Best Practices and up to the minute news on Customer Experience Management and Service Excellence
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Best Practices and up to the minute news on Customer Experience Management and Service Excellence
It’s easy to spend so much time on food quality and marketing that your restaurant neglects other important aspects of the guest experience. It won’t matter how delicious your appetizers, entrees, and drinks are if the customer leaves with a bad taste in their mouth due to poor service, an annoying atmosphere, or being forced to sit elbow-to-elbow with the next table.
When that happens, the ratings on your restaurant’s online reviews can take a downturn.
“When it comes to food, negative interactions are nearly impossible to forget,” according to The Positively Pizza Blog. “Customers are more likely to leave a review after a negative experience than a positive one, so it’s crucial that you know how to stay on their good side.”
Here are The Positively Pizza Blog’s top restaurant turnoffs that apply to any restaurant.
Unless you’re a bar that also serves food, blasting background music too loudly can ruin the guest experience. Blaring music makes it hard for guests to converse, and even people dining alone can be put off by this distraction, making it hard to concentrate or enjoy their meal.
Most people need at least a little bit of space in restaurants. Maybe they don’t want the next table listening while they tell their dining partner about personal matters. Or maybe they just want room to spread out. You may think you can bring in more business with more tables. But crowding people too much won’t bring them back for repeat business.
If you leave dirty dishes on tables too long, your guests will be put off by the unappetizing view. The same goes for tables that were poorly cleaned. Guest don’t want to rest their hand on a sticky surface while reviewing your menu.
No one wants to take a big bite of their cheeseburger while inhaling the heavy bleach odor from a worker mopping the floor near their table. Nor do they enjoy eating next to an overflowing bus tub with dirty plates and half-eaten food. Pay attention to how and when employees clean to avoid subjecting guests to a meal they won’t forget — for all the wrong reasons.
They say a restaurant is only as clean as its restrooms. Even if that’s not true for your restaurant, people believe it. And even if they’ve never heard that saying before, walking into a filthy restroom is a sure turnoff. If stalls are out of toilet paper or there aren’t towels for drying hands, the restroom situation becomes even more egregious.
This one is easy to overlook, but dust, grease, and grime build up over time on ceiling tiles, fans, and vents. Create a schedule for employees to clean these and other overlooked items regularly to keep everything looking shiny and clean.
It’s annoying to a guest when they have to place napkins under a table leg to keep their dish from sliding to the other side or their water glass from sloshing. Worn tables, ripped chair seats and booth cushions also leave guests with a “meh” feeling – even if it’s only subconsciously.
Workers with dirty hair, muddy shoes, and stains on their wrinkled uniforms aren’t doing your restaurant any favors, no matter how polite or efficient they are. Have a dress code in place and enforce it.
“In addition to looking professional, it’s important that your servers don’t gross any of your customers out,” says The Positively Pizza Blog.
“Make sure they know not to handle money and food without washing their hands. Keep all notepads, towels and check presenters in their hands or front apron pocket (away from their rear). [Make sure] they don’t carry drinks with their hands inside or over the glass.”
There’s no room for a server or other employee who has no interest in their job or in providing a positive guest experience. “Your employees don’t necessarily have to love their jobs, but they should always make the customer feel like they want them to have a good experience,” says The Positively Pizza Blog.
“Don’t leave room on your team for workers who don’t care because it will only hurt your restaurant’s reputation.”
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