There are many reasons to improve the way you welcome guests to your restaurant: convincing them to come to the table, putting them in the right conditions to enjoy your cuisine, building loyalty, encouraging them to leave you good online reviews and even setting yourself apart from your competitors.
Welcoming customers to an establishment like yours is an art in itself, and we'd like to share it with you!
Our top 10 tips for improving customer service in your restaurant
1. Be polite
The first rule of greeting is politeness. It's absolutely essential to use polite formulas, and we often refer to the SRAM formula. It's a little memory aid to help you remember to smile, say hello, goodbye and thank you.
This makes your customers feel welcome. You'll also put your guests in an excellent position to strike up a conversation with your team and start their dining experience! With a polite and courteous welcome, but without familiarity, your dishes will immediately have a better flavor.
2. Be smiling and friendly
Smiles and friendliness are the ingredients of a quality customer welcome. By ensuring that your welcome is warm and full of positive energy, you can build a climate of trust between your establishment and your customers. On a busy day, you and your colleagues must not communicate your bad mood or weariness to customers. You should also take care to avoid pessimistic and negative vocabulary.
3. Make yourself available
Another golden rule of customer care: don't leave customers waiting in the lobby. If they see that no one is interested in them, or that you're too busy to deal with them, they'll just want to turn around.
The challenge here is to find the perfect compromise. You must neither jump on them as soon as they arrive, nor make them wait too long, in which case they'll clearly feel like a nuisance.
👉 To find out more: How to get reviews for your restaurant on TripAdvisor?
4. Look after your presentation
Pay particular attention to the appearance of your reception staff. Their physical appearance and manner of expression must be impeccable, as they are the first face guests see when they enter an establishment they may not know, and the one they will associate with your brand.
So make sure your staff respect a dress code that's more or less precise, but always neat and tidy.
5. Give customers a personalized welcome
Personalization is the key to taking your customer reception to the next level. Make your guests feel that they're unique, not just another customer to boost your sales. As soon as they enter your restaurant, study their gestures and facial expressions, and ask yourself the following questions:
- Does this customer need to be taken care of?
- Is he looking for something specific?
- Is it lost?
- Etc.
All this will enable you to adapt your welcome to the personality and needs of each customer. All these attentions can help you stand out from your competitors' restaurants, where customers will feel less valued.
If he's a loyal customer, refer to a past conversation. If their favorite table is available, make sure you reserve it for them.
A kind word or a thoughtful gesture never leaves anyone unmoved!
6. Anticipate customer needs
Every time you enter a store, you're conducting a little investigation. By observing your customers or engaging them in conversation, you must be able to discover the purpose of their visit and their needs, in order to satisfy them fully. The quality of your customer service depends on your ability to listen and observe.
In most cases, the people passing through your door will be coming for lunch. Be considerate , and offer to take their coats, strollers and bags off their hands, so that they'll feel at ease in no time.
👉 To go further: customer loyalty: 6 ideas for your restaurant
7. Manage your site's offering
As soon as they enter your restaurant, customers are likely to ask you about what your establishment has to offer, which is why it's so important to know it inside out. You need to know everything about the à la carte menu and its specific features (ingredients, product origin, allergens), the drinks menu, formulas, table availability and opening times. This knowledge will enable you to advise your customers effectively and convince them to continue their experience beyond the entrance hall.
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8. Pay attention to your entrance decoration
When it comes to pampering your customers, nothing should be left to chance, especially not the decoration of your entrance. As well as being clean and tidy, it should immerse your customers in your concept and put them at ease.
Take care not to set up tables too close to the entrance, to encourage customers to push open the door and enjoy a pleasant, dedicated space while you welcome them and a seat becomes available.
9. Constantly strive to improve
Just because you think your customer reception protocol is excellent, and all your staff are trained in it, doesn't mean it can't be improved. There are certainly details you can improve on: handling foreign customers, managing complaints and claims, the customer pathway, and so on.
Draw inspiration from all the experiences you have in your daily life. Every time you enter an establishment, whether it's a restaurant or not, pay attention to how you're greeted. Ask yourself what you liked, what you regretted and even what you disliked.
Don't hesitate to ask consumers via surveys if they are satisfied with their customer experience, and more specifically with the welcome they received. This will enable you to measure your actions and take new initiatives.
10. Rely on technology
Point number 10 is closely linked to point number 3, "Make yourself available". One of your objectives as a restaurateur is to eliminate idle time. The seconds or minutes that elapse between the moment a customer enters your establishment and the moment they place their order is unnecessary latency. It costs you money and often irritates your guests.
To avoid this, you can rely on order kiosks, for example. These are usually installed close to the entrance and allow customers to quickly order their meal.
Another solution, the QR code, enables your customers to order quickly and autonomously! Because the service is faster and more efficient, the customer experience is more pleasant.
👉 Why use QR codes in your restaurant?
All these valuable tips also apply to your customers' exit. You'll leave them with an excellent souvenir and the desire to write a positive review online.
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Contact an Innovorder expert and find out how our solutions can help improve the customer experience in your restaurant!
