Of all the factors of the management of a restaurant, customer service is the one that most influences the acceptance of the business by diners. Which means that it is one of the areas that should be taken care of more to have a continuous success.
In this sense, there are many, many, the details covered by customer service, and there are many mistakes that can be made, as well as the negative consequences for the restaurant
Here are the seven most important mistakes, so you can make sure you do not commit them and have your tables always filled.
1 – Not having an action plan
In restaurants where this error is made, the staff does not have a defined line of action, but rather they attend to customers on the spot and on an improvised basis.
There are no rules on how to receive customers, how to serve them or how to fire them. It gives the impression that each person on the team offers a different service, creating confusion in the diners.
2 – Attending with the wrong attitude
In this case, the staff can be aggressive, talk too fast or too loud, act with stress or nervousness, deal with too much confidence to the client, make inappropriate comments, discuss or complain publicly, do the work clumsily or abruptly, work with discouragement, have prejudices towards diners and even attend with contempt.
3 – Make customers wait or hurry up
An error that many restaurants make is to wait for their clients, to receive the menu, to place their order, to receive the food, to ask for the account, to receive the change .
Well this may be one of the most crucial reasons why a client does not return to a restaurant, even if it has the best food in the area. In the same way, that a waiter wants to hurry a client to finish because he needs the table, is another important cause that does not return.
4 – Do not know the products and services of the restaurant
For a customer to ask the waiter: “What dessert do you recommend?” And the waiter responds: “Anything is good”, it is a mistake that seems harmless, but it is of vital importance when selling the restaurant offer.
Or when the waiter does not know the ingredients of the dish, its preparation, the allergenic agents, the origin of the products, etc., and the time “consulting” in the kitchen, to give an answer to the customers.
5 – Not knowing the preferences of regular customers
Can you imagine how a regular customer with a deadly allergy to seafood feels when the waiter, who has attended other times, does not remember this important fact for his health?
Or the client who has communicated that he is in a wheelchair when making his reservation, and when arriving at the restaurant no one is aware and the correct space is not available?
Or the customer who always asks for the same appetizer and the waiter never remembers and even make a mistake when bringing it to the table?
In short, we can cite several examples, but the error is the same: ignore the characteristics of regular customers.
6 – Not having the right tools
Other errors that affect both the management and the image of the restaurant, is the lack of adequate equipment to perform the services.
This is from the uniform, which can be uncomfortable and impractical, to the card-collecting machine, which can be slow or fail frequently, such as the paper book, which can be worn out and disorganized.
7 – Do not serve the customer online
Last but not least, there is the error of not offering attention to customers who interact in digital channels.
Do not answer to online opinions, or emails with questions about the restaurant, or comments on Facebook posts, or ignore the suggestions left by customers on the web.
It is possible that several, since they are a natural part of the management of any restaurant.
The important thing is to detect them in time and get in action as soon as possible to solve them, after all the experience is based on trial and error, and without doubt, excellence in restoration as well.
