In the restaurant industry, hospitality is a defining element of our culture. We’re a unique breed in the business, thriving on teamwork, human interaction, and a passionate work ethic, all dedicated to serving others.

A common question arises: What sets apart excellent customer service from the true essence of hospitality? It’s a simple yet significant distinction. Customer service, even when exceptional, fulfills the basic expectations of a transaction – the exchange of money for goods or services. It’s the bare minimum, the “given” in any business deal. On the other hand, hospitality transcends these expectations, aiming to make customers feel pampered, akin to celebrities. When genuine hospitality is at play, customers sense the commitment feeling supported and valued.

However, the difference doesn’t stop there; it extends to the establishment’s culture, influencing the bottom line and the ability to scale while maintaining brand loyalty.

The Cultural Shift

Regardless of the industry or its role, we are all fundamentally in the “people business.” Beyond selling products or services, we sell a hospitality experience. Transforming transactions into interactions becomes the core focus when prioritizing people, starting with our internal customers (employees). This shift lays the foundation for a people-centric culture.

The Role of Culture

Company culture isn’t just about core values and mission; it’s also about the people who contribute to it. Employees are invaluable assets, serving as the frontline ambassadors of your culture to customers. By fostering a culture rooted in hospitality, businesses unlock myriad benefits, with employees providing priceless feedback for continuous improvement.

People and the Bottom Line

In every C-level meeting, the bottom line takes precedence. While financial metrics are crucial, the responsibility for making those numbers work falls on your people’s shoulders. Despite the often-heard mantra of “People, Process, and Technology,” people are frequently relegated to the third tier. Yet, they are responsible for creating a hospitality environment and upholding processes with technology as a supporting backdrop.

The Cost of Turnover

Labor costs, particularly employee turnover, constitute a significant portion of a restaurant’s expenses. The Gallup research indicates that the cost of replacing a disengaged employee is a staggering 34% of their annual salary. This cost, when multiplied, reveals the actual impact on the bottom line.

Building a Positive Culture

A positive, people-focused culture becomes the solution to the turnover problem. By becoming the employer of choice and attracting the right people, businesses enhance their bottom line through increased staff attraction and retention.

Scaling with Brand Loyalty

Creating a strong company culture that embodies the spirit of hospitality across all operations is the key to safely scaling while maintaining brand loyalty. Consistency in core values, mission, and vision ensures brand continuity and fosters brand loyalty. A documented hospitality charter guides employees to deliver authentic hospitality, setting the business apart in a crowded market.

In the restaurant industry, the establishment and delivery of authentic hospitality differentiate it from mere service. This emphasis on genuine hospitality is the essence of our industry, setting the stage for a memorable and distinctive customer experience. It’s not just about customer service; it’s about creating lasting connections and an atmosphere that stands out in a competitive landscape.

Online reviews have become increasingly important in the hospitality industry, as they provide important feedback that can help restaurant owners make decisions to improve their establishments. Unfortunately, bad reviews can be damaging and expensive for business owners, leading to fewer customers and fewer profits. Maintaining a positive perspective online is just as crucial as in-person impressions. Statistics from the COVID-19 pandemic showed how powerful online chatter could be in helping potential customers decide whether to try a restaurant. New data from Trustpilot has shown that negative reviews have increased by 3% since April 2022.

Better Training Equates To Better Online Reviews

Restaurant owners can train their staff to get better reviews online by focusing on providing excellent customer service. This could include greeting customers warmly when they enter the restaurant, responding to customer feedback and complaints promptly and professionally, ensuring that orders are fulfilled accurately and on time, and clearly understanding all menu items.

The better the customer experience is, the better the online restaurant review a customer will write. It is not uncommon to see high turnover negatively affecting staff training (or lack thereof) and new employees being thrown out to serve the public without being taught how to give exemplary service that makes customers loyal.

A study published in the International Journal of Science researched university cafeteria customers and concluded that the customer’s overall satisfaction revolved around two crucial components; how the workers treated them and how well the staff knew about the food they were serving. That shows how important good customer service is and why all restaurant owners should implement it into their routines.

