What makes your restaurant stand apart from the
competition?
For some in this industry, it is food that is nothing
short of spectacular. Others have a dining setting that patrons love to visit
time and time again. Still others have customer service that is second to none.
When you put all those traits of a fine restaurant
together, you are likely to have an eatery that is doing solid business and
racking up great revenue.
So, does your eatery have all these factors going for it?
If not, where are some areas to improve on in 2016 and beyond?
Food,
Service and Setting
To start with, look at your food choices and see what is
popular and what may need some replacing on the menu.
In a day and age when more consumers are at least stating
they are watching what they eat, make sure you offer a well-balanced selection
of meals.
For starters, do you offer
vegetarian selections for part of your customer base? If not, it
would behoove you to consider such options.
Another focal point is having a wide selection of meals
on your menu. Keep in mind that not everyone who comes into your establishment
wants a three or even five course meal. Having smaller selections on the menu
will appeal to many guests.
The same also holds true for your drink selections.
While there are some chain restaurants in particular
nationwide that do not have liquor licenses, the majority of restaurants do.
With that said, have myriad of beers, wines and harder liquor for your crowd to
choose from.
Service
with a Smile
As important as the food is for any successful
restaurant, the service is right up there too.
You can have the tastiest meals in the neighborhood, but
sloppy and slow service can be killers for your business.
When hiring new talent, look for those individuals who
are personable and get how important a personality is in the restaurant
business.
If an employee doesn’t care for people all that much
and/or is short with them, your patrons won’t be in a big rush to come back.
Sure, it might just be one or two of your waiters,
waitresses or hostesses who are like that, but it just takes one bad experience
with an employee to leave doubts in the minds of diners.
Comfortable
Seating is a Must
How much stock do you also put in making sure your
patrons are comfortably seated when they come to your restaurant?
Sure, food and service are right at the top of the list
in importance, but you don’t want chairs, tables, booths etc. that make for an
unpleasant sitting experience when diners drop by for an hour or two at your
eatery.
Having weather resistant
restaurant patio furniture for those dining outdoors, comfortable
booths where diners do not feel like they’re on top of one another and relaxing
chairs at tables inside, are all critical to an overall good dining experience.
Give your restaurant furniture reviews every so often to
see how it is holding up and if it may be time to replace some or all of it.
The same holds true for your carpeting and also the painting and pictures you
have on your walls.
One way to go about seeing how your restaurant is doing
is visiting other eateries around town to see how they cater to patrons when it
comes to food, service, comfort etc. Just as comfort
in your home is important to you, it should also be a high
priority with your dining guests.
With all that in mind, how would you say your restaurant
is doing in terms of meeting al these important measuring sticks?
Take some time to sit down (with your staff) and review
how you are doing in these areas.
If you are coming up short in one or all of these areas,
make plans to fix where the shortcomings are. That way you can put your
restaurant in a position to maximize its potential, giving you happy customers
and an even better revenue stream in 2016.
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