Improving the Outside Design of Your Restaurant – 6 Top Tips

With many restaurants, they focus so much on interior design that the outside is completely neglected. Of course, this is actually the first thing customers see so that’s why we’ve compiled a list of tips to improve your restaurant exterior!

Trash Receptacles

Firstly, we want to start with something that perhaps isn’t so obvious. Have you ever been to a restaurant with cigarette butts and trash by the entrance door? We have, and it almost ruins the experience before walking in. With a trash receptacle, you can keep the area around the entrance clear for a better first impression.

Professional Signage

Next up, work with a professional and get a brilliant sign to attract passers-by and help customers to find you. If you want a professional look, we highly recommend outsourcing to experts; we’ve seen some poor hand-made signage over the years. While it might save money to paint on some wood or use a Coca-Cola banner, it sends a message that you aren’t taking it seriously and won’t be around for long. With a professional sign, it shows that you’ve arrived in the community and are there to stay.

Also, pay attention to the local regulations as to what you can and can’t do with signage. Especially in business districts and other busy areas, there can be strict ordinances for sign types and sizes.

Menus and Other Signs

Can we expect people walking past to come in just by looking through the window and learning your name? Probably not, and this is why we recommend putting a menu on the outside wall (in a glass case for protection). Suddenly, anybody walking past can see what’s on offer. If they see their favorite dish, you might just earn yourself a new customer.

Elsewhere, we recommend erecting other informational signs. Here are some ideas;

• Specials board
• No smoking signs
• Parking signs
• Open/close for doors

Again, having these done professionally will improve your image and show that you’re here to stay.

Seating

Why not put some seating out for those busy times? If there’s enough room, you could even go for tables and chairs for people who want to take in the sun while eating. Of course, you’ll need to find furniture that looks great aesthetically while also providing durability. For this reason, contact equipment suppliers who deal specifically with restaurants. Reliability won’t be an issue and they will also have lots of different styles.

Lighting

Lighting is important outside your restaurant for two reasons; safety and aesthetics. With a restaurant, we think subtlety is important because you don’t want customers to get annoyed with bright lighting; they’ll feel like they’re on stage with a spotlight on them. If you want a romantic feel, small Christmas lights will look stunning all year round.

Create an Atmosphere

Whatever the theme and style of your restaurant, look at the outside space as an extension of your brand. Can you play some gentle music? Will you benefit from an awning for protection against rain and bright sun? With this tip in particular, it becomes a marketing tool because people on the other side of the street will see the awning from afar. These days, it’s easy enough to get one made especially with your choice of colors and patterns.

Furthermore, we think a bit of life goes a long way. By this, we mean window boxes or planters. Especially when you think the front of the restaurant looks plain, some plants and flowers can really bring it to life and make it look more welcoming. With only a small price to pay, somebody in your team will probably enjoy taking responsibility for them so it won’t be a major chore.

Spruce Up Your Outside Space Today

Here are our ideas, we hope you found something for your own restaurant. Whether you have enough room for tables and chairs or just a few plants, don’t forget the outside otherwise prospective guests will quickly forget your restaurant!

Showing Your Appreciation for Waiters

When we look for restaurants to visit on those nights where we just don’t fancy cooking, there are a few factors that we consider. However, did you know that most people place a greater emphasis on customer service than they do on the food? At first, this is a little surprising but when you really think about it, we do crave that personal touch in every service we require in life. If you regularly frequent a restaurant just because of the customer service, there are a few things you can do to show your appreciation.

Remain Polite – Starting with the most basic tip and something that is ingrained in most of us from a very early age, always be polite to your server. Whether it is a please, thank you, or even just a smile as they bring your food, your server will appreciate it and you will both enjoy your evening that little bit more.

Learn Their Name – If you don’t know the name of the server, it can get a little awkward when trying to call them over – do you wave at them, make a random noise, or what are you supposed to do? With most restaurants these days, they tell the waiters to give their names so you just need to remember it and use it when needed. When you get to thank your server by their name, it shows that you have taken the effort to enjoy the experience and it will put a smile on their face. If you were to say ‘excuse me, Jonathan’, doesn’t that sound much better than ‘excuse me, waiter’ or whistling at them in some way?

Let Them Do Their Job – Often, waiters will have their own system for clearing as many plates in one go as possible. When you intervene and hand the plate over, you potentially disrupt their flow and make it a little tricky. Therefore, you are best just letting them get to work to prevent several plates ending up on the floor!

Do Not Substitute – Remember, a menu is a carefully designed piece of art for the chef. If you ask for numerous substitutions, it can sometimes come across as being rude for both the waiter and the chef. Not only are you making the waiter’s job more difficult, you are essentially saying that you can’t find anything on the menu that you will enjoy as is so you have to create your own meal.

Leave on Time – As much as the waiters might be enjoying your custom, you should also appreciate that they also want to go home, have their own dinner, or just go to bed after a long day. After you have gone, there are probably still a number of jobs to be completed before they can go home so be appreciative if they are about to close.

Even if it is still early in the night, staying with empty cups of coffee for a couple of hours can be really damaging for waiters because they could have served another group of people in this time and increased the tips they earn in a single night. Seeing as though most waiters rely on tips for extra income, this is important to keep in mind. Of course, they don’t want your fun to end so why not invite your guests back to yours for a coffee or even move your conversation up to the bar so that another table can sit down for food?

Don’t Shoot the Messenger – Despite the chefs being the ones cooking their food, sadly some people think it is perfectly fine to shout at waiters but this is completely unfair – it would be like shouting at a delivery driver for the contents of the package being wrong. If your steak isn’t cooked right, this is the responsibility of the chef and potentially the person in control of the line if they gave it the go-ahead. There is no reason why you can’t be disappointed with your food, but please don’t misdirect this at the people who are trying to make your evening the best it can be!

