Exceptional customer service even more important with today's economy

As the 2009 Southwest Foodservice Expo kicks off, I have to admire the comment from Mark Brezinski, the owner of Bengal Coast Restaurant concerning the restaurant industry.

"We're in a business where you have to create reasons for people to come in," Brezinski said in the Monday edition of the Dallas Morning News.Even when the economy is rolling along, restaurant owners have to constantly stress the importance of customer service.

As a longtime restaurant manager, I believe training on customer service starts on the first day and continues every time there's a chance to coach someone. Shift managers can encourage exceptional performance and customer care with their own performance.

By welcoming guests and helping their staff when there's a rush, a restaurant manager can demostrate to his staff the importance of exceptional customer service. When it comes to monitoring the performance of shift leaders and managers, it's important for general managers and restaurant owners to manage high expectations for their leaders on this area.

Restaurant patrons are questioning the need to eat as much as they did two years ago, so a focus on providing customer service is even more important.

With minimum wage increases, restaurants will have to streamline their processes

Now that the minimum wage is going up July 24, restaurants managers and owners will have to deal with the increase in their labor costs.
The 11-percent increase for minimum wage will probably mean a combination of price increases or workforce consolidation.
As a restaurant consultant, I believe that businesses should not drop costs for training or customer service. Instead, they should realize that their customers will expect that their staff will want a well-trained staff at their establishment and will be willing to absorb the 11-percent increase in their food for great service.
With a month to go, there's time for restaurant owners to look at their costs, especially from their food vendors. By asking a vendor for the best rates, they can offset the additional cost for labor.
Restaurant managers who look at these costs and begin a strategic review of their labor costs can ensure that the change in minimum wages won't truly impact their bottom line.

So what are you doing to promote your business?

It should be a perfect location.
Located on the second floor of a major business center, one would think that the restaurant would capture a large number of workers who need a quick bite.
So, why were there only four customers durng the lunch hour rush?
It's a question I would ask if I owned that restaurant.
The food was good, and the service was excellent. However, perhaps what was missing was the marketing effort for this restaurant.
I couldn't help but notice that there was a catering menu available by the register. Nor was there a frequent lunch patron program.
It's these simple little marketing things that help a business compete, even when they have a prime location. As a business owner, it's important to keep track of trends and look at reasons why people aren't buying.
As a consultant, it's my job to help restaurant owners look at trends and reasons for the lack of business. Yet, the most important element for any successful restaurant is to look at what brings repeat customers back again and again. By understanding this element, a restaurant operator can make his or her busienss profitable.

In wake of publicity concerning restaurant skimming, it's time for all restaurant owners to review their security systems

When the Washington Post reported that eight servers from three restaurants were arrested for credit card skimming, it created a publicity nightmare for them.

Imagine, if you will, what longtime customers would think if they read that one of their favorite restaurants had servers had stolen their credit card. That's why restaurant owners should pay extra attention to the credit card processing system.

As most restaurant owners have contracts locking them into credit card processing systems, it's best for them to review the security features of their program with their sales representative before purchasing or upgrading one.

A system that isolates each staff member typically costs more than a regular system. So is the addition of security cameras in a restaurant that monitor credit payment systems. However, the extra cost is well justified if it prevents theft of a patron's credit card.

Is your restaurant ready when that bus of people show up for lunch or dinner?

It's a quiet Tuesday at your restaurant, and a bus of high school students and their parents pull up. Is your restaurant ready to serve them?

While there are fast-food franchises on the local interstate that cater to these groups and pay bus drivers a stipend for pulling over at their locale, others could use a little training in this area.

As someone who started years ago as a delivery boy and then a manager at one of the original Pizza Hut restaurants in San Antonio, here's my thoughts concerning training for handling that unexpected bus of people:

1) Can everyone double up on duties? For example, could the busser serve food when it's ready?

2) Is the shift leader capable of filling in where needed to keep the food and drink flowing?

3) Who is the quickest person to run the cash register to accept payment? And, if there are two or more terminals, who else can accept payment to expedite every customer?

4) Is everyone friendly to the customers? Do they thank them at the end of the meal for their business?

I would recommend that a restaurant owner look at his "bus" training at least every 60 days as some restaurants frequently change staff. After all, the extra influx of cash from repeat bus-type business is something every establishment wants in their operations.