Donna
Siegel

The Key To The Restaurant Business: Great Customer Service

Great food, high-traffic location, super decor -- all are important to the restaurant business. If you take a close look at what separates the most successful restaurants from the less successful, you'll find that all excel on these parameters. The most profitable ones have also discovered The Key To The Restaurant Business: Great Customer Service.

From the very first interaction with the staff, an impression is made that either enhances or detracts from the experience. Many restaurants recognize the importance of customer service and spend time training their staff on exactly how to work with customers. Others don't and risk losing potential loyal customers.

So if your restaurant is not one that trains its staff in customer service techniques, you may want to give your staff this article identifying six common errors -- and how to avoid them.

1. "You just missed . . . "
Many restaurants run special promotions or events to help build business. And often, regular customers know about these specials and try to schedule to take advantage of them. However, new customers or occasional visitors may not know about these promotions. Since the purpose of these promotions is to encourage more occasional visitors to become regulars, what should staff do when the customer arrives too late?

Before I answer what to do, let me share with you an example of what not to do, based on my own experience. Shortly after arriving at the restaurant and being seated, my group decided to order drinks. The staff, instead of just taking the drink order, said, "You just missed the end of happy hour (two drinks for the price of one)," paused and then finished taking the drink order. Naturally, since we're all interested in customer service, we tried to figure out what was on the staff person's mind, telling us we had just missed happy hour. Was it "Next time if you come earlier, you'll be able to take advantage of the happy-hour prices," or "You missed it, but I'll give you the happy-hour prices just this time," or even "It's already 8:30, and we'll be closing in another two hours"? We actually think it was none of the above. Our group was just hearing the staff person talking to himself, without thinking about the impact of his statement.

The error exhibited in this situation was just saying whatever was on the customer service person's mind. The words of every service person has an impact on the customer and can influence the degree of satisfaction for the meal . . . and even the possibility of a future visit.

A better customer service technique would be to think before you speak. Think about the impact of your words on the customer and how they might be interpreted. If you want to tell customers about promotions, activities, events or evening specials, be sure to think about the words you use. Make your information an offer that somehow attracts the customers, rather than a description of something they missed.

2. Too much information too early
Another common mistake of restaurant staff is to give customers too much information too quickly. People need time to settle down once they have been seated. Often, dinner groups are put together for social or business reasons. The customers' first agenda is to communicate with the other members of their party.

The service staff has an important role at the beginning of the dinner -- they serve as the greeters, welcoming customers as guests. They also must ensure that their guests have food or drink when they want it.

The service staff often makes the mistake of approaching a new group too quickly and of listing off specials or other "facts of interest." The problem is not with delivering the information, but rather the timing of it. If the information is delivered too early, customers are not ready to absorb it. As a result, you will either get a request to repeat what you just said, or the customers will ignore that information (because they don't want to have appeared to have missed it).

To increase the probability that customers will hear this valuable information, be sure to deliver it on their timetable. The best way to know when they want the information is to ask. "Would you like me to describe tonight's specials now?" If the customer says "Yes," you can introduce the information. If the customer says "No," ask for a time when you should come back.

3. Joining the conversation
Providing good customer service means being friendly and thoughtful. (Besides, being friendly frequently increases the size of tips.) So many service staff try to get into conversations with their customers or participate in conversations they hear at the table. The problem is that you are as apt to upset the customers as you are to build good rapport.

Some customers want efficient, friendly service; others want to build rapport by talking with interesting people. Let the customers guide you on whether or not they want to include you in their dinner conversation. If they ask you a question or ask for your opinion, you have a clear signal that they want to talk with you. But if you see the group involved in their own conversation, leave them alone. Your attempts to be friendly will just be seen as an annoyance.

4. "How are you all doing?"
I've taken an informal poll of customers about something I've always wondered about. Service people frequently come to you shortly after your meal has been served and ask, "How are you doing?" What is the correct answer to this question? My poll shows that very few people have an answer to this question.

I guess most customer service staff are trying to find out if the food and drinks delivered meet with the satisfaction of the customers. That way, if something is not right, it can be changed.

Finding out the degree of the customer's satisfaction is very important. However, this is the wrong question to ask. Instead, try questions such as:

• Is everything prepared to your satisfaction?
• Is there anything else I can bring you?
• Do you have any comments for the chef?

5. The end is just as important as the beginning
Often, service staff is most effective at the beginning of the interaction with the customers. Then, as time goes on, their attention is drawn to new customers who need to be seated, introduced to the menu and receive their food and drink. What customers take away when they leave a restaurant is an overall impression of the quality of the experience. That's why it's important to pay attention to the end of the customer's experience.

Several errors can occur toward the end of the meal:

• Dishes can be removed too quickly, even though the customers are still eating.
• Customers can be left waiting for their bill and therefore unable to leave when they are ready.
• Service on items such as coffee refills and water refills can be discontinued as attention is paid to other customers.

Effective service staff pay just as much attention to the customer at the end of the meal as they do at the beginning. Some suggestions:

• Ask before removing any items from the table.
• Bring the bill sooner rather than later. That leaves the decision to leave in the hands of the customers.
• Continue to interact with customers until they signal that they are ready to depart.

6. Move along, customer
I have to end this section by describing the worst service experience I've ever had in a restaurant and the grievous error made by a staff person. A friend and I had met for dinner one evening. We had not seen each other for a long time and were trying to catch up. We each ordered a drink and an appetizer. Then we settled in to talk before we ordered dinner. About a half-hour later, we determined neither of us was particularly hungry, so we asked our server for coffee. We sat for another half-hour or so before our staff person came by with the bill. About 10 minutes later, she came by again informing us that other people were waiting for our table. Another 10 minutes brought, "Don't you think it's time for you two to move along?" By this point, we were upset -- so much so that we reported the incident to the manager. And frankly, my friend and I have never returned to that restaurant.

That's the point of the story. One person took it on herself to destroy a relationship between a restaurant and a customer (a repeat customer, I might add). That restaurant lost a future stream of business from the two customers at that table, as well as the business from all of the people each of us told about the incident -- all because of a customer service error. Don't let it happen in your restaurant. 

SeaBird Associates Inc
3011 NE 7th Drive
Boca Raton, FL 33431
Phone: 561-750-9233
E-mail: Donna Siegel

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