Be Efficient with Space – With most restaurants, space is fairly limited so our next suggestion is to keep your party tucked in nicely without blocking the walkways. As well as preventing a risk when evacuating due to a fire, this may also cause a waiter to spill drinks or food so keep all coats and bags under the table and out of the way.

Tip Generously – As you have seen so far, there are plenty of things you can do to show your appreciation of the waiter that doesn’t involve money. However, money is what waiters work for so a generous tips will always go down well. Across the US, around 15-20% is considered average so try going a little above this to make their day and show them that you liked the service. When you visit again, the service will be just as good if not a little bit better.

Write a Note – If you don’t have any extra money, why not tell them that you thought they were great in a note? Recently, there has been many examples of this type of kindness going viral and it is something the server can keep for motivation. Although it takes just moments to write, the good feeling it provides will last for a lot longer so consider this if you want to go above and beyond.

Request a Particular Server – Finally, this is a great one that you can do if you are a regular visitor to a particular restaurant. When you walk in, ask whether your favorite waiter is working and use their name. Even if you have to ask a different waiter, they won’t be offended because they will probably have guests that ask for them on different days. If they are working, you can have them serve you again. If not, it can be a great way to meet someone new and judge whether your favorite is a one-off or whether the restaurant just has a very good training program in place.

Over time, you can build trust and respect with one waiter and it can actually turn into a friendship. In truth, most restaurants will have certain customers that only come in just to see the waiter and some rare stories we see on the internet these days even see them keep touch after the waiter leaves the restaurant. When you get to know a waiter, anything can happen. At the very least, they will be more willing to adhere to any requests you have and help to make your dining experience an enjoyable one.

Summary – There we have it, some fantastic tips you can use to show your appreciation for your waiter. Although some involve money, there are also plenty that don’t and these make for great ways to show your appreciation. When somebody goes above and beyond their call of duty, they deserve to be rewarded and you can utilize one of these tips to do exactly this. Since customers expect to be treated with respect, it can feel good to reciprocate this just out of pure kindness and admiration for superb workers!

Generating traffic during off-peak hours.

The typical picture of a mid-week afternoon, at times between the late evening hours of 4-6 pm the coffee shop is the busiest. Alas, empty tables, mornings faded with no patrons coming in and the team restless and anxious. But its okay, not all business work right from the start, hard work and patience needs to be put in. It’s wise to study and examine what will work for the type of business you have jumped in and what will work for the customers attracting this industry. As the values progress and change with time from industry to industry. Any type of business takes its own time to set-up and establish. Multiple opportunities emerge, crafting and designing new and exceptional tactics and policies to boom the business. Three meals a day was a routine followed by people in the past, today its five or six smaller meals due to the busy lifestyle and rising industry of the “off peak hours” of work.

Nowadays, the greatest “off-peak” opportunity is to construct and formulate new ideas during the Happy Hour. This framework offers the punter a chance to dine out while keeping the budget in hand. Happy Hour menus include traditional menus to attract the customer with good deals and offers. These are put forward as discount deals having a good meal in fewer prices like 2 for 1 drink, free refills for the clients who arrived in the morning and had a long day at the place.

Start from the beginning, set a base foundation to find out what more can be done to make these off-peak hours more pleasing, pleasant and suitable for regular clients. The client has a different way to see things across the counter that could change the way you work. It’s very important and very essential to keep in mind to cater your customers well and to spot and classify them especially when they are the regular ones. Evaluate and review what all can be done to develop new marketing plans and line of attacks. Views of the customers should be taken care of “customer feedback” which needs to be worked on for high clientage.

Not to forget the importance of technology. More people think that coffee shop is their second home. This gives the entrepreneur a big and good opportunity to magnetize new and repetitive business. Check your customer’s feedback, talk to them and find out what their needs are. Stable internet connections are an essential now-a-days .The passwords should be displayed accurately and the websites and social media pages working properly. Mostly customers require high speeds internet connections and wifi speeds. This is a must and there is no compromise for delays or any misconduct in the performance of the internet and wifi speeds.

Have you heard of a new café across the town with an exceptional lunch package or deal? If you are not attracting such customers, you need to find out how to attract such visitors by keep a track of their behavior. Just imagine what sort of an audience you will like to attract? Where are they already? And how will you bring them in your list of new guests? They must be sitting in offices, universities or are they busy commuters? Different and ground-breaking ideas will serve you better and on a wider scale than just giving deals and discounts.

Market strategies should be clear and easy to understand. The potential customers need to know and understand what is that we are offering. What is that we can serve better than the others in town.  Highlighting the off-peak activities via social media, web sites, emails newsletters, table tents, buying advertising or sponsored space, banners, pamphlets and leaflets will all help in the course.

Be Patient. Creating a list of off-peak customers takes some time, patience and hard work. Accommodating the customers with their choices of food is also very important. Providing them with ease to set their budgets, timetables, programs, lifestyles and preferences will ultimately increase the revenues.

Whether you have owned a restaurant for ten days or ten years, you will know that the job is a hard one and that there is always room for improvement. In truth, different owners are unique and this means that one restaurant can run very differently to another and still see success. However, there are three key things that you need to do regardless of your style. As long as you get these three factors right, there is no reason why you can’t become a great owner.

Be Close to Staff – In any restaurant, the staff are the function that keeps it all ticking over. Even though you own the business and pay the staff, they are the ones running the show. Nowadays, it is easy for people to switch jobs in a flash so don’t lose them through ignorance. After learning the market, make sure you pay them as they would expect before then training them sufficiently. Although they might not admit it, all assistant chefs are dreaming of being head chefs whilst waiters want to become a manager one day. With this in mind, you can help them and improve their skill set by cross training.

