5 tools for measuring guest satisfaction in foodservice

In the foodservice industry, measuring guest satisfaction is the cornerstone of quality service and customer loyalty. Discover 5 easy-to-apply methods for gathering valuable feedback and strengthening your relationship with guests. Whether you're an experienced manager looking to optimize your operations, or a newcomer to the sector, get ready to transform your establishment into a place where guest satisfaction is a top priority!

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The importance of evaluating guest satisfaction

In addition to improving the overall user experience, assessing guest satisfaction also helps build customer loyalty and reinforce the positive image of your collective restaurant. 

Understanding guest expectations

What do your guests want? Healthy meals? Faster service? Reasonable prices? To be able to consult the menu in advance from their smartphone? Every catering establishment has to juggle specific expectations according to the particularities of its guests (gender, age, profession, etc.). It's essential to identify these expectations, so you can respond appropriately.

👉 To find out more: How to simplify cash management in foodservice?

Increase customer loyalty

High guest satisfaction = customer loyalty. It sounds like a simple equation, but it requires a real commitment on the part of managers, whose aim is toensure the long-term future of their business. A positive reputation among diners strengthens the establishment's brand image and attracts new customers.

Improve your service quality

Better service quality leads to greater customer satisfaction. The 11h59 company canteen understood this, and was determined to improve guest satisfaction at the headquarters of Nouvelles Editions Indépendantes. By using Innovorder's digital solutions to implement online pre-ordering and e-mailing of menus, 11h59 not only solved the problem of fluidity during lunch, but also increased guest satisfaction by making their experience more convenient and efficient.

👉 Find out more: Discover the 11h59 x Innovorder Success Story

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Choosing the right tool to measure guest satisfaction

Before choosing a tool to measure guest satisfaction, it is essential to take into account various factors such as : 

• the specifics of your guests,
• relevance to the plant's context,
• the tool's ability to provide easily exploitable data.

A good tool for measuring guest satisfaction must be able to provide concrete, relevant data on all aspects requiring improvement. This actionable data can include comments on meal quality, service, ambience, unmet expectations and so on.

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Measuring guest satisfaction: 5 methods

The 5 methods presented below all have one thing in common: they're very easy to implement. Their aim is to understand what's working well and what could be improved, so that you can adjust your services accordingly and deliver an optimal customer experience.

1. Satisfaction survey

Presented in the form of a questionnaire, distributed to customers after their meal or sent by e-mail after their visit, the satisfaction survey is a tool used to gather the opinions of diners. The questions asked (generally between 10 and 20) can be varied, ranging from multiple-choice evaluations to open-ended questions allowing customers to express their opinions. 

2. Polling station or Smiley terminal

The survey terminal is equipped with a touch screen where customers are invited to rate their experience on a scale, leave written comments or even answer questions. Fun and easy to use, it also has the advantage of automatically recording responses in a database.

3. Internal feedback

Unlike satisfaction surveys or polling stations, which are often "standardized" tools, in-house feedback enables a free exchange between guests and staff. The more informal nature of this method encourages more direct, personalized communication. 

4. Using NPS

The NPS, or Net Promoter Score, is based on a simple question put to customers: " On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely would you be to recommend our establishment to a friend, colleague or family member? It measures customers' propensity to recommend your establishment to others. In the context of foodservice, NPS is a very simple way of assessing guest satisfaction.

5. Idea box

Setting up a suggestion box, whether in paper or QR code form, allows diners to share their suggestions for improvement anonymously.

👉 To go further: How to improve the customer experience in a restaurant?

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Interpreting the data collected: the action plan

Whatever method you have chosen, it will normally have enabled you to collect valuable data on the strengths and weaknesses of the guest experience. This information needs to be interpreted and analyzed in order to clearly identify user expectations/dissatisfactions. The second phase of the action plan then consists of implementing changes, finding in-house solutions adapted to the expectations that have been identified. 

To meet the new expectations of students who use new technologies on a daily basis, Elior has set up an online ordering application at a high school in Boulogne-Sur-Mer. According to Philippe Descamps, the school's headmaster: " The deployment of the catering solution with this application clearly shows that we are meeting a need, and that it simplifies life for students, school administrators and catering teams alike ". Read the rest of his testimonial in the Sucess Story Elior x Innovorder. 

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