Did you know that practically 14 percent of your customers will not return to your business because of food potential and 68 percent because of aid quality? So, doesn't it make sense to train your waiters and waitresses to deliver first-rate aid to win your customers back every time?
To gain the contentious edge today, you have to do much more to place your restaurant on the "favorites" list. One way is straight through personalizing aid for each type of customer that comes to your business. For example, selling and aid techniques employed for a house with children are different from that which would be delivered to elderly customers. The same holds true for business customers versus vacationers. It is never safe to think that your restaurant aid staff will inherently understand these differences. Unless trained, they are most likely to offer one size fits all service.
Training
Teach your waiters and waitresses to be observant and corollary the tips below to help assess the needs of your customers:
•Time limitation (leisurely or time restricted)
•Mood (celebratory, romantic, stressed)
•Age group (children, teenagers, baby boomers, seniors, geriatrics)
•Purpose for their visit (social, private/intimate, or business)
•Gender (male, female)
Since practically 80 percent of transportation is conveyed straight through facial gestures and verbal and non verbal body language, as opposed to the actual words, teach your aid team to focus on the following areas:
•Verbal Language (voice tone, rate, inflection, speech, pronunciation, and grammar)
•Body Language (eye contact, facial expressions, gestures and movement)
Look for telltale signs of a customer in a rush such as finding at their watch, finding colse to or rubber necking, talking quickly, crossing their arms, or tapping their fingers. Also, intimately gawk your customers' image (e.g. Clothing, accessories, hair, makeup, etc.). This can also contribute you with many clues about their dining needs.
Here is an exercise to share with your aid team. It lists varied types of customers and ways to customize aid for each customer category. During a pre-shift meeting or business training session, tell this exercise with your restaurant aid staff.
Customer Types and aid Suggestions:
1. Celebrating
-Since celebrating customers normally have larger budgets, suggest higher priced items along with party-spirit foods/drinks and a cake to identify the occasion
-Congratulate the celebrating customer and focus on their main event
-Be group unless serving a consolidate desiring privacy
2. Elderly
-Since many elderly customers are on a wee income, guide them towards value-oriented foods and suggest light, soft, and less spicy foods
-Be inpatient and speak slowly, task your voice, and listen carefully
-Refrain from acts which can be construed as condescending or treating them like children
3. house (with children)
-Offer high chairs and booster seats
-Be prepared to make kid-favorite suggestions and easy to eat finger foods
-Offer something to occupy the child's attention (game books, crayons, crackers)
-Be inpatient while the house orders and give the children the occasion to place their order themselves
-Sincerely compliment the customer about their children
-Ask the child kid-friendly questions
-Place drinks where spills are less likely and remove obstacles (e.g. Vases and centerpieces)
-Quickly clean spills and keep the area tidy
-Deliver extra napkins
4. Romantic consolidate
-Guide the consolidate towards a booth or secluded area for privacy when seating them
-Suggest higher priced items along with wines, champagnes, and exotic desserts, since romantic couples and people on first-dates normally have larger budgets
-Deliver very organized and sufficient service
-Minimize your conversation and allow them privacy, without hovering over them
5. business
-Suggest higher priced items, since many business people have business accounts and set allowances
-Suggest items that are prepared fast and inform them if their superior order requires a long preparation, if they are on a business lunch
-Deliver very organized and sufficient aid and ensure their order is delivered promptly
-Minimize your conversation and allow them privacy without hovering over them
Please Note: When serving alcohol, train your staff to be aware of the signs of intoxication and avoid overselling alcohol. Teach your staff to refuse alcohol sales to any minors.
Other customer types consist of customers dining alone (the solo customer), disabled customers, teenagers as customers, customers who are in a rush, first-time customers, and customers who dine in large groups/gatherings. Again, each different type of customer has "specific" aid needs. Along with recognizing the kind customers belong in, the above aid suggestions are meant as recommendations and are not set in stone. Always, be sure to fully assess every dining customer by intimately observing verbal and body language to determine how to categorically interact with them. Mike Owens, normal manager of Brick Oven Llc, located in Topeka, Kansas, says, "Using the above examples in role-play scenarios is a very sufficient method to properly train your aid teams...it helps them fully understand the significance of tailoring their aid versus delivering the same canned aid to everyone."
"Service" is not just about delivering food and drinks to the table-it is giving the customer much more than he/she expects. Implementing a solid training schedule that focuses on personalizing aid will set you apart from your competitors. Exceeding the needs of each customer with customized aid takes a wee extra time. However, it is worth the effort. When the customer wins, everyone wins and it's a triple play-more money for you, increased tips for your aid staff, and happy customers that come to be loyal patrons and refer their friends to your business.
bistro Training - Waiter & Waitress Training Tips For customer aid - Hospitality study