A New Restaurant

Anyone that has actively marketed their restaurant knows that attracting new customers can be very expensive.  I’ve seen some claims that it is more than three-times as expensive to bring in a new customer than it is to keep an existing customer.

So, after spending the money for your restaurant marketing campaign, what are you doing to convert those new customers into returning customers?

The first step is to train your staff how to treat customers correctly.  Don’t think that your servers will automatically understand the importance of getting customers to return.  A lot of your servers are pretty short-sighted.  They are more concerned with today’s tips than they are in building your business.

Many servers have a tendency to see a coupon as a tool that will cause them to get a smaller tip.  As a result they will not give coupon customers the same attention they would give a customer that pays full price.  The result is that the customer will not be made to feel special, and they are less likely to return.

Make sure you are aware of what is going on in your dining room, and that your servers are treating all of your guests the way they deserve to be treated.  Remember, great food alone will not guarantee the success of your restaurant. If you want customers to return, you need to make sure that they feel special.

Is your restaurant a sanitary food environment, or is it merely clean?  It is an important distinction, and one that successful restaurant managers need to be aware of.

Clean means that the area is free of dirt.  Sanitary means that it is free of dangerous levels of germs and pathogens.  If you sweep and mop a floor it is clean, but you still probably would not want to eat off of it.

Why?  Because it is not sanitary.

As a successful restaurant manager you want to make sure that the food contact surfaces in your restaurant are both clean and sanitary.  That means that you need to have good cleaning and sanitization procedures in place, and you need to inspect the work to make sure that it meats your standards.

The difference between clean and sanitary is a distinction that many people miss.  Because they don’t see dirt they fell like everything is OK.  The problem is, your eye can not see the germs that may be crawling all over the surface.

For instance, suppose your cook was cutting raw chicken on a cutting board.  When he was done he wiped the cutting board and the knife with a damp rag and then started to prep vegetables for tonight’s salads.  Because he wiped the surface it appears to be clean, but all of the pathogens from the raw chicken are still crawling all over the knife and the cutting board, and those germs are now contaminating the raw salad veggies.

On the other hand, your customers may freak out over a bit of food that was stuck to the tine of their fork.  However, because that fork went through a high temperature sanitization, the fork is sanitary, even though it is not clean.  The customer has a much greater chance of getting sick eating the contaminated salad then they would by using the dirty fork.

Your restaurant should establish a policy of having pails of sanitizing solution available, and ensuring that your staff use that solution.  Every time your cooks move from one task to another they should get into the habit of sanitizing their area.  When you servers are bussers wipe down a table they should do it with sanitizer.

It is a very inexpensive way to reduce the chances of a food borne illness outbreak in your restaurant.  You can use a bleach solution that is 50 to 100 ppm to get the job done.  That is about a capful of bleach for every gallon of water.

Don’t worry about everything smelling like bleach.  At that level of concentration it should have no odor.  In fact, if you smell bleach you have it mixed too strong.  A proper concentration will have no smell and it will not leave an after taste on the surface.  It won’t even stain your clothes if you get splashed.  And bleach is one of the least expensive sanitizers you can use.

As a successful restaurant manager you need to make sure that your restaurant is not only clean, but it is sanitary as well.  Teach your staff to sanitize their areas, then inspect to make sure they are doing it right.

Many managers have the distinct privilege of being put in charge as manager of a restaurant after a previous manager has done their best to kill the business.  They drove away customers, and left the restaurant with a poor reputation and a dwindling customer base.  So what can you, as the new manager do to breathe life back into the business?

The first thing is to realize that you will not be able to revive the business overnight.  (more…)

I heard a quote recently that was attributed to Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart: — “I was asked what I thought about the recession and decided that I did not want to take part in it.”

I thought the quote was interesting, because it really goes after the issue of attitude when your restaurant is faced with difficult times.  (more…)

For most restaurants, your year is really affected by the different seasons.  It’s how well you take advantage of the different seasons that determine whether your restaurant will be a success or a failure.  Restaurant owners that are successful realize that the money they earn at Christmas will have to get them through the remaining winter months.  Restaurant owners that fail to plan for the slower periods run out of cash, and end up with cash flow problems that could cost them their business.

While the seasonal slowdown is not good for the financial health of your restaurant, it does not have to be wasted time.  One of the big complaints in the restaurant business is that there isn’t enough time to do all of the things that need to be done.  during the sower season you can be doing things that you don’t have time to do when it’s busy that can contribute to your restaurants success. (more…)

One way to ensure that your kitchen staff is doing their part to help you control the food cost is to hold daily production meetings.  This is important in any food service operation, but it is especially important if you’re not using the exact same menu every day.  If your cooks aren’t aware how to prepare a daily menu, they may take it on themselves to just make something up regardless of what you had planned.  If they over portion, even by a little bit, your food cost starts to rise. (more…)

There is a Mexican restaurant in our town that my family loves.  We go there frequently because of the good food and very reasonable prices.  Most of the time the service is very good, but there have been a couple of small gliches in our experience.

One of the items on the menu is “White Salsa.”  It is a spiced white sauce, and is one of the items on the menu (more…)

I was reminded the other day how important a good server is to the success of your restaurant. I went to a local franchise for dinner on Saturday, and the server did a great job of making our meal a very pleasant time.

One of the people that was joining us for dinner made a wrong turn, and they were late arriving. The server came to take our drink order, and when she found out that we were going to be waiting for the missing person before ordering, made a few great appetizer suggestions.

When the person we were waiting for arrived, the server was watching, and quickly came by to take the persons drink order. Then after an appropriate amount of time, came back to take our dinner order. She checked back with us a few times during the meal, but she didn’t hover over our table. She did, however, make herself available if we needed her.

At the end of the meal we were in a bit of a rush, so she quickly got us check out and out the door.

There were a few things about the experience that struck me, and as a restaurant owner or manager you need to pay attention to with your servers if you want to be successful.

Suggestive Selling

Our server did a great job of mentioning a few specific appetizers on the menu, and told us why she was recommending them to us: “This always gets great compliments” or “There is enough food with this app for the table to share.”

To often the server comes by the table and asks, “Would you like to order an appetizer?” There’s no suggestions, and no reason to say yes. Sometimes guests are undecided about whether or not to get an appetizer or dessert, and many of them are just looking for an excuse to say yes. By making specific suggestions, you increase the chances that they will order something extra from the menu. It’s those extra items that increase check averages, and increases the restaurants profits. Higher check averages also increase the servers tips, which will give them a reason not to leave to work for your competitor.

Be Present, but Don’t Hover

Our server did a nice job of being available when we needed her, but without intruding on our time together. It was much better than having a server that makes you feel like your being rushed, or a server that drops off the food, then disappears for long stretches of time.

I know that servers will go into the back to take care of their side work, but they need to remember that their priority has to be customer service. After all, that is why they are on your staff in the first place

I can forgive a bad experience with a server, but if it happens consistently I will find a new restaurant to frequent.

It Comes Down To Training

One bad server experience can be written off as just a bad server, but multiple bad experiences has to be blamed on management. You must have a training program in place for your servers when you first hire them, and then do periodic training sessions after that. And training does not mean having them follow behind one of the veterans for a few days. It means teaching them to do things the way you want them done.

Your servers are the front line of customer service. They can make or break you restaurant operation. Make sure your servers are properly trained, then watch how they interact with the customers. Don’t be afraid to pull them aside to make suggestions on how they can do their job better.