I walked into the restaurant of one of my clients last week – one that has enjoyed over 60 years of success.
As I was walking in, three guests – who I could only describe as “old-timers” who looked like they have eaten there their whole lives – walked out as I swung the door. One of them said to the others, “This place is always fantastic.”
So, I turned to them and said with a bounce in my voice, “You’re right! This place is fantastic!” They smiled back.
A great way to start my day working with their management team to continue to make that fantastic restaurant even better.
Show That You Care
A few days earlier I had been at a private party at a new restaurant, with a track record of weeks, not decades.
As I made my way from the party room – past the exhibition kitchen, through the dining room, and to the front – each employee I encountered pivoted to me to anticipate what I was looking for, with looks of welcome and concern.
By the time I talked to the owner at the end of my path, I knew I was looking at an expert at hiring people who truly cared. I enjoyed letting him know that.
To prove the value of addressing hospitality, I’ve done a lot of hospitality audits with clients, so I can confirm that not every restaurant hires such great people.
How would your restaurants score on a hospitality audit?
Today’s Guest? Less Complicated Than You Think
Now, more than at any time I can remember, your edge in attracting diners extends past taking the right steps all the way to fostering an attitude of service and hospitality.
In reality, guests remain pretty simple: When you make them feel good, appreciated, wanted, and served, they will stick with you, post about it, and tell their friends.
A lot of education and training covers specifics: the menu, how plates look, steps of service, and how to handle a complaint. But the real winners go beyond that and educate about hospitality and service.
Serve More Guests
Guests’ positive feelings about your restaurants – make them point their steering wheel in your direction in the first place. Make sure their experience with your restaurant makes them feel the same or better after their meals, too.
Smart operators review their education and training component and start spraying the context of hospitality and service all over them.
Your people want to understand not just what to do but why they should do it. Think: culture on everything.
Not all operators bother, and some don’t seem to understand (yet) what motivates a guest.
When you focus your team on the reason guests dine with you, you create more guests. Just what every restaurant needs in today’s unforgiving market.
