Because regular customers expect (and deserve) to be treated as someone special. Sometimes you don't need to remember their names, or what their favourite orders. You just need to acknowledge that he/ she has been there before. What I normally do if I notice a regular client, I will introduce or show the person to a senior member, manager or my hostess in my establishment. I will highlight all important information about the guest. The reason for this is that if I can't remember something about the guest, I have a backup memory system. And also if I'm not around the guest will be taken care off according to his likes and dislikes.
2) Be polite!
We often see the people behind the counter simply bark out "Account number" or "Name" without a please or even a smile. This we will normally see in Governmental Organizations. Train your staff to use the word "Please" and "Thank You" . The word "Name, Please" sounds a lot better than just "Name". And add that with a smile even if you are faking it, this will make the customer mellow down. Even if he came there to complain. Also it is never acceptable for a that person to insult a client.
Recently I read an article about a 2005 survey conducted by Schulich School of Business MBAs suggests that the problem of rude and not polite staff exists in over 30% of companies, and costs them hundreds of millions of dollars in lost customers (and revenues) each and every year.
3) Thank your customers.
Do it like you mean it. Make sure when your employees conclude a transaction, they should end it with a smile and a sincere "Thank you " . Nowadays we often receive or say a robotic "Thanks, Have a nice day. Next" . Train your staff not to be robotic, you must start first. Lead by example. I used to work in this hotel that had this restaurant that had a lot of bad comments mainly because of the slow kitchen. Then I hired a manager to assist me there. He started going around talking to the guest, assuring them that food was on the way. Just being nice to the guest eased their frustration on the slow food. He even smiled and thank the guest politely as they left even if they were angry. Later the staff followed him and there were a major increase in positive guest comments. The food was still slow but the guest was happy when they left.
When you get large purchases, verbal greeting should be followed up with a hand-written thank you note or card. One way that in order to get a sincere smile from my staff, I always remind them that the person leaving now is paying our salary.
4) First impression is important, you won't get a second chance.
In the article mentioned above there were two independent research done, that concluded that nearly 90% of customers form an impression about how competent and reputable your company is based on what they see when they walk through your doors.
This is true. People normally tend to judge the book by its cover. That is why its so important for your place to be clean, neat and also presentable. How would you feel if you go into your accountant's office and see files all over the place. On the table, on the floor ever on chairs. Would you have confidence that he is able to do you books nicely. Same thing for your customers. Ensure that the area that is in the view of your customers is clean and organised. Your staff needs also to be well groomed. Nothing turns a guest away fast than unkempt staff. Also ensure that your toilet is clean. An important point to note for those in the restaurant business. This is the area that is normally neglected.
5) Keep promises
One of the quickest ways to lose customer confidence is no follow-through, late delivery of a service or product, not notifying the customer in advance on the delay and providing an alternative solution if necessary. What this means is that "do what you have promised".
This normally happens when the sales team is not sure of the product or services they are selling. So they promise a lot of things, just to close the sale. When its time to deliver, the production team can’t deliver what was promised. The customer will be frustrated and angry. We will then lose his business and also have a bad reputation if the customer tells everyone.
My suggestion is everyone in your establishment should know their product and also the limit on what your company can deliver. Most guest prefer that you let them know that you are unable to meet certain of their requirements, rather then telling them can and later cannot fulfill.
6) Surprise the customer
When it is possible to provide an extra level of service, do so. As for me I normally surprise my regular guest with a complimentary dessert, a colouring book for the kids or ever offer them a free karaoke room on slow nights. These special gestures go a long way towards building customer loyalty and to winning you new customers. It has been known that a dissatisfied customer will tell 10 - 16 others, but people who have had an unexpectedly good experience also recount their stories.
7) Provide full service.
If you want to be above the rest of your competitors, you need to provide something extra. For example mobile phones, most will sell only mobile phones and the accessories separate. By law in most countries and for safety reasons you need to use a headphone if you want to talk on your mobile while driving. Why don't just throw in a Bluetooth wireless with every purchase of a mobile. And if you are selling battery operated toys include the batteries with the toys. Small things will be greatly appreciated.
Think about what you can add to help make things easier for your customers.
8. Admit your mistake.
If you have made a mistake, admit it and set things straight. When customers have a complaint or comment listen, truly listen. If possible take notes, that will show the customer you are interested in his complaints. Then apologize and take corrective action. In most cases, the very act of listening (without interrupting) is enough to diffuse the situation and make the person feel worthy as a customer. In my years of experience I have found out if complaints are handled properly and professionally, you can turn the guy complaining into a happy and reqular guest. Be prompt answering when your customers have a problem or enquiry with your company. Try to answer all enquiries within 24 hours. If by any chance you can't (maybe you need to get more clarification), then inform the customer (also within 24 hours ) what actions that you are taking.
9) Listen to your customers.
Talk to your customers and get feedback on what they like and don't like. Do the corrective action if something goes wrong. Let customers know that their business is appreciated and that their opinions are important to you. We get comments that there is no variety in our food. We tried doing different promotions monthly but still got the same comments. We also got bad comments on quality and taste but couldn't identify which product or who was causing the complain. So what I did was get all my staff to go around talking with the guest and fill it in detail in a book which is read by chef and me. From here we identified which cook was not a good cook and chef gave him training until he improves. We also learnt some interesting things about what the guest means by no variety.
10. J.B.N- Just Be Nice
This is perhaps the most important procedure in any service industry especially the restaurant business. Word of mouth is the most effective promotional method. So if your restaurant are nice, the food is good and the wait staff are friendly and effecient, people will tell their friends. And their friends will tell their friends and the list goes on and on. Visit your regulars or event potential business at their workplace or even their homes. The most effective way is on special occasion like birthdays, anniversaries and so on. If you have a band bring the band along. What we did this Christmas was prepare a few yulelogs cakes and gave them personally to our regulars. We even brought our band, singing Christmas carols. Well we got a better response for a festive dinner this year.
None of these suggestions takes a lot of time or money to implement, yet they can pay dividends in increased customer satisfaction and retention. The key, though, is to ensuring that employees understand the importance of their front-line role and get good training and supervision.
Thanks for the good post! This is such an interesting piece which is definitely worth sharing. The ideas and insights are very worth reading.
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