5 Ways to Enhance Your Guests' Experience.

For restaurants, it can be quite a challenge to create customer loyalty which will make them keep coming back. Here are some tips on enhancing your guests' experience in your restaurant:

Create a Good First Impression
First impressions are everything and that is what will be remembered. Ensure that your restaurant is sparkling clean, organized and comfortable. Use posters or floor clings to communicate your products to the consumer. Additionally, have visible signs that direct the customers to various places such as the bathroom so that they do not have to keep asking the waiter/waitress.

Good Attitude From The Staff
Your staff should make the customers feel comfortable from the first time they meet.  A warm welcome is always more than appreciated in any situation. It makes the customer feel comfortable. Have fast delivery at all times to prevent your customers from running out of patience.

Organized Menu
Some customers need an abundance of choice when it comes to ordering food. To make it easier for them to choose what to order, organize the menu well. For example, you could state the meat options available, dressing and breads. You can also add combination meals which some people prefer. Apart from having an organized menu, ensure it is visually appealing and clean.

Food Presentation and Portability
Food presentation is very important. When the food is presented in a beautiful manner, you will notice that the customer will start smiling even before he/she tastes the food. Most will always comment positively on how good the food looks. Reinforce the quality of your products by using branded merchandise such as dispensers for beverages, wrappers and sandwich picks among other things. You can also have branded food containers and wrappers.

Create a Good Lasting Impression
The last contact that you have with your customers can encourage them to come back another time and do so consistently. When the customers are leaving, the staff can salute them enthusiastically and utter a simple "Have a good afternoon" or "Have a good night". That will be sufficient. Apart from this, a lasting impression can also be created by window clings on the way out, danglers at the register or the portable food containers and any other products they may have carried out.

Best Ways to Secure a Reservation

Have you ever tried to get into a new or popular restaurant, only to have them say that they are fully booked for the next couple months? If so, you are not the only one. Plenty of people try to get their foot in the door at popular places but are hit with the hard realization that they will have to go somewhere else unless they want to wait 2 months just to eat at that specific place. Well, the good news is that there are some things that we can do to improve our chances at getting a reservation, let's take a look.

First think you should do is understand that they are busy.  If they give you a seat at the bar, enjoy it. Even if you are only waiting there for a table, it increases your chances at an actual table. You can even check to see if the restaurant is active on any major social media sites. Sometimes they will post if they have available last minute seating. Don't be shy when it comes to social media, publicly post that you are looking for a seat, even give an excuse as to why it is so important. If the restaurant cares about how they look, they will have no problem providing you with an available seat, showing the rest of the social media followers that they care about their customers.

Next, you can check to see if you have a membership that can assist with the reservations. For example, a lot of credit card companies partner up with restaurants to give cardholders special deals or reservations. You can also check the concierge service if you are staying at a nice hotel. They usually have some great connections. So, if you can get a little help, take it!

Your chances of getting a reservation drastically increase if you are willing to have a late night or go during the early week. As we all know Saturday and Sunday are the worst days to try and get a reservation, so if you are able to do Tuesday at 9 PM, then do it.

Another great thing to keep in mind is that if you are trying to get a seat as a walk-in customer, then you should be ready to be time sensitive about your stay. In most situations, restaurants will pad times around the reservation times, just in case the customers arrive early or leave late. So if you let the hostess know that you are willing to be out by a certain time, that could drastically improve your chances at a table. You may be a little rushed, but it is worth it.

In the end, if you are still unable to get a reservation after trying everything you can, just sit and eat at the bar. Most restaurant will serve food there, and you can always switch if they find you another table to sit at. If you are still unable to figure something out that makes you happy, speak to the manager, they can usually get things expedited for you.

Managing your Restaurants Wait Times

People who want to enjoy a night out with a dining experience as part of the activities don't want to wait. It is particularly frustrating to go to your favorite food place and be forced to stand or sit in a small foyer or entrance area for lengthy periods of time. The owner of a busy restaurant chain in Nevada has found a way to turn the wait period into a positive and lucrative experience for her guests. Here are some tips for managing your restaurants wait times in a profitable way.