At first, you need to ensure that they are fully trained in their chosen area. When the time is right, allow them to spread their wings a little and train in different areas. Not only will this boost their confidence, this can be very useful if someone phones in sick or leaves unexpectedly. Suddenly, you have staff trained in all different areas.

Choose Your Role – Before you go off deciding everybody’s role, spend some time defining your own. When you do this, you allow room for growth and the business becomes scalable because you will be ready to pass the reigns over whenever necessary. If you’re completely new to the restaurant business, be hands-on and willing to learn. Once you know everything about your restaurant, you can look at the bigger picture while your staff concentrate on the finer details and day-to-day running.

Value Your Customers – Without customers, you have no business. Even with the best decor, service, and food, you are still nothing without customers so you need to show every one of them that you appreciate their visit. Sadly, many people believe this is only achieved through compliments but all feedback is valuable. Whether you talk to them in person or ask for feedback online, see what they have to say because you might just see a suggestion that changes your business for the better.

In a recent interview, a world-famous chef once said that he doesn’t even listen to positive feedback. Although it is nice to hear, it is the negative feedback that allows improvement to be made. If a customer speaks negatively, work out what went wrong and find a way to fix it. Once you have learned a lesson or made a change, invite them back to see the improvement. Nowadays, every customer is important and it takes skill to turn a negative customer into a long-term repeat customer. If you achieve this skill, you will be in business for a long time.

Conclusion – As you may have noticed, we just covered the three vital factors of your business – your staff, your customers, and yourself. If you pay attention to these three tips, you will be well on the way to success!

Preparing for the Holiday Season in Your Restaurant

As we edge ever closer to December, we reach one of the busiest times of the year for restaurants. Whether you’re located within a shopping mall or you’re dealing with multiple end-of-year office meals, this is the time that could make or break your year. With a successful holiday season, surviving the next year becomes more comfortable and this provides more flexibility to try new things. With a poor holiday season, it could be a case of scraping through until next year.

Are you a little worried about how it’s going to go? If so, keep reading because we have advice that could help!

Prepare All Staff – For your business to excel at this time of year, your staff need to be prepared at the bar, in the kitchen, and when dealing with customers. Therefore, we recommend having a meeting so they know what’s expected of them over the coming weeks. For some, they’ll have to cope with additional hours and even increased responsibilities. For others, they’ll have adjusted systems and the mental preparation is often more important than anything else.

For most restaurants, they see their visitor numbers increase during the holiday season so it could also be a good idea to have staff offer suggestions to make their jobs more efficient. Since this benefits you both in terms of money earned over a single night, they’ll probably have some feedback. As a starting point, consider proactively handing out the bill, pre-lining bins with multiple bags, and suggesting specials when giving out the drinks to speed up thinking time.

Hire Seasonal Employees – Remember, you don’t need to hire new full-time staff just to get through the season (nor do you have to suffer with a team that’s too small just because you don’t want to hire!). Every year, there are people looking for seasonal work who expect to help over the holidays and then leave after New Year.

If this is your first year in business, it’s better to hire too many than not enough. If you have been in business for some time, think back to last year and learn from your mistakes. Do you need more people? Do you need larger numbers on certain days? Do you need to hire earlier so they’re better trained for the season?

Over-Ordering Could Be Important – Remember, your suppliers will shut down over the holiday season where you may continue so you need to factor this into your decision-making. If you’re to keep guests happy, it might be wise to over-order stock (especially for food with an extended date). Again, it’s a good idea to learn lessons from last year if you were forced to pull items from the menu or buy expensive emergency ingredients from elsewhere. While planning this, consider your most popular dishes and adjust your ordering accordingly.

Consider Takeaway Options – In the lead up to the holidays, the mind of many is already on the big Christmas feast so they’re more likely to order takeaway. In addition to this, diets are more likely to go by the wayside and ‘cheat days’ become common. If you don’t already, it might be worth exposing your restaurant to a takeaway menu. With some mobile apps these days, the company will take care of delivery on your behalf so all you need to do is sign up and order some takeaway packaging.

While adhering to the demands of customers, this also gives you a chance to trial a business expansion. If customers can order their food online, it eliminates errors and gives them a chance to order in a more relaxed manner so explore your options.

Seasonal Offers and Deals – Why should people visit your restaurant over every other this holiday season? When work starts to dwindle and holiday fever takes over, people generally throw themselves into the spirit so complement this with special seasonal dishes and offers. Whether it’s a special appetizer/desert or a ‘2 for 1’ dinner option before a certain time, give people a reason. If you offer this deal before seven o’clock, guests will come in after work and a busy restaurant will attract even more people in a self-fulfilling system.

Remain Positive – The minute you lose your cool, the team loses its concentration and the whole season can fall apart. We know, the holidays can be stressful when people are spending time with their families and you’re working away. However, you will be rewarded for dealing with tricky customers calmly and providing the best service possible.

As you stay positive, your team will do the same and you’ll all start to work for each other. If your team work especially hard, treat them to free drinks and maybe even a free dinner (if they don’t get this already) on their last shift before Christmas. Often, restaurant staff think owners and managers don’t understand the pressure they’re under during this busy time but you can prove them wrong.

Conclusion – Every day, we’re getting closer so prepare and everything will work out just fine. If you want to make next year even easier, make notes of your observations this year. Trust us, you’ll appreciate it even if it’s tough to find a minute during those busy days!

Over the past decade, Twitter has gone from strength to strength and it now stands as a superb marketing platform for all types of businesses. For restaurants especially, the site is fantastic because you can upload your menu, advertise special offers, communicate with customers, advertise your food with colorful images, and more. Today, we are going to discuss the main features that you should be looking to use in 2017!

