A delicious dish or a perfectly made drink counts for nothing if the atmosphere and the service at an establishment don't please customers. That's why it's essential to know how to serve customers well, whether in a bar or a restaurant.
Remember: quality service is essential, since, according to Sebrae, 80% of dissatisfied customers look for other establishments and never go back to the one where they were poorly served.
Want to make sure your customers not only keep coming back to your business, but also recommend it to friends and family? Check out the eight tips below!
Leia também: How to create a customer service flowchart for restaurants
What quality service means
But first, it's worth highlighting what makes the difference when serving a customer and what your consumers are looking for. Generally speaking, you need to combine quality products, a cozy atmosphere, and fast service.
In other words, to understand how to serve customers well at your establishment, first make sure your menu delivers what people are looking for when they eat and drink.
For example, if you know a certain drink is very popular with your target audience, never let it go out of stock.
Next, work on improving the physical space of your restaurant or bar and making it easier for people to order and enjoy. Some ways to do that are:
- Create an inviting, comfortable atmosphere;
- Pay attention to the venue's temperature control;
- Clearly signpost each area (bar, register, tables, restrooms, etc.);
- Have a well-trained team, and enough of them.
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Learn how to serve customers well with these 8 tips
Now it's time to go through the tips for great customer service. They will help you define strategies, actions, and differentiators that will create an irresistible space for your customers.
1. Train your team well
The best tip to start with is – surprise! – to start at the beginning. In this case, with your service team. After all, they're the ones who take and deliver orders, answer questions, listen to suggestions/complaints, and handle other interactions that are essential to the customer experience.
So make sure of the following:
- The team knows how to operate all the software and hardware your bar/restaurant uses;
- Everyone needs to know how to carry out service processes (such as taking and delivering orders, recording sales, and so on).
- It's also important that everyone knows the menu, the physical space, and the best way to talk with customers.
To do this, run periodic training sessions with your staff so they can ask questions, get up to speed on new procedures, and share knowledge about service best practices and the most common questions customers tend to have.
2. Cut down lines and wait times
When you arrive at a restaurant dying for a delicious meal, there's nothing worse than being greeted by a huge line. The same goes for when you try to order a drink at the bar and there are more people waiting at the counter than there are staff serving.
To keep that from happening, invest in technology and staff to make customer service as fast as possible.
Allow reservations in advance – even better if it's via smartphone –, have several service points, and also make self-service easy (via Self-Service Kiosk or smartphone).
At the same time, always aim to have an adequate number of staff who can handle the service, ensuring speed and efficiency when taking and delivering orders – without mistakes, of course, never! One way to make this easier is to use a digital menu and smartphone payment app, such as EPOC GO.
3. Seek out feedback and make improvements based on it
Nobody grows and improves alone. You need to exchange ideas, listen to suggestions, and interpret constructive criticism to understand what to improve and how.
That's why it's essential that you create ways to receive feedback from your customers to understand what they like and what can be improved.
You can create big initiatives to encourage feedback – such as offering cashback in exchange for answers in a satisfaction survey –, or even set up a simple suggestion box.
That way you'll get closer to knowing how to serve customers well at your establishment according to your audience's specific needs.
4. Pay attention to your menu
Serving your customers well isn't just about how people interact with your bar/restaurant space or with your service team. One item that sometimes goes unnoticed but carries a lot of weight in the customer experience is the menu.
Apply techniques from what's known as m inu engineering to help customers find the most popular items easily and intuitively.
And also try to make the menu available in different formats, such as, for example, accessible on a smartphone, which brings more convenience and autonomy to your customers.
5. Build customer loyalty and don't be afraid to run promotions
This is one of those points that actually comes together as the sum of all the others.
That's because if you have an intuitive menu, a skilled team, fast service, and you listen to what your customers say, they're very likely to keep coming back.
But that doesn't mean you can skip other actions to build loyalty — after all, it's far harder – and more expensive – to win a new customer than to bring an existing one back.
To retain these people, invest in cashback policies, run promotions for repeat customers, and Create loyalty programs that reward customers who come back to your establishment. Also bet on seasonal promotions and events – to learn more, check out our Calendar of Important Dates for Bars and Restaurants!
6. Make the most of technology
If you're still using pen and paper to take orders, ringing bells in the kitchen to announce they're ready, and offering your menu only on paper, you urgently need an update.
Today, consumers expect a modern, fast experience, where they can have autonomy, confidence in the service, and speed when it's time to pay. And to offer all of that, making the most of technology is essential.
That's exactly why there are bar and restaurant management systems, also known as ERP, which let you offer digital features, automate tasks, and speed up service processes.
With this kind of solution, you can, for example, count on Online menu e digital tab. Assim, os clientes podem visualizar os pratos e as bebidas a qualquer momento e já fazer o pedido.
This way, customers gain autonomy and privacy. Meanwhile, your service team has more time for the people who actually have questions.
What's more, whether through self-service or when service teams enter customer orders on the bar/restaurant's devices, in both cases the orders are ready faster. Isso porque eles são enviados automaticamente para a cozinha/bar, o que acelera todo esse processo.
7 . Make payment easy
With an ERP solution, you also make payment easier – both for you and for your customers. Customers can close out their tabs using their phone, without waiting in line, paying by credit or PIX. And you receive the money in real time, fully secure.
On top of that, with a more modern payment solution, you can diversify your revenue streams – whether by credit, debit, or Pix – without needing several card machines.
That way, your customers have more freedom to choose how to pay without facing lines or hassles at checkout (like that card machine that never has signal, you know?).
Paying through an ERP also helps you: it makes it far easier to avoid errors and even fraud when closing out registers, more practical to view information about your financial flow, and, thanks to the service, you receive payments directly from customers.
8. Control your inventory
Finally, another way technology helps you serve customers well is with inventory control.
If that sounds strange, just think: what is the more contemplative of a customer who walks into your establishment and, when placing their order, finds out their favorite menu item isn't available?
Having inventory control doesn't just affect your operation's efficiency and your cash flow — it also shapes your customer service.
With an ERP, for example, you automatically record inventory ins and outs, preventing you from letting an ingredient run out, which costs you sales (and customers).
Learn more: How EPOC helps optimize service at your restaurant
Check out more tips for managing restaurants and bars
Liked our tips on serving customers well? Then make the most of our other content! Check out best practices for achieving service excellence and download our free Customer Service Training Guide!
