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