Profile – Before we go any further, you need your bio and profile picture to be as good as can be. Remember, the picture is often the first thing people see so use your logo. In terms of your bio, this should contain a brief introduction of what you offer, business hours, items on the menu, and your tagline and logo once again.

Follow Carefully – As well as your profile, you also need to be cautious with who you follow because people will keep an eye on this list. Rather than clogging up your feed and affiliating your business with nonsense accounts, follow only those necessary and treat it like the business account it is. If you need advice in this area, Twitter Analytics gives great recommendations for who to follow in your niche.

Lists – On Twitter, ‘Lists’ is actually a severely underused feature but we are looking to change this fact. On your account, you are allowed around 1,000 lists with 5,000 accounts in each and they can be great for interacting with bloggers and various vendors to create a buzz around your restaurant. In addition to this, they will help you to keep abreast of all latest products and services.

Direct Messaging – If you have a Twitter account already, we can almost guarantee that you disabled Direct Messaging and you wouldn’t be alone because this is something many businesses do. However, leaving it open will allow angry customers to send you a message directly rather than leaving a tweet on your profile for the whole world to see so it is definitely something to consider!

Moments – If you are looking to boost engagement on your page, the new Moments feature is a great starting point. As a tool for content curation, you can share numerous tweets regarding an event, product launch, trend, or whatever you want to bring to your follower’s attention.

Twitter Ads – In recent years, Twitter advertising has improved somewhat and it now allows for targeted campaigns so you can reach out to the people who are most likely to visit your restaurant. In addition to searching for the right Twitter users, you can also search using hashtags so look out for the hashtags being used by current customers. Over time, you could use these to find new customers!

Coupon Marketing – When you choose to go with coupon-based marketing, you know that there are going to be various benefits to experience. As well as offering customers personalized rewards, you will obtain vital information about customers moving forward and the system almost feeds on itself. Using Twitter, you can offer exclusivity to customers to improve the visibility of your brand and boost the loyalty in your customer base. Eventually, the likes and shares will lead to success.

Trending – On the homepage of Twitter, you have probably seen the trending topics section but have you ever used these for your business? As well as breaking news, trending topics can also be planned events through one or multiple channels. If you have enough followers (you can team up with another company, if not), you can try to get a particular hashtag into the trending topics and the awareness of your brand will skyrocket in a matter of hours.

Engagement – With Twitter engagement, many businesses make the mistake of constantly advertising a product or a service but this soon gets frustrating to watch. According to the 80/20 rule, 80% of all your conversations should be simple interaction with followers whereas 20% contribute to the programs and goals of the brand. Essentially, this ensures that customers feel as though their opinions are being taken into account and their kind words are appreciated.

Customer Service – In years gone by, customers would have to talk to you in person or send a letter when they have praise or an issue. With Twitter, it has given them a new platform because they see a response much quicker. Therefore, allow your brand to get a great reputation for responding to customer service issues and all watching will respect your efforts.

Pictures – Ever wondered why Instagram is so popular? As a species, humans react well to photos and they instantly grab our attention. As a business, you need to utilize this information and add images to your posts. According to a recent study, tweets with images receive 150% more retweets than those that don’t. Furthermore, interaction is also stronger with images so upload these along with videos even if it is something taken quickly on a smartphone; these can be just as effective as professional shots.

Influencers – On Twitter, you will find ‘influencers’ who are people with a significant following. Along with celebrities, the list has grown to include bloggers, vloggers, and many others in recent years. Once you have found the ones in your niche, reach out to them every once in a while to see if they want to visit your restaurant and get involved with helping your brand. Considering they have potentially hundreds of thousands of followers all trusting their word, this could be a good strategy this year.

Twitter Analytics – How are you supposed to progress if you don’t analyze the success of previous posts? With Twitter Analytics, you can see how many impressions and clicks your posts receive which allows you to learn the most successful posts as well as posting times throughout the day.

As you can see, Twitter is pivotal in a marketing strategy and these thirteen tips will have you progressing this year. As long as you pay attention to this advice, there is no reason why your brand can’t increase in popularity in the months ahead.

We recently read a review that went as follows;

‘Normally, I hate waiting in line and would steer friends and family clear of restaurants that get especially busy. However, the servers were so friendly and welcoming that I didn’t even get a chance to get upset. They took our belongings, were honest with expected waiting times, and we sat there happily with drinks while we waited.’

Lines for a restaurant serve two main purposes;

• They allow the waiting team some time to clear a table
• They create a sense of intrigue for all who walk by

However, getting this process wrong can have catastrophic consequences. When customers are left waiting too long, or are perhaps continually told ‘five minutes’, it won’t be long before they walk away (and tell friends to avoid the establishment too!).

With this in mind, how do you make sure that your restaurant is worth the wait? Sometimes, forming lines is essential, so we’ve compiled some advice here today!

1. Always Remain Honest

There’s nothing worse than receiving lies from any company; if you don’t think there’s going to be a free table for 45 minutes, don’t suggest 15. Why? Because they will start to get frustrated. As you continually lie about how long a table will be, they eventually get to the point where they don’t even feel respected as customers.

As well as remaining honest, remember to encourage them to make a reservation so they don’t have the same issue in the future.

2. Optimize Your Reservations Systems

We know that it can be scary to open your restaurant up to reservations; one cancellation and your expected income drops. Yet, by not allowing reservations, you may just turn away even more custom.

Instead of shying away from reservations, introduce a system like OpenTable where diners are rewarded for making the reservation and then turning up as expected. Compared to other systems, the 5% ‘no-show’ rate is actually incredibly strong. When you’re more confident about reservations showing, you don’t have so much drama with walk-in guests.