5 Ways Restaurant Owners Can Train Their Staff For Better Reviews

1. Encourage staff to pay attention to detail when serving customers. This can include ensuring drinks are refilled promptly, orders are taken correctly and food is served at the correct temperature.
2. Teach staff to be polite and friendly when interacting with customers. This can go a long way in making customers feel valued and appreciated, which can lead to positive reviews online.
3. Provide staff with ongoing training and development opportunities to improve their customer service skills.
4. Utilize customer feedback to identify areas that need improvement and ensure these areas are addressed in staff training sessions.

5. Encourage staff to ask customers for feedback after their dining experience and thank them for their reviews. This can help build customer loyalty and increase the chances of getting positive reviews online.

Business owners can offer incentives to their hospitality customers who leave positive reviews, such as discounts, free appetizers, or other promotions. It’s essential to stay on top of social media trends to ensure they provide the best customer experience possible. Social media marketing campaigns work well in bringing attention to a restaurant business and it’s a way to interact with customers faster.

Conclusion

By providing good restaurant training, restaurant owners can help foster a positive experience for customers and make sure that their staff is equipped to handle any situation. This will not only help improve customer satisfaction but can also help ensure that reviews are more favorable. Employees will make better tips when applying the customer service training they receive, which is an incentive in itself.

According to David Chang, TV personality and owner of the award-winning Momofuku in New York City: “The livelihood of the restaurant is dependent upon getting the word out.” One of the most important factors to a restaurant’s success is its reputation, and the biggest threats to its reputation are guest issues. The White House Office of Consumer Affairs reported that unsatisfied customers will tell an average of 9-15 people about their negative experience.

In the world of online reviews, a negative impression can be even more far-reaching. Here are a few ways to resolve guest issues with grace.

Believe the Complaint

There’s an old saying that goes, “the customer is always right.” Although it’s an easy one to remember, it’s a difficult one to practice. Many times, a restaurant staff acts like a family, and no one wants to believe that someone in their family truly did something wrong. Other times, everyone wants to point the finger at someone else to alleviate the blame. The first step in resolving guest issues is to act accountable and believe that they happened in the first place. Questioning a claim’s authenticity or pointing the blame in another direction will only further escalate the situation.

Thank the Guest

Thank the guest for pointing out an issue that you would not have known without their help. Mike Lester, president of The Melting Pot, firmly believes a complaint is a “gift.” These “gifts” can act as training points for staff moving forward.

Apologize Sincerely

Try to make the experience right, but be careful not to come off as if you are trying to buy their goodwill. Extend your apologies and make a logical offer to the customer. If the complaint is about a specific item, comp the item if you can. If the complaint happens online, send a direct message and offer a discount or free voucher to get them back in the door, and the next time around, be sure to make a better second impression.

Face Your Negative Reviews Head-On

According to Yelp, 97 percent of those reading online reviews take a business’s response into account when trying to decide whether or not to patronize a business. For guest complaints that take place in cyberspace, your reaction will leave a lasting impression, not just for that particular customer but for many other potential guests down the line. Businesses have the option to respond to reviews publicly or via direct message. By responding promptly and publicly, your business can show that it is transparent and willing to accept constructive criticism. Just remember the three points above when doing so.

Consistency is Key

Moving forward, providing a consistent experience can prevent customer issues in the first place. Thomas Keller, the winner of Culinary Institute of America’s Chef of the Year for his Napa Valley restaurant, French Laundry, stresses this point. An experience that makes the customer happy every time can be achieved with a thorough restaurant training program for cooks and waitstaff. Beyond that, the best restaurants never stop training their employees and learning from their mistakes.

Learn from the Best and the Worst

Jill Tyler, owner of Michelin-rated Tail Up Goat in DC, advises: “There are hundreds of restaurants that are successful. There are thousands of restaurants that have failed. Study both and always keep learning.” Devise a restaurant training program that not only focuses on what not to do, but also incorporates advice based on how other restaurants have succeeded. By incorporating negative examples with the positive, well-trained staff will know what to avoid and what to embrace, creating a workplace culture that should minimize guest issues in the future.

Synergy Sync’s online training program allows you to train your staff on important customer service topics. They will be able to know the best practices to implement during common guest service issues. With our remote learning program, your servers and managers are able to learn from anywhere, any time. Please contact us for a free virtual tour of our affordable e-Learning training solution.

