There’s a lot that goes into creating a successful restaurant business. Of course, there is the food, there’s the setting, there’s the ambiance, and the hype that you can build around the location, but at the end of the day, it is a service industry. So, how can you improve customer service at your restaurant?
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The level of service is what is going to make or break the experience for most of your guests. Here, we’re going to take a look at how technology can play a significant role in how you improve customer service at your restaurant, creating the customer experience that ensures your customers keep coming back.
Make sure your website is worth visiting
This is not a revolutionary tactic, but it is one that often gets so underutilized by businesses in the industry that it’s worth making a comment on. When was the last time that you updated your site?
If the answer is more than 5 years old, then it’s almost a guarantee that it looks visibly old to your customers. Old websites are not the mark of a professional business with their finger on the pulse of customer needs.
Aside from ensuring that it looks good and modern, you should also make sure that your website has all the information it needs, from opening times to location and, of course, a description of the menu.
Create a digital menu
While you might want to keep the physical menus to make sure that the sense of aesthetic and ambiance in your eatery isn’t disrupted too much, you might also want to take a closer look at the prospect of creating digital menus.
This can include things like digital displays above the front counter, tablets at the table, or stand-up digital kiosks. Not only can they make it easier to update with new items to order, if you have the tech-savvy staff to manage them, but you can also use them to make ordering a lot easier and quicker.
Some are even creating menu apps that customers can use to order things online before coming into the restaurant to pick them up or sit in. Yes, providing different ways to access your menu is an effective strategy to improve customer service at your restaurant.
Make it easier for them to pay
The experience of paying at a restaurant is one that deserves a little more thought than it is often given. For one, it might be tempting to go with a cash-only setup for tax purposes and to cut on the costs of running a merchant account, but it is terribly inconvenient for most people nowadays, who aren’t used to carrying as much cash on them.
However, instead of simply leaving a checkbook for them to place their card in, with pay at the table technology, you can make it a lot easier to ensure prompt easy payment.
What’s more, customers don’t have to have their cards leave their sight and can see all costs upfront. It can also make it easier for groups of customers to pay separately for their individual items.
Reward their loyalty
Businesses have been offering benefits, discounts, and other treats for their loyal customers long before digital technology existed. However, digitized loyalty systems make it a lot easier to make those rewards, and the process of earning them, more tangible.
If you’re looking to keep your customers happy, then making them feel valued and like their time and custom are worth something to you is a great way to do that.
Aside from expressing that gratitude in person, using technology advancement such as a digitized loyalty scheme allows you to generate longer-term profits at the same time, by increasing the likelihood that will return more frequently, and invest in higher value transactions.
Improve customer service at your restaurant from the back of house
Although your customers might never interface with it, your use of back-of-the-house software can make a big difference in how you can improve customer service at your restaurant all the same.
For instance, scheduling software allows you to make sure that you’re giving each of your front-of-house employees the time they need to work, without booking them several long shifts in a row.
This way, you can make sure that you’re not populating your restaurant with anyone who’s going to look too tired or be more irritable because it's their first shift in a week. The best way to make sure that your staff are doing their part to provide a better customer experience is to ensure that their needs are taken care of, as well.
The modern restaurant needs to keep up with technology to ensure it affords itself every advantage in an increasingly competitive landscape and an environment where many customers are keeping a tighter hold on the purse strings.