In fact, some restaurants have even started to take credit card details with the reservation. This way, they’re even less likely to skip the reservation. Even if they do, your cancellation fee will come to the rescue.

3. Assess Their Interest

Are they actually willing to wait for as long as they say? Sadly, many people who walk away from a line actually do so because of their own hunger rather than your poor performance. Before accepting that they’ll wait, double check otherwise they’re artificially keeping the waiting time up for everyone else who comes after.

4. Keep Guests Calm

If your restaurant is known for long lines, it’s probably unfair to expect people to wait in a lobby or even outside in the rain. Instead, make sure they have a proper waiting room. If they are outside, at least provide outdoor heating lamps and a drinking area.

Elsewhere, you can also keep customers calm by simply acknowledging their presence. If you’ve ever felt ignored by a business, you’ll know exactly how frustrating this is. Greet all guests, explain the situation, and take them to the bar (if this is an option!).

Finally, another great way to keep guests smiling is to pass around a few snacks. If you don’t want them to go elsewhere, at least keep their hunger at bay while they wait. This is a cheap solution, they’ll tell their friends of the fantastic service, and their main meal will be worth the wait.

5. Occupy Guests

As well as making guests happy, we also believe in occupying them so the time they spend waiting isn’t just staring at one another. We have some suggestions for this;

• Send them Somewhere Nearby – Firstly, you could give them something to do in the neighborhood. Is there a cool store next door or an event nearby?

• Buy TVs – Why not install some TVs in the waiting area and give customers something to watch?

• Offer Coloring Books – For children (and some adults, if they really want!), you could hand out coloring books. Not only does this keep the younger ones occupied, the parents are less likely to walk out when their kids are happily coloring, and when you’ve accommodated them so nicely.

• Take a Number – If the worst comes to worst and they’re ready to walk away, take a number and contact them directly when a table is free.

Conclusion

Some people will never be happy in a line, but you can do your best with these fantastic ideas!

For restaurants, the approach to marketing needs to be a little different to e-commerce businesses. For example, there’s little need to advertise to anybody outside of the local community. In most cases, a restaurant’s potential customer base is within a handful of miles.

Although there is some value in utilizing techniques like local SEO, it’s the traditional marketing methods that yield real results. Today, we want to provide advice for one of the classics; theme nights. They’re incredibly fun, they help to build a brand, and it’s a good way to attract new customers. But how do you do it right?

Here are six ideas!

TV (or Netflix) Theme Night

We all love to relax and watch some great TV, but it’s even better when we get together with others too. Why not invite the local community to watch a specific TV show? For restaurants inspired by TV shows, this is even better. Get a large TV screen or projector, get people through the door, and you’ll have a superb night.

If you don’t want to get people together to watch the show, perhaps you could set up themed quiz nights? Imagine everybody getting together to answer Game of Thrones questions (it might just get a little competitive!).

If you choose this one, we highly recommend asking your regular customers to see what they would enjoy (there’s no point choosing something nobody watches!).

Networking Evening

Often, just hearing the word ‘networking’ can bring up images of awkward interactions with strangers. Let’s face it, the average conversation while networking doesn’t go too far. Fortunately, you’re forever going to change the reputation of networking events for all professionals in the neighborhood.

Over time, we advise setting up niche-specific events such as those for young entrepreneurs and women in business.

Guest Chef Night

What is it that brings people back to your restaurant time and time again? Great food and brilliant customer service. Why limit your great food to one chef? In the past, we’ve seen several restaurants hold a guest chef night and it always goes down well. For one night only, bring a chef from another restaurant into the kitchen and allow them to make your customers smile.

The reason why this is such a great business idea is because two restaurants essentially help each other to gain exposure. After the guest chef does their night, your chef can visit them (or, you could even do a special swap on the same night). As long as there’s demand, this will keep people coming in to try something new.

Here’s some bonus tips for this idea;

• Choose a cuisine in which your customers will have an interest
• Offer a demonstration in the dining room
• Have another chef create a special (if they can’t attend for a full night)

Charity Night

Just as we saw with the previous idea, this is one where everybody wins. The charities receive important donations, your reputation increases for setting up the event, and the customers feel good for contributing. For best results, we recommend choosing a local charity because the community is more likely to resonate.

Over the years, we’ve seen restaurants team up with and support community groups, schools, youth groups, and more. As long as the charity has a table and can give a short speech, this is a feel-good event and it spreads the sort of positivity we seem to be lacking in the world right now.

Decade Night

What better way to get people out of their comfort zone and having a great time than with an old-school party? Will you go for the flares from the 1960s, the big hair from the 1970s, or maybe even the disco years of the 1980s? Just watch the laughter as more and more people walk in with their ridiculous outfits.

To really pull this off, you can set up a special music playlist and create a one-night-only menu. Perhaps you could try a disco-themed cocktail list? The more effort you put in, the more the community will respond.

Of course, you can’t do this without encouraging the staff to dress up too. How great would it be to have the four members of Abba walking around serving food and drink?

Children’s Night

Finally, the reason why many families avoid eating in restaurants is because they simply can’t afford it. Therefore, an evening where children eat for half the normal price (or even for free!) is guaranteed to be a winner.

If you can’t afford to offer these sorts of deals, maybe you could arrange special children’s entertainment for the evening? You don’t have to break the bank; a simple performer or crafts table will do the trick. Better yet, allow them to make food.

Get Started Now

When running a restaurant, it’s easy to fall into the monotony of it all. With one of these six ideas, you can breathe a new lease of life into the building. We understand, it can be scary since you don’t know just how the customers will react. When you’ve got something good going, it’s nerve-racking to throw a wrench into the schedule. However, all the evidence points towards this risk being worthwhile.

