Dish Out the Best Restaurant Experience
Do you ever stay awake at night as a restaurant owner wondering how your eatery can be even better?
For many individuals, couples, and business partners running restaurants, it seems like 24 hours in a day is never quite enough.
Not only do you need to have the best food in town, but your staff (especially waiters and waitresses) must be top-notch each and every day. If they’re not, customers may drift away from your establishment and over to others, including the direct competition.
With that being said, there are myriad of ways you can dish out the best restaurant experience for your guests not just once, but countless times. Remember, it is those individuals who keep a roof over your head and food on your table when all is said and done.
What’s on the Menu of Success?
When it comes to making your restaurant stand out from the competition, what exactly are you doing to accomplish that goal?
The best thing to do is do the occasional inventory (just as you would of your finances, purchases, food choices etc.) to see where your restaurant is winning point with customers and where you need to step it up some.
Start of course with your menu.
Having a consistent menu is great for retaining customers, but it is also important that you mix it up to a degree, giving both older and newer patrons a number of options to select from.
Your menu should also reflect a national desire on the part of many individuals to eat healthier at restaurants in 2016 and beyond.
Lastly, keep your menu options varied during days of the week too.
Having daily specials instead of the same old menu is a great way to keep guests coming back for more. Throwing in price cuts, especially in today’s challenging economic times for so many consumers, will do you well now and in the long run.
In looking at your need for the right seating for guests, buying in bulk oftentimes will save you money. Whether you or shopping for inside booths, tables and chairs or even restaurant patio furniture online; always look for deals.
It is always good to have a mix of seating (booths, tables and chairs, patio options etc.) since customers oftentimes have varied preferences to where and how they sit while dining.
Also make sure that the ambiance in your restaurant is conducive to what you offer.
A more formal restaurant is going to typically want a little bit more of a fancier look to it. This might also require patrons to be a little more dressed up when coming in. Meantime, a restaurant sporting the laid back look oftentimes will be on the noisier side, but that doesn’t mean a good time can’t be had by all.
Hire the Best Employees
Just like in any other business, those you hire to be a part of your team can and oftentimes make all the difference in the world.
It just takes one lousy customer service experience for a guest or guests to never return again. Worse yet, they may tell friends, family members, co-workers etc. not to eat at your restaurant. When that happens, it is tough to get that business back.
Your staff will oftentimes give customers a first and even last impression of your business, so make sure you send patrons home with a reason to come back sooner rather than later.
Face it, running a restaurant takes a lot of time and effort, not to mention being able to deal with gaffes along the way.
From the wrong food orders to food that doesn’t live up to the advertisements, you’re going to have some unhappy customers from time to time. The trick is always making sure those customers know deep down that you care about their feedback and you will do everything possible to send them home with a positive experience of your business.
Finally, make sure your employees take seriously the need for a clean restaurant.
Sure, staying on top of this is not easy (especially with diners coming and going all day), but your eatery can’t look like a health-hazard if you expect to keep business churning.
At the end of another busy day, take stock in whether or not you are dishing out the best restaurant experience for those who walk through your front door.
What makes a great restaurant experience for you? What makes you go back to a restaurant time and time again?