Crush the holiday competition this year by focusing on what’s most important — your guests

With the holidays upon us and restaurants gearing up for that big end-of-year sales push, how can operators grab their share of diners? Lots of chains offer LTOs or double loyalty points to increase foot traffic. Other concepts offer seasonal specials or deals on gift cards. With your competition jockeying for your customers, how can you stand out and grab your fair share?

As with most strategies in the restaurant business, a “back to basics” approach usually reaps the greatest rewards. One of the most essential strategies for success is great customer service. As consultants, we travel across the US and around the world each year, dining in every kind of establishment from fast food to fine dining, sampling every cuisine available. Without a doubt, the biggest driver of a great guest experience is the front-of-house team that consistently delivers warm and engaging hospitality.

As another year draws to a close, we wanted to share some great customer service examples from one of our most admired restaurant chains, the Hillstone Group. Founded in 1976, the company operates 15 separate concepts in a dozen states. Each location offers a menu of around 30 items, all of which are consistently well-executed. While the food is stellar, we regard the Hillstone service model as “the gold standard” in the restaurant industry.

After visiting more than a dozen Hillstone locations across the country, we’ve compiled a list of outstanding customer service techniques that the company employs to turn guests into raving fans:

Take a Team Approach: While each table is assigned a lead server, several waitstaff will touch that table during the guests’ visit. Front-of-house staff are trained to circulate throughout the dining room, looking for empty plates and glasses to whisk away before the guest even notices. Similarly, servers run finished dishes from the kitchen as quickly as possible, even if that food is going to a table delegated to another team member. This coordinated approach places the emphasis on serving the guest and removes the “that’s not my table” mentality from the equation.

The Eyes Have It: We’ve all dined in busy establishments and felt frustrated when it’s hard to catch the eye of your harried server — or any server — when you need more water or another fork when yours hits the floor. Not so at a Hillstone restaurant. Servers and runners are trained to make eye contact with guests as they travel through the dining room. This technique focuses the staff on guests’ needs in an immediate and personal way.

Little Touches, Big Impact: Many restaurants serve their martinis in a chilled glass. But at Hillstone, you’ll get a new chilled glass when you’re half-finished with your drink. This small gesture creates a huge guest impact and enormous goodwill. At Hillstone restaurants that serve water from glass bottles, under-counter reach-ins are strategically placed in the dining room, so the servers always have access to a cold bottle of water for any table. These seemingly small gestures have been carefully crafted to elicit an emotional response from the guest. From a brand standpoint, putting so much effort into something as small as a chilled glass or cold water demonstrates Hillstone’s commitment to making the guest feel welcome and important.

It’s Personal(ity): While the restaurant industry is keenly aware of the nationwide labor shortages, Hillstone maintains strict hiring standards for their servers to obtain the personnel required to execute their customer service program. First and foremost, they hire for personality and attitude before experience. The company knows they can train their recruits on the procedures needed to be successful. Hillstone would rather hire people with less server experience so they can develop them from the ground up and spend less time breaking bad habits.

Train to Meet Expectations: In the Hillstone model, a thorough and detailed front-of-house training program is a given. Servers and runners go through extensive instruction based on specific goals and processes — nothing is ambiguous, and new team members know exactly what the company expects and how to achieve it. While the investment is significant, it’s another way that Hillstone demonstrates its commitment to be the best when it comes to customer service.

How can you adopt a more customer-focused service model? A good place to start is to check your online reviews and any customer feedback you’ve gathered or have been given. Do customers comment on food not coming out hot from the kitchen? Develop a strategy for solving the issue, then train your team on the new procedure. To solve the cold food problem, you can try heating your plates in an oven beneath a stovetop or in a cheese melter. If servers are constantly running back to the kitchen for additional condiments regularly requested by guests, redesign your tablescape to make these items available.

Finally, look for opportunities to genuinely surprise and delight your guests. Maybe that means surprising each table with a sample of a new menu item or creating a Welcome Kit for each new guest that contains the manager’s business card and a bounce-back coupon. Give your team the strategies, tools, and training they need to succeed, and you’ll soon be setting new standards for customer service.

