When running a restaurant, one of the top priorities any restaurant owner should be making sure your customers walk out of your restaurant not only satisfied and satiated, but also wanting more. Customers are your paymasters, and all it takes its a handful of unsatisfied customers to kill your business.
Besides just serving mouth-watering and delicious food, how else can you make sure your customers leave with the intention to return? Well, here’s a not-so-little secret; by offering impeccable customer service!
Training your staff to attend to your customers well with a smile, is a necessity for continued success. So just how do you keep your staff motivated to provide customers with a pleasant dining experience? Having experience in this field, here’s 3 things you as a restaurant owner can do.
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1. Plan Ahead
If you’re a new restaurant owner, making sure that your staff is trained before opening day is essential.
You’ll need to assure that all your wait staff are thoroughly trained before facing customers.
Your wait staff should be trained on speaking confidently with customers, have thorough knowledge of the restaurant’s menu, transacting customers, collecting and processing payment, serving food and beverage, as well as the dos and don’ts of the restaurant.
There are many approaches you can take to training your wait staff.
2. Set the Standard
As the head of the restaurant, it’s important to lead by example and also let your employees know exactly what is expected from them when on the job. For example:
- How quickly should your wait staff seat new customers?
- How quickly should tables be cleared?
- How long should customers wait for their orders?
- How should your wait staff handle a dispute?
- How should your wait staff be dressed? ie. Are tattoos / piercings accepted?
- How should your staff promote your menu to customers?
- How should your wait staff drive customers to your restaurant?
Drawing up a training manual for your wait staff can save you the time of having to repeatedly train them. Allowing your wait staff to also speak up and take charge can encourage them to more confident in decision-making, which in turn can prevent high turnover rates – another common issue in the F&B industry,
3. Upgrade Your Staff’s Skills
One of the best ways to motivate your staff and make them feel appreciated is to encourage them to upgrade their skills.
Employees who sense that their managers and bosses are just as invested in them, as they are in their business, tend to be more loyal and willing to stay in their jobs. Happy employees will also be motivated to serve customers better as they aspire to progress in their work.
As your restaurant grows, so will aspects of your business. Menus change, new promotions are introduced, business expands, restaurants are renovated. Updating your staff about new changes within the business keeps them aware.
Upgrading your staffs skill and knowledge keeps them current and relevant, and also to better serve your customers.
When your staff makes a mistake, or a customer issues a complaint against them, don’t be so quickly to write them off. Sometimes it may simply be a sign that they require more training and if they do, arrange a session. Trusting your employees and believing that their skills can be improved will also keep
When customers complain about the staff, pay attention. If a server made a random mistake, that’s one thing; if it’s a sign the person needs more training, arrange it. Even good employees may need practice with uncommon situations to keep them at the top of their game.
Actionable Takeaway:
Effectively training your staff to be well-mannered, attentive, friendly, efficient and motivated can lead to long term success for not only your business, but also their careers in the long-term. So what are you waiting for? Take action now and make your staff (and customers) happy!
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