As long as you choose events that resonate with your audience and adhere to your overall style, it’s always good to get people through the door more frequently. While on this note, don’t make the mistake of alienating your main crowd. For example, in a family environment, introducing a rowdy beer pong tournament in the corner probably isn’t a good decision. In more of a pub atmosphere, this will work perfectly.

Let’s finish with some additional tips;

• Make sure people know about your theme night with advertising (use traditional signage in the window, talk to customers and tell them to spread the message, and update your social media pages).

• Find the balance between giving an idea a chance and changing strategy when the customers aren’t responding.

• Offer discounts for large groups to encourage companies to choose you as their social evening; this will also attract groups of friends, families, and others.

• Never forget the value of great customer service and high-quality food; this is still your bread and butter (so to speak). Don’t let the arrangements of the evening get in the way of your brilliant food.

A Class in Crisis Management – Coping with Bad Reviews

A feedback is very important for any business. Getting a feedback determines how you have been managing your clients, and where you stand. It also shows the worth of your services or products and if the customers are being pleased with what you are offering or not. Moreover, in a restaurant business, you need to make sure that you get a feedback about your food, to add or subtract anything needed.

Alas! A bad review is part of life. You have been serving the best food in your area for a long time. One day, a customer finds a hair in their favorite dish, or your waitress mixed orders and the customer got cranky. This is when the bad review makes its entry. On top of that, a review on a user-review platform, such as Yelp can make or break you.

So, what do you need to do? Start the firing and hiring process or worse, close the shop and head home? No! You need to make a crisis management strategy. Here is a sketch of what you need to do to deal with a bad review.

Learn the Nature of the Criticism:

First of all, you need to make sure you understand how intense the issue is. Read the review carefully, go through each and every incident described by the customer and make sure to read all the comments below the review. You need to make sure that you understand how offended the customer is. Pick up any tips you can see in the comments and try to solve the issue there and then.

Make Use of the Chance and Interact with Your Client:

Do your research. Make sure to find the background of the customer. If they are someone who are visiting your city or if they are from your city, deal with them differently. You need to make the most of every opportunity you get to interact with the customer. Call them back at the restaurant for a discounted meal or anything you can offer as an incentive.

Be Apologetic and Provide a Sensible Explanation:

Regardless that the complaint is sensible or not, make sure to acknowledge your mistake and apologize. It is your job to compensate the customer, no matter how outrageous they sound. Your success basically depends on how you are willing to improve. Hence, make sure to agree that you have made a mistake, apologize and learn from the experience.

Come Up with a Solution:

Once you are done with all the explanation, come up with a solution to the interest of both you, and the customer. Yelp maybe a huge platform for customers to leave their reviews, but there are other platforms customers may use. Keep all your social media platforms updated with anything new you are offering or whatever you have added to your inventory of food.

The Final Verdict:

The above mentioned list of crisis management technique is what you need to follow every time you get a bad review. Remember, you do not need to pack up and go home or fire anyone. You just need to calm down, understand the situation and come up with a smart solution.

Empowering Restaurant Managers: Five Fantastic Tips

In years gone by, employees saw money as the main motivator for staying in a job and progressing up the career ladder but this is very quickly changing. For managers within the restaurant industry, they’re now looking for happiness, responsibility, and rewards. If managers don’t feel empowered in their role, they very quickly look for more responsibility elsewhere and having a high manager turnover can be very damaging indeed. With this, we have some simple tips below to empower managers and keep them happy!

Make Scheduling Easier – According to a recent study, managers spend four hours per week on creating schedules and making changes once the schedule has been written. With sticky notes covering the office regarding employees’ favored hours and staff members constantly texting and emailing to change their hours, it’s an endless process. Therefore, we recommend an online scheduling platform that’ll do all the work for your manager so they free up time for the more important tasks.

With a high-quality platform, past schedules can be copied before then making tweaks rather than starting with a blank piece of paper every week. Through an app, small changes can be made in seconds and staff members can even request time off so everything is in one place and the schedule is accessible for everyone.

Optimize All Labor – Without an effective clocking in and out system, companies pay more wages than the amount due and this can hit the profits hard. With up to 20% of restaurant workers admitting to clocking in ten minutes early or waiting a few minutes at night before clocking out, the labor cost is actually artificially increased and managers need a better system to reduce costs and increase profit.

For this reason, we recommend an integrated POS system and labor management platform that allows all hours to be tracked down to the minute. When staff have free rein to clock in and out whenever they wish, they’re going to take advantage of this. Even if a few minutes doesn’t seem too much, multiply this by the amount of days they work in a year and how many staff members do this and it amounts to thousands of minutes and hundreds of hours. With a digital labor management system, managers can set rules so that everybody automatically clocks out at a certain time or it only allows a five-minute window for clocking in before a shift begins. With managers having this power, they feel motivated to make a difference and remain in control.

Losing the Element of Risk – If you were to ask 100 managers whether they felt burned out, a significant number would return with a ‘yes’ answer. Unfortunately, part of this comes down to the sheer amount of metrics and data they have to follow. Although it may not surprise you, we’re going to recommend a digital solution to resolve this issue because it can offer advice on best practices while also streamlining all metrics to just one platform.

With platforms like this installed, managers can communicate with staff via messaging tools as well as tracking compliance with rules such as breaks and overtime. In addition to this, it can keep tabs on certifications, off-time, and the weather if this is an important variable for your restaurant.

Manage Rules and Regulations – For every manager, regardless of industry, it seems as though regulations are always getting in the way of efficiency. Considering the restaurant industry is synonymous with employing those under the age of 18, employment regulations play a pivotal role and this makes scheduling even harder.

