Great Customer/ Client Service is Not an Accident in the Restaurant Business

Plain and simple, providing great service to the people you serve cannot and will not be accomplished without a well thought out and executed strategy. Let’s take the example of restaurants. Restaurant Owner.com recently published this information: “Several years ago, researchers at Cornell University and Michigan State University conducted a study of restaurants in three local markets over a 10-year period. They concluded the following: After the first year 27% of restaurant startups failed; after three years, 50% of those restaurants were no longer in business; and after five years 60% had gone south. At the end of 10 years, 70% of the restaurants that had opened for business a decade before had failed.” There are a myriad of reasons for restaurant failures that range from poor leadership to inadequate financing. However, there is always one specific reason that rears its’ head and it is called “lack of great service.” People know what great service is. It doesn’t matter whether they are rich or poor or somewhere in between. They can smell and tell great restaurant service from a mile away. That is because it comes down to one major factor. I call it the “I really care about you factor?” If a restaurant owner and his staff really care about their clientele, they show it through a number of ways. First, the parking lot is clean and in excellent repair. There is adequate parking. There are enough parking spaces and they are wide enough. The dumpster is out of sight, and the area surrounding it is neat and clean. As you walk up to the front door, one can see it is in good condition and not weather worn. The lobby is clean and attractive. The hostess smiles and greets each and every person as they enter. She or he appears to be enjoying what they are doing? The hostess makes customers feel like they came to the “right restaurant”, and exudes that they really care about their customers. Other parameters of a successful restaurant could be: the restaurant clientele seated at a table in a reasonable time frame. The waiter or waitress genuinely act like they are glad to see them. One of the restaurants my wife I love to patronize is Sze-Chaun Chinese restaurant located in our home town of Canton, Michigan. We might eat there five or six times a year. Whenever we come in, the waitress or waiter remembers who we are and what we ordered the last time we were there. They take a special interest in us. They demonstrate to us that they really do care about us. That is why we go back and that is why most people will go back to a favorite restaurant. A few more considerations are important. Does the meal that is ordered come in a reasonable amount of time? Is it delicious and up to the customer’s expectations? Does the check come at the right time? Are they given a friendly farewell? Every one of these points I have shared with you are part of the “Do I really care about you factor?” When your restaurant can deliver every part of this cycle of service successfully, you will greatly increase your chances of profitably staying in business for a long, long time. Tom Borg is president of Tom Borg Consulting, LLC. He is a business consultant, speaker, coach and author. Please see more of his blogs at csjobsBlog.com and view additional job postings at Nexxt