by Erica Michaelson

Created on: October 30, 2009

The importance of quality service in a restaurant: 3 areas to focus on

Quality service is the key to a successful restaurant! When a restaurant offers great service, the likelihood for the customers to return is great! If the service stinks, odds are, they'll never come back! Does your restaurant offer top notch service? Is the quality of your service excellent? Here are three areas to focus on to improve customer service at your restaurant.

1.) friendly service:

Greet and recognize every customer immediately when they enter the restaurant. Do not let people wait at the hostess stand wondering if they are supposed to seat themselves, or wait! Be ready for your customers! Train every front of the house employee responsibility to all customers in the restaurant, not just their tables. Lead by example! Show your staff how to give over the top service! They should also be trained to help groom all tables throughout the restaurant, to assist any guest that needs their help! The teamwork atmosphere will enable great customer service to thrive!

If there is a problem, step in early. Be proactive and have your staff do the same. Tables should be checked on within a minute or two after the food arrives, to ensure satisfaction. If there are problems with the order, it can be addressed immediately. The custmer is not left to wait for the server take back the cheesburger that was supposed to have grilled onions on it.

2.) capable staff:

Your staff should be well trained, and be able to answer any and all questions about the menu. This includes the front and the back of the house. Work with your cooks. Make sure they are meeting standards, and following procedures. Time their tickets. Educate the wait staff to the entire menu. To achieve this expose your staff to the menu items. Cook up some dishes and let them enjoy the delicious offerings from the menu. You can have a small shift huddles, to let the staff know the special tonight, what ingredients are used, and what is the best wine pairing for this item. The more they know, the more they will be able to assist the guests, and give great service. In addition the more they know, the more they will sell!

3.) adequately staff :

The nicest and most capable employees will not be able to satisfy your guests and give great service if you do not have enough people on your floor to handle the business. Cutting your wait staff should be one of the last things you do to cut corners. If you normally run a 5 on lunch and cut back to a 4 person floor, eventually, your guest counts will adjust to a 4 person floor. When customers are on their lunch hour and you mess up, you probably will not get a second chance. If you do get caught off guard, jump in and help. There is nothing more irritating than watching managers run around doing unimportant tasks when the floor needs help. Do not hide, get in there and make it work!

Is customer service the number one priority in your restaurant? If not, it ought to be! Competition for business is fierce. Great customer service makes a difference in whether or not the customers come back. Building a loyal base is important to any restaurant. Getting customers to come in is hard, keeping them is even harder.

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