When customers come into your restaurant, they want to feel welcome. Restaurant hospitality is almost as important as providing great food in guaranteeing that your customers will visit your restaurant again and again. Consider these tips for great customer service that will help keep customers coming back to your Samurai Sam’s Teriyaki Grill®.
GUESTS VS. CUSTOMERS
Move past the transactional nature of serving customers and think of them as guests. Each guest might have different needs, and being aware of and remembering those needs when they visit your restaurant can improve their experience. Listen to your guests and empathize with them if they are dissatisfied to work to turn a negative experience into a positive one. Active listening can even help prevent issues from arising, as you anticipate the needs of different guests and proactively attend to them, rather than reactively.
UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CUSTOMER SERVICE AND HOSPITALITY
While you might think they are the same, customer service and restaurant hospitality are different skill sets. You can provide great service, but you and your staff should also be hospitable, which means being one step ahead and anticipating the needs of your guests. Your guests should always feel welcome.
HIRE EMPLOYEES WITH INNATE SENSE OF HOSPITALITY
Restaurant hospitality can be learned, but hiring employees that already have that genuine innate nature will benefit you and your restaurant. When interviewing prospective staff members look for sustained eye contact, sense of humility, confident body language and clear thought articulation. These qualities are signs that your employee is likely to be capable of positive interaction with your Samurai Sam’s® guests.
If you excel at great customer service and hospitality, having your own Samurai Sam’s Teriyaki Grill franchise could be a natural fit.
©2017 Kahala Franchising, L.L.C. All rights reserved. All other trademarks referenced are property of their respective owners. The information provided herein is for informational purposes only and is not intended as an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, a franchise; nor is it directed to the residents of any particular jurisdiction within the U.S. or elsewhere. The following states currently regulate the offer and sale of franchises: CA, HI, IL, IN, MD, MI, MN, NY, ND, RI, SD, VA, WA, and WI. If you are a resident of one of these states, or of a jurisdiction that has similar requirements, we will not offer you a franchise until we have completed the applicable registration or obtained the exemption from registration, and completed the applicable disclosure requirements. Regardless of what state you reside in, an offering can only be made by a franchise disclosure document.
