FIND THE HONOR IN SERVING & WATCH YOUR RESTAURANT PROSPER

Restaurant owners: don't kid yourselves. Your customers are not at your restaurant to buy food. Consider for a minute that movie goers don't buy theater tickets, they buy entertainment. As well, restaurant patrons don't buy food, they buy a dining experience. There are several components of the dining experience, including food quality, ambiance and service. Let's discuss the qualities of providing excellent customer service.

At the core of service excellence is honor. Employees who take pride in serving are honoring your guests. The five basic principles of service excellence (and honoring guests) are:

1. Look at me.
2. Smile at me.
3. Talk to me.
4. Listen to me.
5. Thank me.

In order for a restaurant to be successful, they must turn first-time customers into loyal, repeat patrons, thanks in large part to good service. Consider the differences between a restaurant and other retail establishments:

1. A restaurant creates and sells their product under the same roof.
2. Restaurant customers are there to buy, not browse.
3. Loyal restaurant customers may visit a restaurant every other day, every day, or even more than once a day. That's not typical in retail.

Teach your restaurant staff to honor guests and they will become loyal patrons. Be specific. Provide training, guidelines and a service training manual. Stress that guests are of utmost importance. Explain that:

- A guest is not dependent on us, we are dependent on them.
- A guest is never an interruption of our work, they are the purpose for it.
- A guest does us a favor when they come to our restaurant, we do not do them a favor by serving them.
- A guest is part of our restaurant, not an outsider.
- It is our job to fulfill our guests wishes.
- The guest deserves our utmost attention and respect.
- We serve people, not food.

When a customer forms an opinion of any restaurant, service and food stand alone. No matter how beautiful the surroundings or how delicious the food, poor service will single-handedly ruin the entire dining experience.

The qualities of good service include promptness, courtesy, good manners, enthusiasm, and teamwork. In any business, serving the public requires a vast amount of humility and patience. But by delivering service excellence, you honor yourself, your customers and your business.

Learn more about this author, Celia Jest.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

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