Friendly Service
Your hosts and servers are the first people your guests come into contact with. Guests are looking for sincere, friendly people who are excited about their meal and eager to serve them - it's what makes the experience human. A guest's happiness is the most important, a study found that 89% of customers stated they would not return to a restaurant if they received bad customer service. One bad experience can be the decider for whether a customer comes back to a venue.
The opportunity to deliver great customer service starts with the hosts and servers. Treating a guest more like a human instead of just a number is the first step. Knowing some information about who you're serving can be a great help when serving customers. Consider integrating a CRM tool into your EPoS system. With a CRM you can set up customer profiles that will help keep track of food preferences and allergens. The information gives servers a clue as to which menu items and beverages they can suggest, providing guests with a more personalised dining experience. You can read all about these features and how to utilise them in our previous blog Menu Management: The Key Features.
Ambiance and Atmosphere
The way you design and decorate your restaurant will reflect your brand, so it needs to be right. When designing a restaurant, it is important to keep your customer's taste in mind. Ensure your venue creates an inviting atmosphere that makes guests want to come back.
Diners are more likely to respond positively when the wall decorations, paint colour and furniture match each other as well as create an atmosphere that makes them want to return for another visit. Think about lighting and whether it creates the right atmosphere for your guests, is it bright enough that they can see where they're going without being so bright that the food looks washed out. What kind of furniture do you have, whilst it seems intriguing to do something unconventional like having guests sit on swings or beanbags, are they really comfortable?
Ask yourself, what kind of music is playing when customers are eating? If you're not already playing music in your venue then maybe you should consider it. Having a nice meal and listening to the sound of other people chewing and talking isn't appealing. Introduce music which is just loud enough to give pleasant background noise without drowning out the conversation. Ensure the music suits the theme of your venue to continue the branded atmosphere.
Novelty Items
An aesthetically pleasing venue with Instagrammable features is a key novelty to draw guests in. Venues that stand out are the ones which people see. With so many venues offering good food, maybe it's time to focus on the aesthetic? A popular feature is integrating a beautiful backdrop in your venue that entices guests to come and take photos in front of, these photos will then entice other guests to your venue.
It was shown that in the space of Two Weeks, World Buffet Cosmo had an increase in TikTok viewers from 970k to 1.6m when they integrated SPARK Robotics into their Glasgow St Enoch venue. This is due to the novelty factor of robotics, as they aren't as widely seen across the UK as other countries like China and Japan, robotics are quite a fascination within the UK. With bots like BellaBot, children are captured by the cat-like features and the ability to stroke its ears to entice a noise out of it. Introducing something different into your venue could be a key part of enticing customers and making their experience different.
Post-Dining Survey
If you're not regularly providing guests with surveys then you're missing out on key data. Post-dining surveys are the best way to get timely and direct feedback about what is delighting guests when they visit. No two restaurant guests are alike. Some care most about the selection of foods on your menu, while others just want good affordable food. To find out what really delights your customers, pay attention to what they say about your restaurant.
For today's digital world, customer reviews and feedback from other websites like TripAdvisor can be an excellent way to pinpoint problem areas. At SPARK we have a simple way of providing your guests with links to your TripAdvisor. By adding a QR Code to the bottom of the receipt, customers can now simply follow the link and leave a quick review.
It's time to make sure your customers feel like they're being cared for and that they don't just feel like a number being rushed out the door to maximise profits. People love talking about restaurants that give them great service and amazing food, so it is only natural for you to receive more positive word of mouth opportunities as well. Take the right steps toward having the perfect venue, the best customer service and of course the most delicious food, and your venue will be a big hitter.