With a platform that allows the manager to customize the schedule and take all minors into account, the scheduling becomes easier and notifications will be shown when certain employees are close to the limits of working hours. Furthermore, it shows when breaks should be given and managers can even input the local school calendar so summer breaks are clearly shown.

Providing Help – Finally, we believe owners can prevent managers from leaving simply by acknowledging the fact they need help. Although your manager works all hours and does a terrific job, they aren’t gods and can’t stay on top of everything at once. As you provide them with a platform that relieves some of the burden from their shoulders, the logistics are covered instantly and your manager can concentrate on what’s really important; maintaining relationships with staff, customers, and suppliers, training staff, improving the menu, and marketing the business. Just think where the four hours spent scheduling could go instead.

Nowadays, technology is more advanced than ever before so take advantage of this to make your manager’s job much easier. With the small investment it requires, your manager will stay motivated, they’ll remain in their job for longer, and you can grow as a team rather than placing an ad every couple of years!

Is ‘Yes, Chef’ Still Important? We Think So!

For generations, manufacturing plants have utilized a hierarchy with a clear chain of command. With the leader at the top, they set clear goals for the rest of the team and the different levels have varying levels of responsibility in enforcing rules and making sure targets are being reached. Over the years, problems with this type of system have been identified but there’s no doubting the benefits with clear communication and a clear vision for all to follow.

When it comes to implementing this system in a kitchen, Auguste Escoffier was the first to take the step. Essentially, he wanted tasks to be broken down before allocating them to those with the skills suited to do a good job. Between the executive chef and employees underneath, the whole team can ensure the expectations are reached. Now, although over 140 years later, we still use this system with specialist workers covering particular areas of the food preparation process.

Known as the ‘brigade’ system, we believe this to be effective for six main reasons. These should explain why we believe ‘yes, chef’ to be important despite changing times!

Increasing Efficiency

First and foremost, department heads can make operational decisions immediately and this allows for efficiency. Of course, the executive chef can still make the larger decisions but the smaller, hour-to-hour decisions can be made by leaders of specific zones.

Offering Authority and Responsibility

How is this efficiency allowed? Well, Escoffier disliked the chain of command he came across while in the French military; a chain that saw individuals take responsibility but without the right authority to have an impact and introduce changes. Instead of this, Escoffier wanted to create positions that took some of the pressure from the executive chef and allowed operational decisions to be made much faster. To prevent the kitchen from pulling in several directions, these oversight positions would still abide by the wider vision held by the leader.

Showing Pride

We all know how much effort goes into culinary school and gaining the title ‘chef’; therefore, we should celebrate that and give them the title they deserve. In order to earn the title, chefs need to be determined, they need to put in hard work, and they need to learn all about different foods, preparation, cooking, and presentation. However, it isn’t just the food because being a chef involves HR management, operations management, knowledge of finances, menu planning, pricing, marketing, and more. Saying ‘yes, chef’ seems to be something very simple in return!

Morale of Employees

While giving employees unlimited freedom might offer some short-term benefits, it only ever ends in tears and chaos (and not the organized kind!). We should also note that building the organizational structure alone isn’t necessarily enough; all members also need to respect the brigade and how the system works.

Often, people note how ‘military’ this all sounds and this is probably because it does have close ties to Escoffier’s military history. Despite the lack of authority mentioned previously, the French military had a clear hierarchy and Escoffier noted the confidence that resulted on the battlefield.

In our experience, this type of system doesn’t have to be limited to the military when it can be adapted for numerous fields. These days, employees are looking for an orderly and stable environment in which they can share ideas and have opportunities to shine. The hierarchical structure is ultimately useless if employees aren’t able to provide feedback or if they feel as though their opinions and ideas aren’t valued. If you don’t offer this to employees, they’ll quickly find somewhere that does.

‘Yes, chef’ isn’t just a response, it shows respect and it suggests the team member is happy working towards the same goals. With this level of unity and order in a high-pressure environment, the best possible experience will be created for the guests and there won’t be friction preventing the business from moving forward.

Working Towards Unified Goals

As the penultimate benefit to a hierarchy such as this, you can be sure that every single staff member is working towards a single philosophy. We all want to produce high-quality food, right? In addition to this, you’re likely to have goals such as;

• Helping cooks to be proud of the food they create
• Going above and beyond the guest’s expectations
• Increasing profit through high-quality food and customer satisfaction

With a simple ‘yes, chef’, it actually says ‘we’re right with you, chef’. Chef, we’re going to follow your orders and help the establishment to achieve its goals.

Showing Respect

Although this one follows the same lines as pride, we think it deserves a section of its own because ‘yes, chef’ suggests the individual respects the chef and is willing to listen. Away from the kitchen, the individual may not agree with their views or even particularly like them. As soon as they step over the threshold to the kitchen, however, there’s a respect that means all orders will be followed. If a kitchen lacks this respect, it will quickly turn sour.

Conclusion

This all seems great in practice, but how do you make it a reality? Above all else, we recommend high-quality recruitment practices. Great cooking isn’t enough in a modern kitchen; this needs to be complemented by a positive attitude, an ability to listen to orders, and the motivation to have a career rather than just a job.

With the right employees, they’ll be willing to offer ideas and be vocal when it comes to fixing problems and creating a better experience for customers. ‘Yes, chef’ confirms that everyone is on-board, they respect their superior, and they’re happy to take their portion of the responsibility!

10 Ways to Improve Your Restaurant Service in 2019

Why do customers return to a restaurant? This is a great question, and one that often goes forgotten. Although ‘delicious food’ is certainly an aspect, some people return to the same restaurant every single week despite the menu remaining unchanged for many years. Often, the real answer to the question is customer service.