The wait period for guests which is usually during the breakfast and lunch rush periods can be as long as an hour. The popularity of the dining establishment makes guests willing to wait. The owner points out that she has taken steps to turn the interval between entrance and seating into a mini-vacation.

The savvy restaurateur offers drinks to her patrons while they wait. The drinks might be Bloody Marys, coffee or other items. This works in two ways: the guests are relaxed and happy while they are awaiting a table to open up, and the restaurant makes some income off the drinks that are provided. The return can easily be $20 for a party of four.

There are even specials offered to enhance the feeling of socialization and sharing. Selected drinks such as Mimosas and Bloody Marys are offered in pairs. The specials are noted on the menus. Some locations where the owner is aware of making waiting customers happy encourage them to enjoy a drink at the bar, or at an outdoor waiting area.

Customers who are waiting can be utilized to test the popularity of new drinks. Patrons are getting something during the delay and the restaurant owners gets the benefit of public input. Making personal connections with waiting patrons helps them to feel at home and welcomed. Children are not forgotten either. They are offered free toast orders to help them take care of hunger pangs during a delay.

Paying attention to the ambiance of the wait period will help guests to not feel like they are just marking time while getting more and more anxious for the fun to begin. Instead managing your restaurants wait times in a fun and positive way gains customer's good will. It also provides an opportunity to increase the revenues from customers who are there to take part in an enjoyable meal.

Tips For Recovering From Negative Reviews Part A

In today's world, a negative review on a forum or travel or food blog can have far reaching effects on future business. This discussion is aimed at the steps you should take to identify and address such issues. Because of the importance of recovering from negative reviews, the topic is being split into two parts. This month is focused on identifying the troublesome references. Next time, the topic will offer specific tips to recover from the effects.

Before you can realize that there is a problem you must be monitoring areas where your businesses is mentioned. Obviously, there are a number of places where comments could appear. Even if you just are interested in online comments, you should have a procedure in place for frequent and regular review of local directories, travel sites and restaurant review sites. You can do this monitoring yourself, or pay a professional to do the work.

You can do this monitoring yourself, or pay a professional to do the work. There are software tools that help you to monitor your business. There are also firms that concentrate on reputation management. In either instance, you should have a good picture of what you are doing right, as well as what you are doing wrong. That being said, it may also be true that more people will complain about something than will praise something.

It may make some difference on where the complaint is coming from. While every customer is important, a negative review on a lightly read personal website or blog may not reach as many people as if you get slammed by a recognized restaurant critic with a wide internet, print or social network following. In some cases, you won't need to bring out your big guns to refute the negativity.

In some instances, the criticism may not be valid. It will be up to you to determine if there is a reliable basis for a complaint. A single complaint about a specific dish should not be ignored, but that type of comment will be handled differently than a major health or safety issue that is noted by a reviewer. It is important to use a negative comment as a basis for correction before the single remark becomes a major flow of criticism.

Recovering from negative reviews doesn't have to be a full-time job if you know where the criticism is coming from and respond accordingly. Look for patterns and break the cycle quickly. Remember that not every negative remark is a valid one.

Where To Find Restaurant Employees

Because restaurants provide service as well as food, the business relies on both in order to attract and maintain a customer base. For more owners and managers, finding top quality restaurant employees may seem difficult. Alternatively, some owners just hire the first person who submits an application when a position opens up. Although you may be lucky enough to find a great employee using the method, it is more likely that your results will be less spectacular.

Before you can recruit for a position, you need to have a clear view of the duties that will make up the restaurant job description. If you are fairly firm on the requirements, then you won't waste time looking at people who obviously do not meet the minimum skills, experience and knowledge levels needed. Knowing the duties will give you a starting point to begin recruitment.

More and more job postings today are placed on the internet. These can be posted on the business website or blog. They might be listed with online employment agencies. Be specific about what you want and if there are any special requirements or limitations that the prospective employee must know. You may search for specialized fields such as chefs at industry related websites.

Although internet posting are common, many people looking for work still check local print or other media. Newspapers, community magazines and bulletin boards are available to a local employee pool. These people have the advantage of being familiar with your operation and the community itself. This can be a real benefit to customers who are looking for related points of interest while dining.

