Spruce Things Up with Economical Decorating Ideas

An Insta-worthy space will get a restaurant more visibility and encourage others to visit the establishment. There are many low-cost ways to set the perfect mood for a restaurant photo. Fake plants and wall decals are economical and can help create a warm atmosphere. Art can also be a factor when a customer is deciding where to dine. A study out of RIT Croatia found that customer satisfaction increased when the art in the space seemed to match the dinging experience’s quality. The highest percentage of those surveyed preferred paintings, followed closely by photographs. A low-cost way to incorporate art into your restaurant’s decor could be to partner with a local art league or art school and feature paintings and photographs from the students.

 

The same study also found the lighting of an establishment to be a one-way driving factor in customer influence, meaning that customers did not often cite good lighting as a reason they wanted to go to an establishment. However, they did cite harsh lighting as a reason not to want to go to an establishment. Simply swapping out harsh fluorescent light bulbs for ones that emit a softer, warmer glow could give a restaurant an instant refresh.

 

 

Extend Your Space into Social Media

Businessman and founder of Intuit Scott Cook once said, “A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is – it is what consumers tell each other it is.” Even a minimal presence on Instagram and Facebook can remind a customer of all the positive associations they have with your space, or create an impression of a restaurant they haven’t tried yet. Create a hashtag for your restaurant, and periodically repost your customer’s posts about having a good time at your establishment. This can help turn your client base into more of a community. Drive engagement with small contests and giveaways.

 

Update the Menu

Consider your menu a selection of “greatest hits.” Are there a few menu items that no one seems to order? Consider a menu audit to tighten up your menu to cut out the deadwood. This adjustment can save your establishment money on supplies while continuing to offer only the favorites. Furthermore, space on your menu is like real estate. Since customers only spend a few minutes glancing at the menu, it’s best to offer a smaller selection of popular, appealing items.

In addition to cutting things from your menu, restaurant psychology expert Aaron Allen suggests that simply reengineering a menu can increase sales. Suppose a restaurant puts the most expensive dishes at the top of the menu. In that case, customers feel like they are getting a “deal” by choosing the more reasonably priced items below, driving up their satisfaction with the experience. Rewording a menu can also be powerful. A study out of The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly found that when used sparingly, vivid descriptions with positive connotations (for example, “scrumptious cookies like grandma used to bake”) could drive up sales and customer attitudes toward a business.

 

Let Them Eat Cake

Customers want to feel appreciated. Studies suggest that loyalty programs, when executed properly, have been shown to make guests feel special and also increase sales. Customers want to feel a return on the investment of visiting your establishment. Programs that give customers a free item or discount after a certain number of visits can incentivize visiting more frequently. Additionally, implementing a birthday program that offers customers a discount or freebie during their birth month could be an excellent way to establish your restaurant as a positive presence during someone’s celebratory plans.

 

Keep a Happy, Well-Trained Staff

A large part of the guest experience comes from their interactions with staff. Furthermore, happier, better-engaged staff often equals a more satisfied clientele. Boost morale among staff with bonding experiences and menu tastings to get them to know the restaurant better. Keep your team up-to-date on best practices with a restaurant training system that can help promote positive interactions between servers, managers, and guests. Synergy Sync is a web-based restaurant training program that is your one-stop learning management, checklist accountability, and process management system built by restaurant leaders for restaurant leaders.

By Mike Walls

Your key areas of focus should be:

• Order accuracy
• Speed of service
• Friendliness during the brief connection
• Preparedness
• A high-quality, consistent product

Order Accuracy

Accuracy is critical in takeout, drive-thru, and delivery orders. Ideally, the order should be taken directly into the POS system and entered immediately. Be sure to provide the total right away to prompt the guest to have payment ready at the window. Always double-check orders for accuracy while packaging the order using the receipt and then triple-check by listing the items in the bag as the order is delivered to the guest.

