What’s going to keep your customers coming back to your restaurant? Sure, the food is important. Admittedly, it’s still pretty much the most important aspect to consider! But the quality of the food isn’t the only thing that contributes to the customer’s experience.
There are three areas in the customer experience that many restaurant owners seem to overlook. In this article, we’re going to have a quick look at these three. They may seem like subtle things, but they can make a world of difference.
Clear, user-friendly menus
You don’t want your customers to be getting confused when they look at a menu. The design of your menu, as well as its options, is one of the most important elements of your entire business.
The menu is one of the first things your customer uses when they come to your restaurant. It’s important that this first impression is a good one! There are a lot of small improvements you can make to your menu.
If you have items on your menu with names that are hard to pronounce, consider having pronunciation guides. Make sure the vegetarian and vegan options on your menu are clear, so customers so inclined don’t have to search for ages!
You may also want to increase accessibility of your menu by putting it up on your website. This will allow your customers to make their decisions before they come to the restaurant. Make sure you’ve got a mobile-friendly version of that menu on your website, too!
Related: 5 Important Tips for Starting (and Running) a Successful Restaurant Business
Staff uniforms
Okay, so this is a pretty rare problem in restaurants. But you do sometimes end up in places where the employees don’t have a uniform. I can understand why some business owners are reluctant to make their employees wear uniforms. After all, people do tend to be more comfortable in their own clothes!
But in a restaurant setting, this can create a problem. When your employees aren’t wearing a uniform, it won’t be clear to your customers who is and isn’t an employee! This can create confusion if someone is in need of a waiter.
Sure, you can sometimes circumvent this problem by making your employees wear an apron. But the best solution is to look into getting restaurant uniforms! It should be absolutely clear that the wearer is a restaurant employee. This will eliminate all risk of confusion.
A quick and easy billing process
The billing process is the last thing that a customer will experience before leaving. In many ways, it’s as important as the first thing they experience when it comes to leaving an impression. Unfortunately, paying the bill at a restaurant can often be a bit of a stress.
It’s important to streamline this process as much as possible. After all, when a customer asks for the bill it means they need to leave. Don’t leave them hanging around longer than necessary!
Make sure your staff knows the importance of completing this stage as soon as possible. Preferably, your employees should have the right payment equipment with them at all times to allow for instant billing.
You could also consider having customers pay for their food up front, although this may make them question service charges. Make sure you have contactless payment capabilities, as well as mobile app payment functionality.