5 Tips to Improve Customer Service in Your Restaurant

A great restaurant stands out because of the experience people get there. It’s not just about the food! People come for a break from their busy lives and a hospitable, luxurious feel is what they’re looking for. Of course the food has to be delicious but there is so much more to a good restaurant than just food.

If your food is amazing and your decor is catchy but your customer service sucks, you won’t be having a long-lasting audience. Customers need to feel that their needs are prioritized and that they’re treated with care and respect by the staff. So whether your restaurant is a fine dine or casual, outstanding customer service is important to make your restaurant stand out from other competitors.

Good customer service ensures a positive relationship and keeps your customers coming back for more. A study conducted by the Harvard School of Business on Starbucks showed that a satisfied customer comes back 4.3 times per month, spends an average of $4.06 on every visit and continues to visit for 4.4 years whereas, a highly satisfied customer comes back 7.2 times per month, spends $4.42 on each visit and continues to visit for 8.3 years. This shows that in the long-term, a highly satisfied customer has a net value of 300 percent more than that of a moderately satisfied one.

A good way to improve is by putting yourself in the customer’s shoes and understanding what an ideal dining experience feels like. The whole team of your restaurant including the chef, managers, and servers need to ensure that the customers are prioritized. Here are five tips to boost your restaurant’s customer service:

1. Communicate Your Plan With the Staff

Create a customer-first culture in your restaurant by developing a detailed strategy and coming up with a clear action plan with effective ways to accomplish it. Keep in mind that it may take time and consistent effort to communicate these expectations very clearly to your staff. Your action plan can include things like, Should your customers be seated more quickly? Should you have more efficient check drops? How fast to refill drinks? What more can be done to show that we care? Make an official customer service guideline or conduct a formal training program so that your plan is well communicated and understood by the staff.

Another important thing to remember is that you and your staff are a team. This means that everyone working with you, from restaurant management to vendors and dishwashers, all contribute to your customer’s experience. For a smooth operation, it’s vital that everyone on the team knows each other well enough to keep communication fluid. Conduct team meetings on a regular basis to discuss your plans and make sure everyone’s on the same page.

After establishing proper guidelines, the next step is to follow up regularly. Check whether your managers are executing all the standards that you’ve laid out in your strategy. Ask for their input also because when a restaurant management listens to its employees, they actually contribute to their staff’s retention in the long term.

Having an open communication will ensure that every employee is engaged and involved with improving the restaurant. Besides, they may have better tips and tactics considering they’re the ones on the front line. A collaborative effort is bound to get everyone involved immediately.

2. Strategize on Customer Wait Times

We all hate waiting! No matter what it’s for. A long waiting time can turn out to be the biggest turn-off about your restaurant. Whether its a delay in seating the customers, handing over the menu, taking orders, serving the food on time or bringing the bill, any inconvenient delay can ruin the experience.

You and your staff should always stay on your toes, focused and strive to keep minimum wait times, even during busy hours. Remember, your service begins from the moment a customer comes in through the front door to when they leave satisfied. Here are a few tips to streamline your waiting times:

• Always tell your customers their wait time honestly, otherwise, it can be very frustrating for them to be in the dark about how long they need to wait for a table.  Try to be as accurate as you can. Saying things like “it’s going to be a while” can come off as dismissive and rude to the customers. Besides, it will always add to your service to surprise customers with a shorter wait time rather than upsetting them with a longer one.
• Make the waiting area more pleasant. Come up with creative ideas to keep customers busy and entertained in their wait time. Find affordable restaurant maintenance services in Saudi Arabia through Raqtan. Some restaurants offer light snacks or complimentary drinks from the menu to their customers while they’re in the waiting area. One Italian restaurant offers samples of their pizzas from the menu. You could also put a TV in the waiting area and install customer accessible free Wi-Fi. You can also try incorporating things like an interactive quiz or video games for parties with small children to keep them occupied.
• Use modern technology to manage wait times through automated solutions, like a kitchen display system (KDS). Softwares like this modernize meal pacing and also ensure accurate order tracking. This means that your food will be set to be delivered to the table or off-premise at the right time. Moreover, it can also track activity in your restaurant and predict quote times to the customers, keeping off-premise and in-store traffic under control.

So whatever plan you come up with, always try to minimize wait times as much as possible.

3. Be Open to Complaints

Keep your restaurant open to comments whether good or bad because no restaurant is immune to complaints. Mistakes happen everywhere so never try to cover them up by pretending nothing happened. How you deal with those complaints defines how professional you are. Customers should be able to voice their opinions and concerns openly as this will improve their satisfaction and could actually lead you to betterment.

Any good manager will consider customer complaints their key to success because up to 90% of unsatisfied customers never complain so you never get to figure out where you lacked. Take every complaint as an opportunity to identify faulty processes, poor catering supplies and train staff members about better customer service. Come up with an action plan to deal with mistakes and complaints. Here is a step-by-step plan you may want to consider in case things go south:  

• Acknowledge the Customer: Focus on the customer’s complaint and be as empathetic with them as you can. Hear attentively to what they have to say without interrupting or reacting because even if you can’t make them happy, the least you can do is show respect to them by being responsive. Thank them for letting you know as this will show that you care about their needs.
• Apologize: Keep an apologetic demeanor while apologizing but keep in mind to never go overboard with explanations because it might seem like you’re making excuses.
• Resolve the Complaint: Do whatever needs to be done to correct your mistake. Consider giving freebies because most of the time an offering on the house makes customers feel greatly cared for after a bad experience. Just a free dessert or drinks can also do the trick. If ever an angry customer chooses to leave and never come back, make sure to maintain composure and keep things open with them.
• Evolve from it: Discuss the issue with your team later, and get insights on how better the situation could have been handled. Analyze your customer service policy and make changes if needed because all bad experiences will ultimately lead to a better customer service culture.

4. Do Something Extra

Some extra effort can make you stand out among others. Look for things that can give you that edge you need to keep customers coming back to you. Here are a few ideas:

• It is mandatory in a restaurant business to cheerfully greet every customer with a smile as soon as they enter through the front door. A little tip here is to try welcoming your customers in a calm manner instead of repeating those overcooked phrases like every other place. Keep it natural and maintain good body language because a proper greeting can go a long way.
• Another way to stand out is to have “table touches” which means a manager coming out to visit tables to ask customers about their experience. Asking customers specific questions like “Was your meal served and cooked at the right temperature?” makes customers feel as if they’re being valued enough to report to management directly.
• Try placing a jug of water for each table and provide free bread with your meals. You could also include some chocolate with the coffee as an extra.

5. Use Social Media

In the world of Facebook and Twitter, up your game and get involved. Grab the attention of your with customers on social media and advertise your specials. Remind your customers about your restaurant when they think of dining out.

Use social media to grow your customer turnover by sharing satisfied customers feedback on your Instagram or Facebook page. Invite food bloggers to your restaurant and offer them meals on the house. Engaging with customers in the virtual world is bound to improve real-world relationships.

Many restaurants have added online ordering and reservation options on their websites. This enables customers to book their tables online in advance and avoid waiting and cooking times.

If you haven’t understood the ways listed above, try contacting or consulting any Restaurant Marketing Agency.