As more Americans return to dining indoors after the COVID-19 epidemic, there are certain important strategies your restaurant should implement to draw customers away from competitors.
These strategies will improve your customer experience and end up improving your bottom line. Here are some of those strategies for your restaurant to follow.
Let Customers Order on Their Own Through a Kiosk
The installation of self-ordering kiosks is an effective way to streamline your customer experience and lower employment costs. Not only will it allow for quicker and more accurate ordering, but you will not need as many employees working behind the counter to take orders.
Many large fast-food chains such as McDonald’s have already activated self-ordering kiosks in many of their branches, so there is plenty of precedent for this move in the industry. Moreover, effective self-ordering kiosk software is important for making this strategy work productively for your restaurant. According to Grubbrr, their self-ordering kiosks, “Eliminate lines, free up employees’ time, and give customers what they want with a custom-designed experience.”
Let Customers Make Reservations Online
During periods of high demand, it is important for there to be some organization to make sure people are seated without needing to wait too long. Long waits for a table are very detrimental to customer retention because patrons can become frustrated by lengthy delays in being served.
The best way to address this issue is to provide a reservation system, so customers can be sure that they will not need to wait. However, if it is not easy to access, customers may decide to not bother and go to a different restaurant.
Therefore, it is beneficial to implement an easy-to-use online reservation system, so customers can book tables easily and stress-free.
Have Effective Employee Training Strategies
Customer service is one of the most important attributes that a business has. In times of stress, you need to thoroughly train your employees to stay calm and polite to all customers. Bad customer service can be the difference between customers deciding to come back or to switch to a competitor.
Nobody likes rude service. Besides this, training your employees to perform courtesy services by default, such as refilling water and clearing plates quickly, will give you an edge with customers.
Additionally, many customers like a quick check after finishing eating, so make sure you train your employees to always offer the check in a timely fashion.
Foster Good Communication Among Your Staff
A restaurant without effective communication is a recipe for poor customer service quality. To make sure your operations move along as smoothly as possible, you should train your employees to always communicate with each other effectively.
If staff communicate with each other well, your service will be quicker and customers will receive their food before they get too hungry. Furthermore, without good communication, it is more likely for your staff to get orders wrong, which will likely cause customers to be lost to competition.
Besides regular communications on the job, it is beneficial to hold regular staff meetings in your restaurant for your staff to work with each other on things that need improvement, as in any workplace.