Have you noticed exceptional service in restaurants lately? You’re not alone. An emerging trend is showing that restaurants are renewing their focus on service and hospitality. Instead of focusing on the chef and his/her of-the-moment food, servers are providing friendly service, helpful suggestions, and inviting the guest to relax and linger for a while. Some restaurants, such as Eleven Madison Park, go above and beyond and even research their diners before they arrive, using the information to enhance the guests visit. These restaurants are noted for their thoughtful, personal service:

• The Restaurant at Meadowood, California – Guests can enjoy after dinner drinks and board games in the fireplace lounge

• Eleven Madison Park , New York – Waiters perform card tricks in the dining room

• Alinea, Chicago – The guest database includes personal photos along with dining preferences

• Canlis, Seattle – Signature salads and drinks are prepared tableside

• Melisse , Santa Monica – Special occasions are celebrated with unique treats from the kitcheN

• Vetri, Philadelphia – Diners are offered a complementary glass of champagne before dinner and are sent home with a gift of coffee cake and chocolates for later.

How can you improve the guest experience at your restaurant? With over 30 years of experience, Synergy Restaurant Consultants can help. Contact us for professional help with improving the service and hospitality at your restaurant establishment.

Read more about the trend here and here.

Greetings!

To your success,

Dean and Danny

The “Vegetable-Forward” Menu

By Joan Lang

No, not vegetarian; vegetable forward.

It’s a sign of the times. The ever-increasing cost of animal proteins like beef and even chicken, coupled with a fascination for the local, the seasonal and the fresh-from-the-farm, has given rise to menus that pay much more than lip service—a salad or two, a few side dishes—to vegetables.

Restaurants like Noma in Copenhagen, with its foraged plants on the menu, and Eleven Madison Mark in New York, where chef Daniel Humm has famously ground carrot “tartare” tableside, have put the focus squarely on vegetables.

As Noma’s Rene Redzepi himself has said, “The dimensions of flavors you find in vegetables are so much more exciting than [those of] the three or four animals we eat all the time.”

Trend prognosticators are already proclaiming 2013 The Year of the Vegetable. Restaurant.com, an online restaurant deal resource, polled more than 100 restaurants in all segments to see what operators thought would be important trends this year. Vegetables having a more prominent position on menus ranked No. 2 on the list (after healthy menu options.

Kale and beets seem to be on every other menu. Hooters has added salads. A whole new, er, crop of quick-casual restaurants like Snappy Salads and Pitfire Pizza is replacing burgers and fries with Corn and Okra Stew and Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Pizza. Meanwhile, chefs with access to any land at all, even a rooftop, are growing their own vegetables.

• Justin Cucci, chef/owner of Root Down and Linger, in Denver, put in an 800-sq.-ft. on-site Root Garden that provides heirloom tomatoes, beets,kale, chiles, herbs, zucchinis and sunflowers (used for their seeds) for both gardens. Guests at Root Down can sit on the patio and view the garden directly, while they enjoy seasonal specialties like Carrot & Gorgonzola Salad with arugula, frisee, Marcona almonds, carrot leaf pesto and Sauvignon Blanc dressing, and Roasted Beet Risotto with Forbidden Black rice, goat feta, Parmesan, candied walnuts and citrus sauce

• Brick-oven pizza chain Bertucci’s has been steadily broadening its appeal into a more full-menu concept under new executive chef Jeff Tenner, in part thanks to such seasonal, produce-driven new items as a roasted vegetable antipasto, Brick Oven Beets with Blue Cheese, and Roasted Butternut Squash Pizza. A new concept, called 2 Ovens, is set to push the produce envelope still further

• In its newly relaunched Marinas Restaurant, the Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley, CA, offers chef Cal Stamenov’s take on “farmed and foraged” ingredients in such seasonal dishes as Smoked Eggplant Agnolini with cherry tomatoes, Manchego and pimente d’espelette; Chilled Garden Cucumber Soup with Maine lobster, minted yogurt, compressed watermelon and cilantro; and Wild White Sea Bass with Di Cicco broccoli, baby spinach and Meyer lemon puree