Speed

Make sure to follow a routine that provides guests with a consistent experience while ordering at the window and preparing the orders. Interactions should be short during peak hours to increase throughput, so be sure to build your systems, routines, and habits for optimum speed and accuracy. Your physical space must also be designed to flow towards the pick-up window with no wasted movements or fetching. You want the cooks or barista’s hands to be in action, not their feet, whenever possible so they can focus on preparing an item or component, sending it in the right direction, and beginning the next one right away. Can you change your line’s layout to prevent unnecessary movement by placing everything for each order within arm’s reach?

Friendliness

How can you express hospitality during a 30-second interaction? The best way is to smile and sincerely thank everyone while inviting guests to come back again soon. A smile should be part of the uniform.

Preparedness

Take care of non-customer-related tasks in off-hours only. You don’t want to be rushing to take out the trash, manage breaks, or stock supplies during a rush. Know your rush times and be ready for them by using a checklist with time constraints that indicate a set of tasks that must be finished before a particular time. Be proactive and set yourself and your team up for success.

 

A High-Quality, Consistent Experience

Everything must come together to provide a high-quality experience. Keep hot food hot under a heat lamp and cold items cold away from the heat. Bag hot and cold items separately. Ensure packaging does not ruin the product by allowing it to cool too quickly or to steam and become soggy. What items can you pre-package or bundle that won’t affect quality? Can tasks be shared differently to increase efficiency? Is the menu board, exterior entry zone, order zone, wait zone, pay/pick-up zone, exit zone, and parking lot as clean and welcoming as the restaurant’s interior?

Analyze and continuously improve in these areas, and you’ll turn guests into raving fans and regulars!

We all know a warm smile and courtesy go a long way in the hospitality industry. There’s no underestimating the power of person-centric service. But in today’s day and age, customer service is so much more than training your staff best practices. In the restaurant space, guest satisfaction is dependent on a multitude of things, from the speed of service to quality and taste of food. 

You can have the friendliest and most skilled staff on hand, but if the systems you have in place aren’t up to date with consumer expectations and preferences, you won’t score high on the customer satisfaction scale. Luckily, technology for the restaurant industry exists to help operators increase efficiency and visibility. Let’s look at how modern restaurant tech can assist you with elevating the customer experience.

Mobile-ordering and delivery: Convenience is at their fingertips, literally, when people are able to order food online. You can build an app like Dominos or Burger King, and if that’s not in your budget, you can sign up for third-party delivery services like UberEats, DoorDash, and GrubHub. Make sure to have an area in your restaurant that indicates where to pick up phone and mobile orders, too.

Kiosks: Self-ordering in-storae via kiosks can significantly speed up the ordering process. According to recent research from Tillster, more than 65% of customers said they would visit a restaurant more often if self-service kiosks were available. The benefits not only include shorter wait times but heightened order accuracy, reduced labor costs, more upselling opportunity and of course, improvement of the guest experience. Moe’s Southwest Grill is planning to open all-digital, kiosk only locations in Pittsburgh and Charlottesville, Virginia. Denver restaurant chain, Birdcall, exclusively uses kiosks for ordering at their locations. If kiosks don’t fit your budget, you can offer tablets for table-side ordering—guests will still enjoy a self-service experience.

Loyalty Programs: Sure, punch cards are still around, offering things like one free drink on your 10th purchase. But in 2019 it’s time to time to turn to technology to elevate your loyalty programs and get more people engaged with a great loyalty program to boost customer retention and guest satisfaction. Companies like Upserve, CandyBar and Fivestars offer automated loyalty programs that either connect to a customer’s credit card or phone number, helping to create a more seamless process in rewarding your loyal guests.

Technology will always have a hard time competing with great human customer-service, but when used strategically in conjunction with a well-trained staff, it can greatly enhance your guests’ experience.

 

By George Barton, Sr. Beverage Consultant.

 

Let me comment on a few current trends in adult beverage and how to best leverage your teams.  Taking the necessary steps can increase incremental beverage sales and as well separate you from that “sea of sameness” in the adult beverage category.

