09 Jul 5 ways to improve customer experience at your restaurant
Running a restaurant conducive to its optimal growth entails hitting high levels of customer satisfaction. Otherwise, that growth could stall or reverse – even if just a few unhappy customers post negative reviews of your eatery on sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp.
Sadly, even keeping the food succulent and waiting staff polite might not suffice for keeping adverse critical reactions at bay. Here are some other techniques for helping to make customers happier.
Arrange your restaurant in a child-friendly way
When a family with kids enters your restaurant, both the adults and little ones should soon be able to sit down at a relatively large table. For example, for a family of four, provide a table for six, The Balance advises. Equipment supplied by your staff could include highchairs and colouring books.
If you have children of your own, you can probably easily attest to their characteristic impatience, but keeping various toys in a basket beside a table can help keep kids occupied in the wait for food.
Provide a friendly face of your own
You might already often encourage your staff to be pleasant and friendly to customers, but do you set a good example for them to follow? If not, don’t be afraid to mingle with customers – for example, by walking the dining room, introducing yourself and seeking feedback.
Customers are likely to be impressed by how attentive you come across. You should also provide them with an outlet for expressing their praise, a point to which we will now turn…
Set up social media channels
Through accounts on popular social media sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, your restaurant can get in touch with customers in especially enjoyable ways.
Of course, it is through social media that you can also gather plaudits from your customers. At Konnectifi, we can help you implement a WiFi solution which your guests can access. By letting them access it for free, you can make it easier for them to review the restaurant before leaving it.
Find creative ways to compensate dissatisfied customers
Unfortunately, your restaurant could occasionally attract stinging reviews – but you can cut the chances of this happening if you speedily compensate a customer before they start typing a review.
To that end, if a customer complains about a meal, you could discount its price. Similarly, if someone returns a steak that they claim is inadequately cooked, there’s the option of offering a free dessert or cocktail. Rest easy that customers are unlikely to try exploiting you when you make such offers.
Actively seek feedback on which you can act
Your tactics here could include providing feedback forms tailored to specific issues with which local people might struggle, implies CustomerThink. Consider, for example, the potential need for more parking in a crowded city or a more carefully-struck level of spiciness in Indian food, if you serve this.
By calling us on 0845 450 3427, you can book a free trial for a guest access WiFi solution that can ease collecting feedback.