3 tips for success in restaurant business

Before I begin my article about success in restaurant business, let me begin with a personal story.

I recently moved from one internet provider to another. The most compelling reason. Very bad customer support and service.

The speed was good, the price was fair however the execution was wanting. I moved to a competitor with a slower speed and slightly higher price, but where they made a difference was with how they made me feel as a customer. All my queries were promptly answered by the service team and where they could not troubleshoot over phone, they had a technical team member over checking the connection within 2 hrs.

Why am I talking about Internet service provider in an article about Restaurant success? The key differentiation is service and in the hospitality industry, that may very well be the differentiation that you seek.

I am sure you have your own experience with a service provider that you can relate to. In order to apply these to your restaurant these 3 components will help you and your team craft success.

Find out what the guest wants

This not only means what food and beverage the guest wants but also what experience are they looking for. Do they want to be left alone? Do they want to talk? Why are they in your restaurant? Some of it require skill that you acquire over time but most importantly ask and pick up on cues

The most important thing to do is ask when in doubt. Don’t just assume that you are right in your understanding even if you have many years of experience under your belt.

Other things to understand what the guest wants are to

• Pay attention
• Listen
• Observe

Get what they want

May be it is as simple as that but many restaurants do not get this right. Get what they want is getting the right order on the table. In order to do that you need to follow the previous point and in addition to that write the order down correctly and check on it before service. Trusting your memory to remember 20 orders is an easy way to fail.

You can also achieve this by

• Repeat the order completely
• Verify the order before delivering to the table
• Punch the order in the POS correctly so that the KOT is delivered properly to the kitchen

While you get the guest what they want, remember to do it politely and enthusiastically. Be warm and friendly, use appropriate language and say thank you and please often.

Add value and be generous

Look for ways to add value to a guest experience. Every restaurant offers a birthday cake so that is not a value. That is a base expectation. Look at how you deliver the cake, the whole experience of making sure that the guest feel valued. A restaurant chain had all the team members singing a birthday song next to the table, while other had a “Maharaja for the day” concept for celebrating the guest birthday. Look at how you can twist the delivery to fit into your restaurant theme.

You can also add value and be generous by

• Looking at ways to enhance the experience
• Anticipating guest needs and taking action

When we connect with guest at an emotional level by understanding how our restaurant can enhance the guest experience, we will have a guest for life

Regardless of where you are working right now, these 3 service basics will help you at all times.

And if you have some extra time, enroll in this course on basics of service right on this website.