• The menu at Fresh to Order, a quick- casual chain based in Atlanta, touts freshness and health through a variety of fruit and vegetable items. Current specialties include a spinach salad laced with strawberries, raisins and seasonal fruit; a fig and blue cheese salad with candied walnuts; a grilled vegetable panini; and a variety of multi-use condiments and relishes, such as Roasted Corn Peanut Relish and a citrus- and-ginger Asian Slaw

• Frog and Peach, a 30-year-old classic restaurant in New Brunswick, NJ, now under a new chef-owner, does a 4-course Vegetable Tasting Menu that was so successful when he introduced it this summer that the concept has been extended into colder weather with seasonal ingredients like pumpkin, Asian pear, root vegetables and mushrooms

• You would expect an outfit called Field Kitchen to focus on vegetables, and indeed the menu for the Sweet Tomatoes brand “reinvention” features numerous salads (including Hippy Grains & Kale and a Greek salad), plus such “suitable sides” for rotisserie meats as Roasted Squash Ratatouille and Iowa Creamed Corn

Not that while vegetarians and even vegans would be perfectly happy with these menu items, these are not meat-free-zone restaurants, nor are the menus actively promoted to the sprouts set—instead they are thoughtful seasonal offerings that showcase great ingredients and elevated techniques and flavor principles.

What’s not to like?

An Untapped Market: The Food-Allergic

By Lara (“Food Allergy Gal”) Holland, a food-allergic foodie and owner of LaraHolland Food Allergy Consultancy

How many times does restaurant staff hear these words: “I am allergic to____” or “My child has food allergies to_____”? These can be the most dreaded phrases in the industry, because they hold everything up.

That said, catering to the food-allergic or food-sensitive population is a socially responsible way to bring in big revenues and create customer loyalty.

I am a food-allergic foodie who has struggled with food allergies for the last 10 years. Changing my diet wasn’t about losing weight or being “healthy”—it was about saving my life. There is an entire population of people with late-onset food allergies. And like me, they are foodies who love a well-prepared meal, yet now must worry about everything they put into their mouths.

There are 150 million people worldwide with severe food allergies, and 90% of these people are allergic to one or more of 10 specific foods. So what does this mean for the restaurant business? The food-allergic often cook at home, rarely eat out, and frequently bring their own meals to events: They are in complete food isolation land. Granted, there are sometimes vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free options at restaurants, but very rarely do I see menus offered specifically to the food allergic. For operators, this is actually quite exciting, because there is a major untapped market for serving the food-allergic.

In a recent poll I asked: “As a food-allergic or parent of a food-allergic, what would make you eat out more?” Almost 200 people replied, saying, “I would drive out of my way to eat at a place where I knew the food was `safe,’ and where there were special menus and an educated, sensitive staff.” Some respondents added that they would like to see all ingredients be listed on these special menus or easy-to-read labeling so they could select a menu item with confidence.

So why should your food business care about food allergies?

For one thing, there are legal issues to consider. A recent precedent may actually require you to make changes if your business is subject to American with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance.

As of January 2009, the ADA lists and recognizes people with food allergies as being among the disabled. In January 2013, a ruling against a Massachusetts university awarded a food-sensitive person $50,000 because the university was not carrying food she could eat on campus. Additionally, they ordered that all facilities have items a food-sensitive or allergic person could eat and a special location to store them in.

And then there are the revenues and customer loyalty. According to Global Industry Analysts, the market for food allergy and intolerance products has the potential to bring in $26.5 billion of revenue in the next four years. This is an enormous opportunity for food manufacturers, retailers and foodservice operators to tap into their share of a market that will only grow from here. In fact, Whole Foods attributes its 2012 success almost entirely to serving this population.

Food-allergic/sensitive people will be some of the most loyal customers you’ll ever meet. If you truly take the time to understand their needs and make meals they can enjoy without getting sick, they will travel long distances to eat at your restaurant or shop in your store. They write excellent reviews and ask all their friends to join them there.

If you have items on the menu for “special needs” diners, they will likely order it: Overall, the food-allergic are extremely deprived in the food world. If they see a dessert on the menu that they can actually eat, they will have dinner and dessert. If there is an appetizer, dinner, dessert and a beverage made without the ingredients they are allergic to, guess what? Their meal ticket is larger and you get the revenue.

What can your restaurant do to help serve the food-allergic/sensitive safely?

