Restaurant Customer Service Strategy: In the Heat of the Moment
You know those restaurant nights. The kind where guest traffic is nonstop, the staff runs at full capacity, and amidst the high energy, snags, chokepoints, and miscommunications rear up at every turn. Sure, you’ve got a great customer service policy in place, but what about some “on-the-floor” guidelines? Emotions run hot, and so do those kitchen grills! Follow our restaurant customer service strategy to learn how to best navigate these customer service snafus, get your staff on board, and improve that customer-first culture with a plan in place when things get chaotic.The Food Complaint (Listen, Then Speak)
The Scenario:
A customer calls you over. They’re upset, and pointing to their plate. “There’s something wrong with my order,” they say. “I need this corrected.”Your Restaurant Customer Service Strategy:
Assess the situation by asking for the details first. Let the customer articulate their complaint. You don’t need a novel here. Usually, a sentence will suffice, ex: “This is pork, I ordered chicken!” From here, identify the source of the problem. Did a server accidentally bring another table’s entree? Did the kitchen flub the order? Is the customer upset about the preparation of the food, or the actual contents? You need these details to rectify the situation promptly. Empathize by apologizing. Make your apology count by saying “I’m sorry for _____” and not making excuses. By restating, you check your understanding of the issue. Then, quickly move them towards a solution. Remember that if you’re bringing a new meal, you may need to rush it ahead of existing ones in the queue. Let the customer know this, and make right on it. A final tip is a practice of “thirds.” You should spend about 2/3 of the conversation listening and about 1/3 of it speaking yourself. These complaints tend to be simple to rectify, so don’t waste time making excuses or extrapolating details. Find the problem and fix it!The Wait Complaint (Manage Expectations)
The Scenario:
A customer receives an estimated pick-up time on food which they ordered online. Because of unforeseen circumstances, they’ve had to wait longer. They’re upset in the lobby and want you to know about it.Your Restaurant Customer Service Strategy:
Quickly assess the situation by asking for details. Understand that beyond a one-sentence description, there likely won’t be many, but you always want to give the customer a chance to articulate their problem. This also allows you to check for understanding. Once you’ve identified the issue, give some pertinent details about the situation. Tread lightly here because you don’t want to make excuses. Try and keep this explanation brief and easily provable, i.e., “we have a serious rush right now!” vs. “Sorry, this family of 8 just came in, they keep sending their food back and messing up the whole ticket. Plus, one of our cooks is out today.” We’re not suggesting that during chaotic times, you can’t just say so. Transparency is valuable. Just remember that at the moment, a verbal explanation only goes so far. Don’t dwell on what’s going wrong in the flow, move them to a resolution quickly. In rectifying the issue, give these customers special consideration. You’ve already broken their trust with an inaccurate quote time. Don’t leave yourself open to this again. Finally, the best defense against these chokepoints is an automated solution and an integrated kitchen. When your Point-of-sale, front-of-house, and kitchen display system are working in tandem, they create off-premise quote times which reflect the workload in the kitchen (known as “order throttling”). This reduces miscommunications substantially.The Staff Complaint (Let Me Speak to Your Manager)
The Scenario:
A customer lodges a formal complaint against someone on your staff. The customer is upset about the tone a staff member used when discussing wine options and feels it was unnecessarily rude.Your Restaurant Customer Service Strategy:
Off the bat, it’s easy to get defensive when anyone criticizes your team, especially when you know (and trained) the individual in question. Regardless, always take an apologetic track, don’t match any hostility and apologize for the situation. “I’m sorry. Please let me know what happened.” In cases like this, collect as many details as possible because you’ll likely be cross-referencing them with the accused employee. Get applicable names, times and any other details that can help corroborate the story. Emphasize your commitment to righting the wrong with the staff member in question and work to resolve the concern with the customer. In some cases, they may be upset about the situation and just want to be acknowledged. If appropriate, offer discounts or coupons on future meals. Some customers may wish to see immediate disciplinary action taken on the employee, right then and there. Keep a cool head here though, and remember that once they’ve reported the incident, it’s up to you to take care of it. Neutralize the feelings on the floor and help them get back to enjoying their meal. Furthermore, just because a customer complains doesn’t necessarily mean a staff member acted inappropriately, and though you want to exude a “customer first” approach on the floor, use your best judgment on your staff. When dealing with staff members, you want to address any incidents as soon as possible, but when things have cooled down a bit. Sometimes, the end of a shift is a great opportunity to run accountability of all that happened that day. Help staff members understand that a customer often only has one perspective on a given situation and that their complaints aren’t automatic “death sentences” for them. Work to create a strategy with the staff member on how to deal with the situation should it ever arise again. Emphasize the importance of maintaining customer satisfaction even when the nights aren’t going according to plan.The General Complaint (Can Your Turn Down the Racket?)
The Scenario:
A customer complains about the general upkeep and ambiance in your restaurant. They’ve taken seats by a window and the sun is too bright. They want to know if they can close the blinds.Your Restaurant Customer Service Strategy:
Your goal here is to make sure you’ve got all the details (quickly) and move to resolution. Often, you really can remedy the situation swiftly. In the example above, you can likely simply close the blinds and be done with it. Don’t draw attention to the item or article in question, but to the promptness displayed in fixing the situation. On the flipside, remember that these “complaints” are sometimes general preferences. You want to be approachable but aren’t beholden to everything a guest asks. They may take issue with your lighting choices or the volume of your music. Take these on a case-by-case basis, as decor and branding decisions may not be up to you. If you’re receiving a lot of complaints about the same issue though, you may want to reconsider your brand and audience. You don’t want to alienate them. Sometimes customers complain about another customer’s behavior. These situations complicate matters because you don’t have authority over another customer’s actions (or their kids!) the way you do your staff. Still, the goal is to maintain composure, address the concern and be empathetic. If kids are making a giant spectacle that’s disrupting everyone, there’s a good chance the parents are already aware of it too. See what you can do to soothe fussing children (do you have crayons and coloring sheets?) and try to be understanding. You won’t always be able to solve these issues “at the source.” Sometimes they don’t need to be solved at all. Your customers want to be heard and validated more than they want a perfect experience. If you can show your commitment to that, they’ll be more understanding when things get out of hand. Though it’s good to have a reactive game plan in place, some proactive customer service techniques include:- Active praise: When a guest has a great experience, nudge them towards a positive review. Often, guests are motivated by unpleasant experiences to post negative reviews online. You’ve nothing to lose with a suggestion!
- Setting staff expectations: Make your customer service policies and expectations available to your staff. Train new employees on these policies.
- Constantly re-evaluate: Use your customer experiences, good and bad, to determine new policies. Make adjustments as necessary.
Leave a Reply