6 Ways to Improve Customer Service in Your Restaurant

Think about the simplest place you’ve ever eaten a meal. Now believe what made that have truly great. That’s right: it’s not all about the food.

Sure, amazing food should be a top priority. But dining at a very good restaurant is additionally sort of a mini-holiday – and it’s the best restaurant loyalty apps little things that make that vacation a very stress-free, relaxing getaway.

And so, it’s an equivalent once you erode an excellent restaurant. A bit like an excellent holiday destination is often ruined by a terrible holiday experience, there’s more to an honest restaurant’s POS systems Australia than simply great food and drink.

As a customer, it’s all about the service you receive. As a cafe, restaurant, or other food establishment owner or manager, delivering great customer service must simply be the highest priority after having a superb product.

Of course, getting there’s a touch trickier. If you think that your customer service could be slightly lagging, here are few sure ways to offer you’re offering a particular boost:

1. Efficiency

A great food establishment runs like clockwork. If customers are complaining that food takes too long to arrive, and therefore the staff seems stressed and disorganized, the likelihood is that your basic processes got to go under the microscope.

It sounds obvious, but what proportion does one actually realize what your staff is doing? Are you sure their processes are working? Are they following through with how you trained them? Are you sure their training was right in the first place?

Remember, good service starts from the instant a customer enters that front entrance and doesn’t finish until they leave satisfied, so watch and quiz your staff about what precisely they ‘do’ at each step of the way, and whether it’s really working.

2. Equipment

Good restaurant management is one thing, but it’s impossible without all the proper gear. It might be that sticking together with your ‘old faithful’ catering equipment saves you money today, but a wise investment could make it easier and faster for your staff to deliver good food to your eager customers.

It doesn’t end behind the scenes either. A ‘bad fork’ or a mismatched water glass might be the one negative thing that tainted an otherwise perfect night at your restaurant and prove ultimately even as important as your state-of-the-art and comfortable chairs.

3. The Menu

Well trained, friendly, efficient – these are all necessary qualities, but military training for restaurant staff should also stress the importance of knowing the menu inside and out. Asking a server if there’s something they recommend maybe a common query – and a blank stare instead of a confident answer isn’t only off-putting but a transparent sign that even the staff aren’t proud or invested in your establishment.

Knowledge around your product is additionally vital if, as often happens, a customer must know if any menu items contain specific ingredients. Food intolerances and allergies are getting increasingly more common, so training your wait staff in what dietary requirements are will help them help the customer. Although the wait staff is the friendliest a customer has ever met, not getting an honest answer is as sure a sign as any that your customer service isn’t worth writing an honest review about.

4. The Staff

Unfortunately, the turnover of staff in commission industries is notoriously high, which makes hiring and retaining restaurant staff a specific challenge for food establishment managers.

Restaurant management that listens also because the train may be a great initiative when it involves staff retention. Once staff knows exactly what’s expected of them, keeping those lines of communication open means everyone will feel engaged and involved in how processes are often constantly improved, fostering genuine pride within a cohesive ‘team’.

But another common reason staff leave is because there’s little incentive to remain. Many managers will therefore implement reward schemes, which transcend offering top pay and a couple of perks. Turning restaurant work into a career choice with flexible hours, social or sports programs, and even bonuses for reaching targets are all extra ways to interact with staff and keep them working for you. If the staffs are happy, the likelihood is that they’re going to be more willing to travel the additional mile for your customers.

5. The Complaints

While it’s only too easy to inform an angry customer to not slam the door on the answer, an excellent restaurant manager will regard a complaint as a pot of gold. Over 90% of unsatisfied customers won’t actually complain – so you’ll never actually determine what their problem was!

That doesn’t mean every complaint is true, but it does mean that each complaint should be seen as a chance. It’s one of the simplest ways to spot faulty processes and isolate substandard catering supplies, and highlight staff members who need better training.

In summary, every complaint may be a challenge to the established order – and for the open and evolving food establishment, which will mean getting things done better within the future.

6. Your Restaurant (It’s all about the customer.)

While it’s tempting to mention an excellent restaurant is all about the food, that’s actually not right. An excellent restaurant is all about the customer, and whether their experience from walking within the door to walking out left them feeling great.

Happy customers will spend more, come again and again, and tell all their friends that the care and respect shown by the staff were even as good because of the delicious food on their plates. And that’s why constantly and honestly monitoring, analyzing, and improving customer service should be an absolute priority for each cafe POS systems Australia, restaurant, and food establishment.