• Get staff trained and certified by a nationally recognized organization. It pays off! I have seen the difference between a certified food allergy staff and a “ServSafe” approved staff.

• Develop certified food/allergy-friendly menus and special request menus. These menus make it easier to serve special-request items more quickly during busy times, ensure safety of food products without triple-checking ingredients, avoid potential lawsuits for making a food-allergic person sick, and increase the confidence of the consumer and the staff.

• Work with a specialist. Culinary schools don’t teach their students this specialty, and many kitchen staffers don’t understand the importance of the issue. Most Registered Dietitians also don’t get specialty focus training on food allergies and sensitivities. Contact a food allergy specialist or a consultant to help, including Synergy Restaurant Consultants .

• Source alternative ingredients. You can still have regular macaroni and cheese on the menu, but then add a “dairy- and gluten-free mac and cheese” with a little flair and watch sales soar.

For more information on food allergies, log on to Lara’s blog at http://foodallergygal.blogspot.com/

Dining and Whining: Dealing with Complaints

By Joan Lang

Customer complaints have been a fact of life since the first restaurant opened up for business in 18th-century France. But the landscape is shifting fast now that social media outlets such as Yelp and Facebook have come onto the scene, creating a new class of “citizen reviewers” who have been empowered to put their opinions, including complaints, out there on the internet for all the world to see.

Social media has been so empowering, in fact, that it has completely changed conventions: A new service called Reviewer Card makes it possible for reviewers, including Yelpers, to put a restaurant on notice that it may be reviewed, thus ensuring a better level of service, according to the card’s founders. (Ruth Bourdain, the Twitter-born parody mash-up of Ruth Reichl and Anthony Bourdain, immediately and rightly put this hostage-taking practice itself on notice.)

According to the 2012 Tork Report, a whopping 92% of U.S. consumers say they will complain about a negative restaurant experience, most often online. And never mind that some Yelp reviews may be fake. Operators need to take complaints seriously, and they need to ensure that problems in the restaurant are addressed before they become complaints.

The article “Life in the Age of Yelp” which we published in March 2012 still holds true for how to deal with online complaints: Monitor postings, establish policies for responding, and watch your tone and intent if you do address negative comments. Most experts agree that you should respond to online criticisms, either publicly or privately, in a thoughtful and respectful way —which demonstrates to both the commenter and anyone else reading your response that you take your guests’ satisfaction seriously.

There are also best-practice rules of engagement for old-fashioned “real time” complaints, the kind that come directly to the restaurant in the form of food returns, requests to speak to the management, follow-up letters, and the like. In fact, closely monitoring situations in the restaurant that may lead to complaints—such as a customer not eating their food—is especially important now, because being proactive can prevent them from going public later.

• Watch your customers. Are they looking around for a server or sitting for a long time without their food? Are their water glasses empty? Have three different wines that they’ve ordered been out of stock? It’s crucial to address issues like these for the sake of good hospitality, but it’s also a way to prevent a negative experience from becoming a complaint. You should also encourage staff to inform a manager if they see any situations developing.

• Intercede when you see something that’s not right. Let guests know you are aware there is a problem and that you are willing to take responsibility for correcting it as soon as possible. Offer a free dessert after a meal that has taken too long to arrive, or take the bottle of wine they eventually order off the check—and tell them so when the bottle arrives at the table. Chances are good that they will not only feel better about the experience but they will also tell their friends, and give you another chance.

• Keeping a log of problems and complaints and communicating them with all concerned parties (such as the management staff)—either in an actual book or with a digital tool like ShiftNote —can help identify patterns and point up potential problems that need to be addressed in operations. If three sets of customers in as many weeks say the gumbo was too spicy, maybe it is. It also ensures that all stakeholders are up to date.

• Consider using customer surveys. Make a survey available to guests with the check, on your website, or at a service counter. People who fill these out may be doing so because they’ve had a negative experience or are concerned enough to want to let you know what they think. Address any problems that may surface with a personal response and an offer to correct the situation or an invitation to return and give your establishment another chance.

• Realize that guests can feel awkward about complaining face-to-face. There are programs like Talk to the Manager, which allows customers to anonymously text complaints and comments directly to a manager’s cellphone.