What we know:

Males are 2x more likely to go out more often than females. So how do I attract more female traffic in my restaurant?

• CHANGE THE CHANNEL. Create a LADIES’ shed, not to compete but to recognize.
• Women should  not only feel welcome but secure in your bar environment so think about how your staffing your restaurant.
• Market inside your “four walls” with colorful and the appropriate amount of POP (point of purchase) with the intent to market to your female audience. Think about “Ladies Night Out” with a wine feature like “Little Black Dress”.

Spending– Adults

 

Adults are planning on spending about the same as last year with Millennials spending more. Think and react on how you can improve your beverage position here.

• Continue to execute flawlessly but take a good look at your strategy and how you market happy hour and late night activities. Focus on those key day parts or when you have the strongest crowds in your bar. “Fish where the fish are.”
• Staff for success, simply not to accommodate. I rarely if ever visit a restaurant and find the bar overstaffed with bartenders.  Just doesn’t happen today. Splitting a $1 tip between 3 bartenders vs 2 bartenders takes very little time to make up that difference. Your staff will understand if you provide your strategy and why it’s important to build sales, not simply maintain and accommodate.
• Provide beverage menus that are simplistic, yet call out top features that will move trial on new beverages. Innovation is critical and paramount in today’s age of mixology but ensure your target guest really wants a vintage cocktail.  It makes sense to create a bit of noise with new NEWS as well.

 

Drinks Per Occasion–Let’s focus on 2nd Drink… We know from data provided by Mike Ginley at Next Level Marketing that consumers would order one additional alcoholic beverage during an occasion if key tactics were utilized and executed. Take a look at how they rank from most to least important, yet all fundamentally critical.

 

• Ask me when I’m ready: So, teach your servers and bartenders how and when to ask their customer when their ready for their second beverage. Don’t wait until ice is being chewed or their wine glass is bone dry, nor when they are only 1/2 way thru their first beverage.  Timing is critical and finding that sweet spot is key. Don’t assume that your guest will only desire one drink.  “ Can I bring you another Blackberry Mojito” to go with those awesome Quesadillas .
• Offer Better Quality: Teaching team members to up-sale should be part of training and on-going development.  “Can I have a gin and tonic” could have a response like  “Would be my pleasure and how about Hendricks”.  Turning a glass of house red wine into a premium or premium plus feature requires little more than asking your guest, yet provide few speaking points about the recommended wine if necessary. Cocktails made with better quality ingredients can be called out on your menu, providing new innovation. You should receive credit for this due to current trends in quality and healthier ingredients.
• Faster Drink Service: OK, let’s staff to win, not to accommodate.  Teach and execute to a time limit or goal with respect to order and delivery to your guest. Ensure servers handle one table and order at a time.  Staff with drink runners if required on busy shifts.  Excellent drink service and delivery will add multiple drinks to the shift. Of course it goes without saying that all team members involved must adhere to alcohol awareness and your goal to support all legislation to keep our highways safe.
• After Dinner / Desert: Excellent opportunity to offer guests after dinner cognacs or sweet aperitifs that will balance out and blend well with your guests dinner. I would always offer a Sambuca when guests ordered a coffee or expresso and hit the mark about 1/3 of the time. Again, alcohol awareness and ensuring your team members understand the signs of when to back off.  This in no way means your guests should order and settle for one adult cocktail.
• Light and Low Calorie: Light beer, while wine, prosecco and sparkling wine as well as cocktails designed specifically with the intent to offer a lighter fare are popular and trendy with all age groups.

 

Address tactics that will deliver a punch with focus on these current beverage trends. Pay attention to 2nd drink opportunity, execution and the female voice. Mixology and the voice of your bartenders is here to stay so why not use this talent wisely. Approach alcohol service professionally yet with the goal to enhance and WOW the guest experience.

 

Greetings!

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What Do Customers Want? Everything.

