How to Create a More Customer-Friendly Restaurant

More than 500 members of RestaurantOwner.com -- all independent restaurant operators -- responded to a recent survey on customer service.

The first question was, "On a 1 to 10 scale (10 being highest), how strongly do you believe that the level of customer service that takes place in your restaurant has a direct and significant impact on your success?" Not surprisingly, the average response was 9.49 out of 10.

While not as obvious or as easy to quantify or gauge as some other restaurant activities, without exception, independent operators recognize that the quality of the personal interactions between their employees and guests may very well be the single most important activity that takes place each day in their restaurants.

In recent years, customer service in the restaurant industry has turned its focus on the timing, efficiency and

...really great hospitality is a culture and a family-type environment that must be nurtured every day.

the procedural aspects of getting customers what they want. This is driven perhaps by a preoccupation with the success of the corporate chains. If only all restaurants could achieve the operational benchmarks of the biggest and brightest concepts we would all be eating like kings. Frankly, startup restaurateurs do stumble and fail due to the lack thereof; however, let us not forget that true hospitality is something quite different from memorized service steps and techniques. As one startup restaurateur put it, "You get service from a vending machine but only caring people can deliver hospitality."

Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, an author and an operator of several successful New York restaurants, wrote, "Understanding the distinction between service and hospitality has been at the foundation of our success. Service is the technical delivery of a product. Hospitality is how the delivery of that product makes its recipients feel."

Hospitality is based on a server's ability to go beyond completing required tasks to connect on a personal, even emotional level with your guests. Connecting personally with another human being can take many forms but in the hospitality context it begins with servers who possessa sincere desire to do what is in the best interest of their guests. When guests sense that their servers are genuinely looking out for them, it sets the stage for good feelings to surface and a more positive dining experience to take place.

This article will examine some of the inherent advantages for having a more hospitality-oriented restaurant and provide some practical steps for enhancing the chances that more affirmative, meaningful interactions take place between your staff members and guests.

Identifying and Hiring People Who Possess the 'Hospitality Gene'

Just as it's impossible to create five-star meals without exceptional ingredients, creating a service staff that takes exceptional care of guests requires identifying and hiring the right kind of people.

...take an interest in the lives of your employees and stop and thank them, ask how they are doing and let them know they are appreciated.

In a recent survey to members of this web site, we asked operators to rate the quality of service taking place in their restaurants on a 1-to-10 scale (10 being highest). Sixty-seven operators rated their service a "9" or better. All but one of these said they screened for specific personality and customer service attributes during the selection process.

Here's a sampling of the most common characteristics operators tried to identify in job candidates: