest experience. For an industry that so depends on repeat customers, that\u2019s simply not good enough. Even those restaurants with the tastiest dishes in town can\u2019t afford to let their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":27018,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[122,123,112,69,111,113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-catering-small-business","category-hotels-hospitality","category-restaurant-bars","category-running-your-business","category-healthcare","category-university"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n