By The Synergy Team

A lot of ink has been given lately to consumer psychographics and what customers want when they spend their money. For the restaurant industry, it all comes back to the growing notion that American society has shifted toward an Experience Economy—and that in order to be successful, businesses must orchestrate memorable events for their customers, and that memory itself becomes the product. Food, service and ambience aren’t enough anymore; in fact, they’ve become a given, without which a restaurateur doesn’t have a prayer of keeping the doors open.

As author Joseph Pine points out in a recent TED talk about “What Customers Want,” goods and services have already been commoditized, and the next step is customizing services to a particular individual or group of individuals, in order to create an experience. And that means extreme sensitivity to who your customers are and what they might want at any given time.

Back in the June Synergy newsletter, our marketing and branding expert Karen Brennan wrote about “Winning in the Experience Economy,” with some great examples of restaurant brands that had succeeded in creating experiences for customers, not just a place to grab a meal. Not surprisingly, the list included places like Starbucks and Chipotle, with their robust component of customer engagement, concept evolution, and proven customer loyalty.

According to the NPD Group, the coming year will underscore just how crucial it is to understand changing customer dynamics. The Millennial generation is emerging as a dominant force in the restaurant industry, with all that implies for high-energy environments, and food and service concepts that encourage sharing and socializing. At the same time, don’t count the long-ascendant Baby Boomers out, with their desire for comfort, personal attention and a warm welcome.

Sandelman Associates, in fact, in a recent Tracks newsletter, reminds us that “Millennials are less than half the story” when it comes to traffic at both QSR and fast casual venues; “matures” aged 35-64, with their own set of demands, are also frequent visitors.

And in the meantime, the counterbalancing drivers of futuristic high-tech (such as mobile marketing and online ordering systems) and high-touch authenticity—including the demand for ethnic foods, local sourcing and sustainable business practices—will only accelerate. And both age groups—younger diners and matures—are demanding technology and ideology from their favorite restaurants.

As part of its January 2015 issue of “FoodBytes,” Datassential singled out “Big Changes” as the top trend to watch this year. It’s telling that while many annual lists of trend projections focus on the next big sauce or the latest wave of comfort foods, Datassential earmarked disruption of the norm, in particular the kind of progressive segment blurring that is forcing older, established players to react more forcefully to precocious new concepts.

Even the way that consumers are using restaurants is evolving, as the mix between dine-in and takeout, and breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks changes, according to Technomic’s MarketBriefing. A deeper dive into need-states revealed how different needs and emotions correlate with specific dayparts. For instance, convenience is associated with weekday breakfast and weeknight dinner, while the weekend is time for relaxing, celebrating, and getting together with family and friends.

With so many options for convenience dining, just to cite one need-state—from the ability to order restaurant food on a smartphone to the availability of restaurant-quality food at a supermarket—consumers have multiple ways to meet their every need. And this, of course, blurs the segments all the more.

All of this has implications for the way operators design, develop, staff, promote and run their businesses. The marketplace is changing, and so are consumers. Operators will have to ride along.

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Groupon and Living Social: A Death Sentence for Restaurants?

By Emily Callaghan, Communications & Marketing

 

We’ve all seen them: $20 vouchers that will score the buyer $50 to spend. Or a bargain-priced $35 for a four-course meal costing nonsubscribers double that amount. While the guest might get a bargain, are the Groupons and LivingSocials of the world a death sentence for restaurants?

Let’s consider which restaurants participate in such promotions. Since restaurants receive a poor return on every deal after paying service fees—typically earning around 25% on every dollar—a busy, successful establishment isn’t likely to offer these deals. Those that do choose to ride the deal train are dearly hoping one or both of two things: a) a final bill higher than the voucher’s redemption value (due perhaps to liquor sales or other add-ons), or other party members paying full price; and/or b) repeat business. But if there aren’t enough butts in seats—a typical reason to use a deal site to drive guest traffic—it may continue to stay that way. Here’s why:

1. There are Bigger Issues

“Unless the restaurant is in a poor location or is new and hasn’t been able to get the word out, an empty restaurant equals problems,” notes Dean Small, founder of Synergy Restaurant Consultants. “Some critical component, be it the food, service, atmosphere, pricing—or all four—is not quite right.” By driving guests to the restaurant without solving an internal issue, the guest experience will likely suffer, and those diners will doubtfully return and potentially voice their negative meal on sites like Yelp or TripAdvisor.

