When it comes to a restaurant experience, customers want it all: delicious food, attentive service, and an Instagram – worthy setting. Learn how to make your restaurant a hot spot for any foodie.
What factors contribute to a memorable dining experience?
Customers’ expectations of a restaurant experience vary based on the sort of restaurant they visit, but there are some key differences that distinguish exceptional restaurant experiences from mediocre ones.
Customer service that is friendly and authentic
Customers want to be treated as individuals, not as a quota that servers must hustle out the door in order to maximize revenue.
Your hosts and servers are the first points of contact for your customers’ human-centered experience. They are the ones that will engage with your guests from the moment they walk through the door and throughout their dinner. Diner s are looking for authenticity and cheerfulness, as well as someone who is as enthusiastic about serving them as they are about having a meal out.
It all starts with the recruitment process.
Candidates with outgoing personalities, the capacity to multitask, the ability to move quickly, and the ability to perform under pressure with a beaming smile are sought after.
You need to look for signs of their capacity to deal with stress elegantly. It is possible that an applicant will get overly focused on the issue at hand and will be unable to strike a balance between talking with guests and making them feel comfortable all at once.
A personal experience
One of the key ways of doing this is to address your customers by name. is an uncomplicated practice that improves the individualized and friendly nature of your customer care. Aside from that, there is scientific evidence to support the idea that when people hear their first name, it causes a specific – and positive -reaction in their brain.
One of the six strategies to gain people’s favor is to remember their names. In addition, when people like you, they are more receptive to your recommendations, such as when your waiter suggests a wine that pairs well with their dish, for example.
The first step in providing polite, personable service is to remember and call your guests by their first and last names. It can also lead to more success in cross-selling and upselling menu items, resulting in increased income per table served.
Provide consistently great food
The food that you serve is the bedrock of your business, and it has a significant impact on how customers view their dining experience at your establishment.
When there is a lack of attention placed on quality control, or when there is a misunderstanding between customers, the waiter receiving their order, and the kitchen workers making that order, the quality of the food might deteriorate significantly.
The foods your chefs are preparing should be reviewed on a continuous basis to determine whether they have the flavor and texture you desire before they are presented.
You should ask your food runners to check each dish’s plating and presentation to ensure that it is up to grade.
Assign responsibility to everyone on your team, from the chefs to the runners, and encourage them to concentrate on food quality and presentation while holding one another responsible. Every menu item you serve has an impact on how consumers experience your restaurant and their dining experience as a whole, so choose wisely.
Presentation of food is key
It has been demonstrated that the appearance of your meal has an impact on how well a guest believes it tastes.
According to the findings of a study, the presentation of food can genuinely improve the taste of a dish.
The participants in the study were given three salads to try and were asked to evaluate each one both before and after they consumed it. Each salad was made using the same ingredients, but they were all presented in a different way.
In one, little thought was given to the presentation of the piece; in another, it was carefully arranged; and in the third, it was designed to look like a picture by an artist.
It was the salad that had the most resemblance to the painting that was voted as the best tasting one.
Indeed, despite the fact that it had the exact same ingredients, participants judged it had a better flavor by 29 percent. They were even willing to spend up to three times as much on the exquisitely served dish as they had originally planned.
When your food looks and tastes excellent, your customers are more likely to enjoy their dining experience than they would be if you did not pay attention to the presentation in the first place. Following the conclusions of the study, you may even be able to increase the prices of your menu items without frightening away clients.
A great setting and atmosphere
Your establishment’s aesthetic, which includes everything from its color scheme to its furniture and lighting selections, is an extension of its brand and a potent tool to stimulate interest in and drive visitors to your establishment’s website. This is particularly important in an era where almost everything is shared on social media. As well as looking great, your customers will be looking for signs that your restaurant takes cleanliness and hygiene seriously. Check that floors are spotless, bathrooms are sparkling and above all else, your kitchens are next to godliness. If you are unsure about your cleaning capabilities, you may want to investigate Commercial Kitchen Cleaning to make sure it is up to scratch.
There are many factors that go into making a great restaurant experience for your customers, from offering service that is second to none and superb food all the time. Put these tips into practice and watch your covers – and revenue – fly through the roof.