• Engage your staff in the process. Employees who value their workplaces and co-workers help build customer satisfaction. Employees who are provided freedom, self-governance, and an ability to make choices about their work are not only more engaged in their jobs, but they are also more likely to address service issues before they become full-blown complaints.

Want more information about customer service issues? Call Synergy Restaurant Consultants.

Tip of the Month

Continuing education is great, but it can cost a lot in terms of both money and time. The Culinary Institute of America offers a number of free online courses through its ciaprochef.com  site, including such industry-supported eLearning modules as sustainable Alaska seafood, the cooking of Andalucia, and The World Bean Kitchen. There is also a series of four paid online Menu R&D courses conducted each year, as well as videos, recipes and other assets for foodservice professionals.

As restaurant operators, you understand how important presentation is; from your restaurant decor to your food and how your staff presents themselves. Friendly and warm is how you direct your hosts and waiters to act in front of all guests and a smile sure goes a long way. As we already wrote previously, a restaurant operator must always keep customer service at the most optimal level– and we mean in every facet.

There are a countless number of restaurants where a large percentage of business is composed of take-out orders. How does your restaurant handle all the guests who call-in their orders? What about if someone wants to make a reservation? Just as your restaurant has rules in place for how to handle dine-in customers, you must have guidelines for phone etiquette! Poor customer service, whether it is in person or over the phone, can really put a damper on your restaurant’s reputation (calling all Yelpers!), so why take any chances? Customer is king!

Proper restaurant phone etiquette tips

• A proper introduction when an employee first answers the phone will consist of a enthusiastic voice saying  similar to “Thanks for choosing Tony’s Pizzeria, I’m Julia, how can I help you today?” for example. Simply answer the phone with, “Tony’s Pizzeria” is unacceptable.
• Make sure your employees know the menu and pricing inside and out in the even that a customer needs some assistance in choosing the right items for their meal.
• Sometimes, customers ask for some customization; ensure your staff understands how to properly respond when a request cannot be accommodated to their specifications.
• You never want to place a customer on hold for too long! Consider installing multiple phones and lines to handle high volume calls.
• Always end a call with an approximate time the food will be ready and of course a THANK YOU!
• If your restaurant is utilizing a POS system to enter orders, make sure all staff are fully trained on the system to minimize the amount of incorrect orders placed from phone orders.
•  Before any employee picks up the phone, they must be properly trained! You only have one chance to make a first impression.

A new season of Food Network’s Restaurant Stakeout, the reality show that centers on “tough love to help restaurateurs save their businesses” recently premiered on August 30. The premise — successful restaurateur Willie Degel uses hidden cameras to investigate and discover bad restaurant practices; he uncovers these to the owners in an efforts to help them turn things around. What’s mostly uncovered during the surveillance is unacceptable employee behavior (or lack thereof).

In the various episodes, Willie unearths a variety of restaurant no-no’s such as employees eating off prep tables in the kitchen, texting while at work, staff fights, health violations, wait staff chewing gum in front of guests, drinking on the job, and a slew of other cringe-worthy acts.

As a restaurant owner, it is not always easy to keep an eye on your employees but keep in mind these tips to help keep guest satisfaction and employee productivity up!

• Front of House – are you ensuring there is always a host or hostess present at the FOH? If not, you are sure to have annoyed customers waiting to be seated.

• Employee handbook – do you have an employee handbook in place? The handbook outlines the restaurant procedures and rules and must be read by all employees and strictly enforced.

• Guest satisfaction – is your wait staff accommodating to guests’ requests? Are they respectful and polite to them? Do they know how to properly speak with a disgruntled guest? The key is friendliness and showing care and concern.

• Leadership – where is the leadership in your restaurant? Are you or the restaurant manager actively involved with your employees to correct bad behavior, praise good behavior and set standards?

• Going above and beyond – don’t think your customers won’t notice all those little details that actually really matter. Remembering their names, making sure their drinks are always full, saying goodnight and thank you when they leave, preparing a beautiful-looking dish; a little can go a long way.

Do you know your restaurant can improve but not sure where to start? Contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants for an initial consultation; we can help properly evaluate areas of improvement that can help your guest satisfaction and bottom line.