When you’re ready to improve on the way you currently do business at your restaurant, your main asset will be your customers’ feedback as you move forward with implementing new changes. They’ll tell you the good, the bad and the ugly about your business and let you know what works and what doesn’t. Your customer feedback lets you adjust accordingly so new and old customers alike will have better and better experiences when they visit you. This means a boost in business as well as cultivation of an excellent reputation.
Gathering and Implementing Restaurant Customer Feedback
Asking for feedback can be nerve-wracking for any service professional, and even if it isn’t, most customers don’t like to be put on the spot. In fact, the majority of dissatisfied individuals will simply choose to take their business elsewhere rather than complain. This makes the simple task of gathering feedback much more complicated than it sounds. The good news is that there are a lot of easy ways to get this information without much hassle.
Using Review Sites to Your Advantage
The internet has opened up a lot of doors for both consumers and business owners to make their voices and brands heard. With the help of prominent review sites such as Yelp, you’ll be able to see what customers are saying about your business online. Because this is a format customers are pretty comfortable with, you’ll get the inside scoop on what your customers think without any filter or bias.
Don’t simply look at your own reviews, either. You want to stay competitive, so looking at what customers are saying about your competitors for their business is a way to keep your ear to the ground. This tells you want they might be lacking that you could offer, what they’re doing better that you could improve on, etc. Drawing from this information could give you plenty of ideas for new services to add or processes that you could hone for improvement.
Relying on Your Existing Digital Resources
If you have any social media presence, this is a good avenue to get restaurant customer feedback both indirectly from monitoring what people have to say as well as directly through customer engagement. Facebook, for example, has a poll feature that you could use to entice your followers into providing their opinions. You may also want to incorporate some kind of feedback form onto your website for your visitors to use.
Train Service Professionals to Inquire for Feedback
Your servers are on the ground floor, directly interacting with customers. Have them consistently check up on the guests to ask if there’s anything more they need for an improved experience at your establishment. When the meal is over, have them ask for any feedback about the food.
Using Surveys and Other Feedback Monitoring Technology
Many fast food places and other restaurants incorporate an optional survey with the purchase and incentivize customers to participate by offering discounts or other offers once feedback has been gathered. There are a number of survey and other feedback gathering software options out there to help streamline the process of gathering feedback and incorporating it into your strategy for the long-term.
Refer to Feedback When Creating and Revising Business Plans
Don’t just gather feedback – use it. It’s only an asset when you do something with it; otherwise, it’s useless. Compile customer restaurant feedback reports every quarter or every year, note trends and adjust your business plan accordingly. All of this information can be used to strategize in regard to redesigning your premises’ interiors, changing how you market and planning or optimizing your menu. Whether it comes to designing a clever feedback form that inspires participation or revamping some of your promotional or menu materials, 4colorprint can help.
