The Importance of Customer Feedback
Anyone who owns or runs a service based business knows how imprtant it is to keep your customers satsfied so that they will stay loyal customers. In the restauarant business, guests have so may choices for places to eat. It's not just about keeping their palate and taste buds satisfied, it's also about making sure that they are satified with the whole experience at your establishment. When I train new staff, I like to make it clear to them that the customer experience starts with how quickly we are able to greet our guests and the energy we put forth when we greet them. This sets the tone for the whole experience as wel as the tone for their expectations. Many people, however, don't give feedback on their experience whether it was good or bad. If the experience is poor they just make a definitive decision to not come back, and we never know what we did wrong or how we could have improve.
If you don't try to find out what your guests actually think about your service and food, you will never be able to give them the best experience. There are plenty of ways for restaurants to leverage customer feedback and profit from it. We have our customers fill out an "Insider Club Cards" and add them to a data base where we can send them emails about upcoming events, specials and coupons during slow periods. We have also sent out emails asking for reviews on Google reviews or reviews to our restaurant website. We as management make an effort to ask our guests how their experience was when we are clearing dishes, processing payment or seeing our guests out. We also call our reservations and catering customers after the fact to see how they enjoyed our services. Regular patrons are another great way to get feedback on new staff as well as new dishes. They understand our brand, our expectations of service and our cuisine almost as well as we do. That's what keeps them coming back!
I came in to work on Tuesday and had the pleasure of reading this great, informative review from a guest. I sent it to all of the staff who had been working and posted it in our kitchen for all of the staff to read. It now a tool for all of us to learn for as well as to strive for.
"Good morning,
How are you today? I am sending this email to thank you and your staff for an amazing time and service we had on Monday, April 1st, 2019. My wife and I were looking to celebrate our 11 years anniversary and after a very tiring and busy day of moving houses, we just wanted a place to sit and enjoy a good meal. We walked in to Buccaccino’s closer to 9:00 p.m. not knowing that it was about to close. But the young lady that was working the front of the house, whose name I have forgotten, greeted us and took an amazing care of us. Even though, we were there past your closing time, your staff were absolutely gracious to allow us to sit down and enjoy our meals, including dessert. Speaking of the food, I genuinely enjoyed every bite of the food served. We ordered meatballs in tomato sauce, pasta carbonara and a pizza. I can’t believe how affordable the prices were for such tasty food. I have a new favourite restaurant, now that I have moved close by to your establishment. Maybe it was just an okay night for everyone else, but for my wife and I, we couldn’t have asked for such a beautiful and romantic night. I felt like I was in a Hallmark movie. Please send my gratitude to that young lady and your kitchen staff. I am truly impressed and thankful. Thank you very much. Best, Vassan Aruljothi Corporate Events & Facility Rental Coordinator Red River College"
Reviews like this can be a powerful tool to instill a sense of worth, loyalty and confidence in your staff!