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Believe it or not, one of the most effective ways to make your restaurant stand out has little to do with your decor, concept, or cuisine. It has to do with your customer service. Providing excellent customer service at your restaurant is one of the most important factors in creating the positive relationship and associations which will keep customers coming back. Without great customer service, your chef’s brilliance and your flashy decor won’t have an audience for long.
This begs an important question: how do you provide great customer service? While to a certain degree what constitutes great service will vary depending on the establishment, there are certain methods which reliably prove effective for restaurants of any style. Here, we’ll detail 8 tried and true ways to improve customer service at your restaurant. Start incorporating these tips into your business and see for yourself how your traffic and overall sales can benefit.
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Train your employees. One of the most important steps in providing great customer service is a proactive step: train your employees. Training your employees thoroughly and properly helps ensure that they are given the tools to provide the best customer service that they possibly can.
Training involves more than just teaching your employees the technical aspects of how to do their job. It can also be your chance to introduce and reinforce a company culture, teaching employees how to adhere to your own chosen protocols for etiquette and dealing with specific situations. Having systems in place for your employees to provide great customer service help them do just that.
Greet customers cheerfully. There’s no bigger bummer for a customer than walking through the door and being ignored by the host, or not knowing where to go. It is confusing and doesn’t make them feel welcome. Not a great start to an evening out!
Make it a priority to cheerfully greet every customer who walks in the door, very soon after they enter the establishment. This will not only start their experience off on a good foot, but it is simple respect and good manners at work. A little thing like the proper greeting goes a long way.
Inform customers of their wait time. When customers come to your establishment to eat, it can be frustrating to be in the dark about how long it will take to get a table. Be sure to be completely honest and as accurate as you can when estimating how long it will take to seat customers. If applicable, give them the option to have a drink at the bar while they wait, or to take their number so that you can phone them when their table is ready.
While seating customers within moments isn’t always possible, informing customers of the timeline and proactively taking steps to ensure their comfort can help them stay at ease. A rude attitude or statements like “it’s going to be a while” are very dismissive and can turn customers off.
Deal with complaints quickly. It’s a powerful first instinct to avoid conflict. But when it comes to unhappy customers, it’s important to deal with them quickly. This is true whether their complaint is delivered in person, by phone, or online.
Always hear the customer out and listen to what they say before reacting. If more research is done on your part to solve the problem, let the customer know right away. Do your best to come to a solution as quickly as possible.
Even if you can’t always make everyone happy, you can always show respect by being responsive and gracious when a customer airs a complaint.
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Give freebies. Sometimes, an offering on the house can gain you huge customer service points. It doesn’t have to be something large; a free dessert or tiny amuse-bouche can do the trick. A small gratis item can really make customers feel appreciated, and will create positive associations with your restaurant. This makes them feel taken care of, and they are more receptive to your food and service overall. It might even improve tips for servers.
Ask for customer comments. Customers can often provide valuable input about how you can improve the customer experience and customer service in general at your restaurant. You can solicit their advice and comments in a few ways. One way is that you could place a comment box and cards in your lobby; another way is to provide a customer service card and a pen when delivering the bill. If you have a mailing list, you can also ask for advice in this way.
The key to really making customer comments work for you is to really read through or listen to them, and then to be willing to make changes based on customer feedback.
Engage with customers on social media. Customer service doesn’t just happen inside of your establishment. You can plant the seed of customer relations by engaging with customers on the internet, too. Engaging with customers on social media can help forge relationships that make them think of your restaurant first when thinking about dining out.
For example, if a customer leaves a complimentary comment about a special you pictured in your Instagram feed, respond to them in kind. If a blogger posts a review about your restaurant, thank them (and even consider offering them a freebie to say thanks). Engaging with customers in the virtual world can help foster real world relationships.
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Honor your regulars. If you own a restaurant, you know that customers often come and then don’t come back. Part of this is that they might be traveling, and part is just the nature of the business. But if you do find yourself with regulars, reward them for giving you so much business. A small gesture can go a long way: offering a random dessert for free, or giving them their second drink on the house. These are the kind of customer service gestures that will keep them coming back.
Conclusion: In the restaurant industry, good customer service often boils down to a series of kind and thoughtful gestures toward your customers. By taking the time to instill some of these niceties into your service, you’ll set your restaurant apart as an establishment that cares about the customers. Customers see this and appreciate it, and it’s a sure fire way to ensure that they will be back!
How do you provide great customer service at your restaurant?