What’s more, with many deal sites’ group-buying approach, requiring a minimum number of purchases for the deal to be “on,” restaurants must anticipate an unnatural increase in volume: a slew of guests that their kitchen and waitstaff may not be prepared to accommodate.

2. It Cheapens the Brand

Just as many retailers and successful brands vow to never discount their product, fearing it will alter consumer perception, restaurants must be wary of the psychological effect. Though discounting negatively impacts some brands and industries more than others, the value attached to a meal experience can drastically decrease when a guest pays 50% of the asking price—or less. Suddenly, that $70 tasting menu only feels worth what the guest paid: $35

3. Full price is for Fools

“Think of brands like Bed, Bath & Beyond,” says Warren Ellish, Synergy strategic partner and founder of Ellish Marketing Group. “They’re constantly sending out coupons, so if you’re the unlucky shopper that shows up without one, you feel like a fool.” If the restaurant is discounted on a regular basis, people may not be willing to pay full price, fearing that they’re being overcharged.

In the end, each restaurant operation is unique, with deal sites like Groupon and LivingSocial making more sense for some than others. The bottom line? A shortage of diners is likely due to issues that operators are too entrenched in to notice; issues that a discount promotion won’t solve.

If you need to get getting more guests in your doors, Synergy Restaurant Consultants can help.

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Bowling for Dollars

By Joan Lang, Editorial Director

 

Bowls as a menu platform have been coming and going for a while now, as QSRs in particular experimented with all-in-one vehicles for portable meals. This time around, however, the idea of building an entire meal—protein, produce, carbohydrates and flavor systems—into something other than a sandwich is really taking hold.

Bowls are a great solution to multiple menuing and operational challenges. In addition to being portable, they’re customizable—just look at what the industry has done with salad bars and toss-to-order salad concepts like Salata and Tossed. They’re infinitely versatile, adaptable to anything from Asian noodle dishes to DIY fro-yo sundaes… and then the guest can do it again with different ingredients tomorrow. Not coincidentally, the bowl strategy also allows for the appearance of infinite variety with a finite list of SKUs. Just look at the number of different kinds of options Freshii is able to menu with its ingredients.

From the guest’s perspective, bowls have the healthy halo of being appropriate for ingredients like fresh vegetables and whole grains, and they’re fun and tasty, allowing for a little bit of every flavor, texture and even temperature in every bite.

And now, with the ascendancy of new fast-casual concepts deigned to allow guests to custom-tailor their own meal experience, bowls are suddenly everywhere.

• Backyard Bowls promises “Better Life Through Better Food” in the distinctive form of acai bowls, build-your-own meal platforms based on the trendy Brazilian berry (pronounced ah-sah-EE) which is widely reputed to be an anti-aging superfood. Bowls start with a smoothie-like acai puree, variously topped with granola, yogurt, fresh fruit or vegetables, and honey, to which guests can add a la carte enhancements such as bee pollen, flax seeds and spirulina. There are also breakfast bowls based on oatmeal, quinoa and muesli, as well as “real food” smoothies. With three units in the Santa Barbara area and born of the surfer culture there, the concept is tailor-made for today’s generation of diners who may eschew dairy, meat and gluten—standard ingredients include nut milks and protein-rich hemp, but no animal products save for organic yogurt and honey/pollen (for which agave can be substituted).