You can also take advantage of the many recruitment agencies that are available online or locally. Sometimes employment agencies serve a dual role. They can provide employees on a trial basis that have been vetted and in some instances are trained and experienced. Another type of agency is one that exists as a headhunter firm. These firms would be more appropriate for a high end job, such as an executive chef or a financial officer.

Take advantage of any and all ways to recruit qualified employees. Using technology of today and more traditional print media can be equally effective. You can also take advantage of opening recruitment efforts for some positions to the existing employees. The best employees might come through recruitment agencies or from word-of-mouth. Although it may seem like unfair tactics, check with great employees in other restaurants to see if there is any consideration to making a move.

How To Find And Hire Restaurant Employees

Knowing how to hire restaurant employees is crucial to the proper operation of the facility. In most locations, there are plenty of people who are looking for work. It's important to consider some basic principles when you plan to start looking for a new employee.

Before you hire anyone, always make sure you have an up-to-date description of what is expected of the new person on the payroll. Before a new employee joins your organization is a great time to review job expectations of existing staff members. A smooth-running operation is facilitated when each employee knows what is expected from him or her while on the job. Using a restaurant job description allows you to create a checklist for recruitment.

If you plan to do the interviewing and employee selection yourself, set aside time to do a complete and thorough interview process. If you pick the right people for your staff, you are less likely to need to repeat the hiring process in a few weeks. Recruitment, hiring and training are costly. When you are finding and keeping good employees, you won't be spending money over and over to keep your operation fully staffed.

During the application process, you will need to rely on both written and face-to-face information about the prospective employee. When you prepare and post recruitment information, let prospective employees know what you are searching for as a base level of knowledge, skills, and experience. Depending upon the type of position you are filling, you may do an initial screening from the written applications or resumes. You can then schedule an interview for the persons who meet the base qualifications.

During the initial interview with a field of candidates, be sure to explain what the job entails. Some employers like to show the applicant around the premises and perhaps do some introductions to other staff members. This gives you an opportunity to observe how the person being interviewed relates to others.

The face-to-face interview should focus on learning more about how the individual relates to others. You should prepare questions that are allowed legally. The answers you get are not as important as how the individual handles a stressful situation, such as a job interview. Insist on valid references and check each reference. You may want to include a performance-based element to the final interview if appropriate for the position. Using these tips on how to hire restaurant employees will improve your likelihood of getting a person well suited for the job.

Tips To Prevent Employee Theft

Many restaurant owners and managers cite employee theft as a significant element of costs for the operation of the facility. There are many reasons why employees choose to steal from employers. There is the moral issue, as well as genuine need. Some people simply do not think of taking a steak from the freezer or a drink from the soda machine as theft. Yet the lost funds can add up to a significant amount. These tips may well prevent some of the losses.

It is important that employees understand what behavior is acceptable and what behavior constitutes theft. An employee manual should state clearly whether food and supply is to be charged to the employees or whether it is part of the benefits associated with the job. The manual should also define what the results for non-compliance with the rules will be.

Any standards about use of restaurant supplies and equipment by employees must be applied uniformly. Don't allow some people to "get away with" having a meal from restaurant supplies, while others are prohibited. If you don't want drinks to be poured for the waitpersons, but the manager sneaks one occasionally, there will be a perception that the rules are meant to be broken.

Institute an accounting and record-keeping system that tracks orders and compares them to inventory levels. Regular and complete restaurant inventory management systems are a crucial part of good management. You can use the computer and easy-to-understand software to tie sales to specific waitpersons or bar staff. The manager or owner who doesn't track supplies and inventory regularly is setting himself up for loss.

You can go so far as to set up cameras to record activities in the facility. While this may prevent certain types of active theft, cameras can serve as your eyes and ears about behavior in other aspects of the service as well. Using images to assist in training and service improvement is contributing to the overall quality of your restaurant. Some restaurants arrange for a mystery shopper service in order to monitor some employee activities, although this may not identify situations where theft is a possibility.

All of these elements can be presented in a positive way. The vast majority of employees are basically honest and should not be made to feel as if there is no trust. However, the employer should make it clear that the success of the business depends on the actions of each and every person. Employee theft affects the bottom line of the restaurant.