In today’s digital age, customer feedback, especially in the restaurant industry, is incredibly powerful. Bad reviews online can literally put a restaurant out of business. But there are also many positive ways that customer feedback can make an impact. When restaurant managers listen to what their customers are saying and take action, businesses improve, customers are happier, and revenues grow. The first step to building a quality customer experience is understanding your customer and their current experience.
Surveys with Context
Some survey software can integrate survey responses with POS data to give you a complete picture of your customers’ experience – from beginning to end. For example, do guests that dine in the bar report better experiences than ones in the dining room? Do certain servers receive better marks than others? Do some of the menu items evoke rave reviews while others leave disappointment?
Insights gained from surveys have real, practical applications in your restaurant that go far beyond satisfaction scores. When you have survey data that provides true context about the customer’s experience you can use your data to identify correlations and efficiently improve the experience. Here are some of the ways that you can use the insights you gain from customer experience surveys to improve your operations.
1. Optimize Your Menu
Customer surveys can quickly let you know which menu items are favorites and which are missing the mark. This can help you streamline your menu – getting rid of dishes that aren’t paying off. You can also offer promotions and special deals on your most popular items to drive traffic.
2. Incentivize Your Staff
Ask your customers about the quality of their service. You may consider giving servers who consistently get high marks a raise, bonus, or some sort of recognition. You can even make it into a competition among staff to see who can get the most positive feedback. This incentivizes staff to perform well and motivates customers to leave feedback.
3. Implement New Ideas
What can you do to offer a better customer experience? Chances are that your customers are ready and willing to offer some suggestions. Whether it’s a new menu item or an improvement to your restaurant, recommendations from customers often have a unique perspective that can help innovate your restaurant. And seeing their recommendations taken seriously makes them feel valued and can increase customer loyalty and retention.
4. Compare to Competitors
You may want to ask your customers how you compare to some of your biggest competitors across a few criteria, like food quality, service, cleanliness, etc. This gives you the opportunity to see where you are doing well and where you might need to enact some changes.
Customer experience is the backbone of the restaurant industry. Guests not only expect to have great food, but also excellent service and a pleasant dining atmosphere. While restaurant managers can and should review and respond to reviews and comments on sites like Yelp or Google, it’s wise to also seek out the valuable feedback you need by surveying your customers. This gives you the ability to customize your surveys to get the specific input you need.
Managing a restaurant can be challenging but leveraging the data you collect from your customers can help you make better, more informed decisions. Utilize a survey software tool that can help you gather, analyze, and interpret that data so your restaurant can provide rave-worthy customer experiences for years to come.