• Made-to-order sushi and a trio of bowl platforms are the customizable elements of Tokyo Joe’s, with 30 locations in Arizona and Colorado. Guests can choose such Soup Noodle and Signature bowls as Classic Ramen and Green Curry Shrimp, or they can order an entirely bespoke bowl from four categories of ingredients: protein, veggies, carb (or double veggies), and sauce; the latter includes such options as teriyaki, peanut and oyako (light broth). Appetizers, salads, and the distinctive Joe’s Tea Bar round out the ordering options.

• Bowl of Heaven, which recently inked a 30-unit development deal, also does the acai, smoothie, and juice bar approach, offering dessert-like combinations of ingredients like fruit, granola, honey, peanut butter and chocolate almond milk. Beneath it all is the signature MAQ 7 juice, described as a “synergistic blend of nature’s most exotic and powerful antioxidant rich super fruits and berries”—seven of them altogether. In addition to 12 brick-and-mortar locations, most in Southern California, there’s also a food truck.

• In Toledo, OH, Balance Grille offers a mix-and-match menu of pan-Asian items promising attributes like Decadence, Fit Fare and Spicy, with selections that further break out into snacks like nachos and edamame, slider-like buns, and eight different bowls. These include the Thai Guy (“Our spin on a classic Thai peanut sauce is served with Carrots, Peapods, Fresno Peppers, and Fresh Sprouts”), Wiseman (“Customer favorite! A simple szechuan sauce served with Broccoli, Carrots, Corn, Fresh Sprouts, and Kale”) and Nuts 4 Pao (“A spicy kung-pao sauce served simply with Scallions, Roasted Peanuts, and Fresno Chili Peppers”), as well as the customer’s choice Build-a-Bowl.

• Strictly speaking, Asian Box may feature, well, boxes—but the concept is all about the custom build that you get with a bowl. In fact, this is the prototype for the DIY meal, in which guests choose a noodle, salad or rice base; a protein; and such toppings and sauces as steamed vegetables, chopped peanuts, and tamarind vinaigrette that are delivered all boxed up for convenient travel and enough shelf-life to get to home or office without compromising the quality.

• Yamas Mediterranean Grill in the D.C. area is a full-menu Mediterranean restaurant specializing in mezze and sandwiches, but it also has a custom rice bowl option as part of a multi-format Build Your Own offering that also includes pitas, wraps and salads. The build starts with a basmati and orzo blend that can be topped with items like gyros, chicken or pork souvlaki, or falafel, plus vegetables, cheese, hummus, yogurt, and other flavor boosters.

• Full-service restaurants are also embracing the bowl. HG Sply Co. in Dallas serves a paleo-style menu of specialties like steak, chicken, fish and fresh, nutritious vegetables and protein-laced salads, but its most unusual feature are the bowls. There are menued combinations such as The Free-Range (chicken, sweet potatoes hash and broccoli & bacon) and the Build Your Own Bowl section, which allows customers to put together an all-in-one feast of two vegetable base items (such as toasted quinoa pilaf and black beans) a meat (Mexican pulled pork, seared ahi tuna) and a topping (guacamole, walnut-arugula pesto). This, with or without the addition of two eggs, makes a meal designed to fuel the day.

Of course, any operation with a somewhat flexible kitchen package and labor pool can offer a bowl platform, and indeed El Pollo Loco has done LTO Pollo Bowls, the B. Good burger chain offers four Kale & Quinoa Bowls, Panera has its new Asian-accented Broth Bowls, and while Yum Brand’s new Banh Shop entry is mostly about the Vietnamese sandwiches, it also features a trip of Wok’d Bowls on its menu.

As with so many new restaurant ideas, it will be up to those operators who execute well and attract a loyal following to ensure their own success in the long term.

Need help executing your new restaurant idea? Contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants.

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Tip of the Month

For more information on “The Why? Behind the Dine,” download the free report prepared by Technomic and Acosta Sales & Marketing by registering with Acosta here. Included is information on meal choices; share of spend for food at-home and away-from-home; and more on The Intricate Path to the Plate. And to read about the seven things diners look for when choosing a restaurant, read this article from the National Restaurant Association.