Restaurants spend thousands of dollars on advertising and marketing programs that bring new guests in the door. To sustain growth, insure repeat visits and maximize your investment in new marketing programs, the savvy restaurant owner knows that adjustments must be made to the last step of the marketing process - delivering what the customer expects.

As your staff becomes busier there will be blips in customer service that have to be addressed to bring those new faces back in the door. Here are a few suggestions;

• Keep your staff informed. Let them know why they are busier and how to maintain a high level of customer interaction. Remind them that a smile and quick frequent table visits will solve half the problems.
• Waiting is by far the worst experience a customer can experience. It is clearly documented in every customer survey that the guest doesn’t want to wait for their table, wait for a server to show up, wait for drinks, wait for their order, wait for a server to check on them, wait for a check and wait to pay. Where is your breakdown in the waiting game? Evaluate time frames and eliminate a few seconds from each step and you will have happier guests.
• When service does break down, repair the damage if possible. Servers know when a customer isn’t pleased. Managers should be able to just look at a table and tell from body language and faces if they are pleased. A visit from a Manager is imperative to completing the experience. Do whatever is necessary to insure a return visit - even if it means offering complimentary food or drinks to repair the damage.
• Anticipate your success. If you are confident that your marketing will work, why wait until you are over burdened with new business to hire and train new staff?

One of the early mistakes I made when opening restaurants was too much business to the point of wasting all of the marketing dollars on our poor job of meeting the customer’s expectations. That experience and many other correctable problems are recounted in The Restaurant Ebook. Don’t fall prey to your own success!

Larry Edger, Author

The Restaurant Ebook

The restaurant industry continues to debate the value of celebrity chefs with their reality shows and entertaining “cooking” shows. Most of us know the public’s perception of these fictional programs is based on the entertainment value as opposed to the real cooking element presented. I am sure I am not the only restaurateur that has laughed as Emeril flubs another dish as they go to break for a million dollar commercial. Personally, I am not convinced these TV personalities have much of an impact on the food business other than their own ability to sell products and advertising.

One thing is clear. Just because they can brand their name and open restaurants across the country, that doesn’t mean success is guaranteed. The customer still has expectations that must be met for an extended restaurant life. No one truly believes the fantasy of Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen or the business mess of Rocco’s. Few of these stars have escaped the pad locks that decorate their closed ventures. Ramsay has three closures in the last six months. Under the marketing conditions in the coming year, there will be many more celebs packing it in.

The difference between the celebrity restaurants and the “real” operations that open up is the amount of initial publicity. Robert Irvine, recently deposed from the Food Network, has been planning two restaurants in the St. Petersburg, Florida luxury district downtown for many months. The publicity has been non-stop for six months since the announcement. No independent food operation garners such attention. We do it the old fashion way - one customer at a time.

The basic elements for long term survival must be employed by any venture. You have to create a real connection with the customer. The connection cannot be based on  short lived hype or legend. It must offer an experience that guest will savor, send and save. They will savor the experience by meeting their expectations. Customers will send the experience on to friends and family by word of mouth. Finally they save the visit in their mind for many return visits. If your restaurant doesn’t capture the guest with a connection, no amount of publicity will salvage your ultimate fate.

Larry Edger, Author

The Restaurant Ebook