Tips to Improve Customer Service in a Restaurant

Good restaurant customer service is both an art and a science. Staff needs to be able to meet a customer’s need while maintaining efficiency.

Use these five tips to improve customer service at your restaurant.

1. Set Clear Standards for Staff

According to a Customer Experience Report, the top reason customers abandoned a brand was due to rude customer service and poor quality.

Customer satisfaction should be ingrained in your restaurant culture, but achieving this goal takes consistent effort. Expectations must be communicated clearly with your staff. Everyone needs to be on the same page, and everyone must know what is expected of them.

To set clear standards, document your customer service guidelines and policies in training manuals. These restaurant customer service standards should be as comprehensive as possible and include, among many other things:

• How to greet customers at the door
• How to interact with customers
• How to handle customer complaints
• How to handle long wait times

Remember that restaurant customer service training is an ongoing process and one that will require you to update your guidelines and policies periodically.

2. Be Quick to Respond to Complaints

Do everything in your power to find a reasonable solution to the problem.

• Listen to the customer’s complaint — without interruption — and empathize with him or her.
• Make sure that you fully understand the problem.
• Stay calm.
• Apologize.
• Find a resolution. Ask your customers what they want. Negotiate a solution that works for everyone.
• Log and report the incident.
• Examine your customer service policies to see if you need to update your guidelines.

3. Do Table Touches

One great strategy to improve customer service is to do table touches. You’ve probably been on the other end of this strategy when dining at a major chain restaurant. A manager comes around and asks everyone at the table how their experience has been.

Have your managers do table touches on a regular basis, particularly on busy or difficult evenings. Questions should be as specific as possible to ensure that you get quality responses you can work with.

4. Don’t Make Customers Wait

One of the best ways to improve customer service is to focus on timely service.

Make sure that you have enough staff to handle higher volumes of customers. Make sure that drink and appetizer orders are taken as quickly as possible, within minutes of the customer sitting down.

If diners order meals that will take longer to cook, let them know in advance. Be transparent about longer wait times, and you’ll find that customers will be understanding.

Incorporate speed of service goals into your staff training program to improve customer service.

5. Incorporate Technology

The technologies you incorporate will depend on the type of restaurant you run, but most business models can benefit from implementing at least one of the following:

1. Online Ordering
2. Free Wi-Fi
3. Games and Table Ordering

Improving your restaurant’s customer service is an active, ongoing process, but it’s worth every minute of effort. After all, your goal is to create a place where people feel welcome, enjoy a great meal and leave with a positive experience.

Source: https://mcdonaldpaper.com/blog/ways-to-improve-restaurant-customer-service