In this tech-oriented age, customer service is more important now than it ever was.
Restaurant guests have access to reviews over the Internet through aggregate sites and bloggers. That worldwide easy access magnifies so much the harmful potential of any mistake.
Only about 7 percent of restaurant guests will blog or comment online about their experience. But 45 percent of guests will read those comments. And who is most likely to blog? Those that are angry enough to broadcast their bad experience.
Good customer service, especially in fine dining, demands a ninja-like waiter staff.
When the servers function like a well-tooled invisible hand and guests see what they are looking for before they need ask for it, that is a job well done.
Most guests remember bad service. If the guest has no memory of the service, the service was impeccable.
The guest looks up, his drink is filled. His date gets ready to ask for her steak knife and is surprised to notice it is already at her side. Everything is where it needs to be without asking.
The wait staff must be observant and intuitive. A waiter should also know when it is inappropriate to be personable and engaging.
If the guests are just sitting at their table and not conversing with each other -- perhaps the atmosphere is a little tense -- that may be a good time to approach and offer some pleasant comment. Break the ice.
But a party obviously engaged in conversation may perceive any verbal interruption as an annoyance, however slight. The party may be reaching terms on some important deal or wrangling over very personal matters of the heart.
Wait staff must keep its ears alert so as to avoid being too intrusive.
Timing is everything.
Drinks and entrees arrive on time. Guests do not fidget over delays, nor do they feel rushed to leave.
There are three key factors to a guest's dining experience: the Greet, the Beverages, the after-meal coffee.
The "Greet" is that first impression, how the guest was received. The Beverages must be refreshed and served according to the guest's instructions.
And the after-meal coffee is the guest's last experience at the table. The last experience tends to be the one freshest in the guest's mind when he or she leaves the restaurant.
Unless the main entree was a complete disaster, the guest will not likely dwell on that as much as he or she will on the way the experience ends.
And speaking of little disasters, wait staff must be empowered to make decisions to remedy them. A smart manager would rather have a guest not pay for something than pay for something that guest did not enjoy and leave the establishment feeling robbed.
Smart restaurant owners should write off the little losses through your accountant. But, they should make sure wait staff can exercise discretion in handling those write-offs at the point of contact so as to avoid having your restaurant suffer the greater loss of its good reputation.
No comments:
Post a Comment