More recently, it’s become apparent that a personalized service wins over guests. For many years, the standard greeting in any restaurant has been;

‘Hi, I’m ‘Enter Name’ and I’ll be your server’

Now, we see the value of a tailored welcome. Especially for those who return frequently and make it possible to keep the restaurant open, they deserve more than a generalized (and mediocre!) service.

Your Restaurant Service

Before we look at tips to boost your restaurant service, we want you to think for a moment about what type of restaurant you run. Do we expect the same service in McDonald’s than a fine-dining restaurant? Definitely not. In fact, the service is even less formal when getting a delivery.

Ultimately, there are lots of different types of restaurant and, therefore, restaurant service. Here are some examples;

• Buffet
• Fast food
• Fine dining
• Delivery
• Family-style dining
• Cafe
• Food truck

Furthermore, it’s fair to say that there’s a correlation between the prices on the menu and the restaurant service. The more we pay as customers, the more we expect in return. With this in mind, we highly recommend considering your own business and the level of service requested and expected from guests.

On the other hand, there are general rules that apply to nearly every restaurant type. For example, servers should provide water, the food itself needs to be hot, and plates should be cleared at the right time (not while guests are still eating and not an hour after they finish!). Below, we’ve listed some more service tips!

1. Lose the Script

We’ve hinted at this already, but scripts are a thing of the past. In fact, even chains and fast-food restaurant are starting to go with a more refined interaction with guests. If you need examples, just look at T.G.I Friday’s and Denny’s.

Rather than offering the same service to every single person in the queue, new members of staff are taught to pay attention to the body language of the customers. What’s more, they’re encouraged to make eye contact and make comments based on the conversation itself. This way, the service is a little less robotic.

2. Read the Group

With groups in particular, waiting is a hard game. Without obviously staring at the table, you’re trying to work out whether everybody is enjoying a jovial conversation, whether everything has slowed, and when you can approach safely.

Customers won’t exactly tell their friends about your fantastic timing, but they will complain about poor timing. Therefore, we recommend teaching all staff members how to read a group. Are they interrupting or saving?

3. Don’t Forget Speed

Speed will always win; even with inexperienced servers, customers will walk away happy if their food and drink has been brought out as soon as it’s ready. If you haven’t done so already, investing in high-quality POS systems will help massively here. The whole process is much smoother, the customers enjoy a greater experience, and you should able to reduce the average turnaround speed for each table.

4. Always Remain Polite

Have you ever walked up to a table and then awkwardly stood behind while waiting for the conversation to finish? Don’t worry, you aren’t alone; some people are naturally timid when it comes to interrupting a table. Once method we’ve seen take off in recent years has been a simple palm on the table; it’s almost a ‘sorry to interrupt, I just have something to tell you when you finish’.

5. Identify the Leader and Use Body Language

Every table has one, and it’s often by looking at body language that you’ll find them. While some leaders will be the organizers, others will be the most senior and your servers’ job is to identify them as quickly as possible.

If it’s a family or a large social gathering, it’s wise to start with the person who made the booking. Although they won’t pay the full bill, they will take responsibility for apportioning it fairly to the attendees. For business events, the boss paying the bill will be the leader.

Often, this person will speak first as the server approaches; they may also ask a question on behalf of the table (about the specials, for example).

In terms of communication, it’s important to remember that servers can take advantage of body language. As many body language experts will tell you, it isn’t our job to become the guests’ new best friend. On the other hand, we also shouldn’t be rude unnecessarily. Therefore, it’s a balance that results in a smile, eye contact, and light conversation.

Remember, the reason why customers return to you and not the competition, aside from the food, is the restaurant service.

6. Consider Potential Orders

How has your guest utilized the space on their table? Do they have a laptop sitting open in front of them? Through this one tip alone, you can make predictions about the sort of experience they require. If they are typing away on a laptop, they probably don’t need to see an appetizer menu.

7. Upgrade All Technology

Your staff could have gone though the best training on the planet, but the customer will still walk away disappointed if the technology fails. For those on an old system, consider investing in the cloud because your reliability will increase instantly. Not only is it more reliable, cloud solutions also bring together rewards, marketing, loyalty programs, ordering, and other aspects of the business.

We mentioned earlier about having a ‘smooth’ service; you want the whole experience to be seamless for the visitor. With outdated technology that fails and disrupts the customer experience, this isn’t going to end well.

8. Deal with Children Correctly

There are some things you just don’t do when a child is at the table;

• Hand them the dessert menu
• Put garnish on the plate when a parent has specifically asked for no greens
• Go above the parents and ask the child for their order

We all know that kids are the fussiest eaters (we were all the same many years ago!), so don’t make it harder for the parents. By quietly slipping the parents the dessert menu and taking other small steps like this, they will appreciate the service so much more.

9. Nail the Check Procedure

As we come to the end of this guide, we’re at the end of the evening too. Dinner’s over, dessert’s eaten, yet nobody seems to be around to get the check. Just as we saw with poor technology, this has the potential to end a brilliant experience on a sour note.

All over the world, you’ll find different ways of dealing with the process. While some will wait for the customer to ask, others ask guests if they want a hot beverage after dessert; normally, a ‘no’ answer will then follow with a bill request.

If you want to end the confusion and not leave it to chance, we love the idea of giving customers a check holder. Whenever they’re ready, they simply put it on display and the server can take the check over.

10. Always Evaluate Training

Finally, we can’t tell you how important it is to keep re-evaluating your training program. Make sure your materials are up to date, implement the suggestions we’ve offered here, and ensure that all new employees have the tools they need to succeed right from the off.

Three in five new restaurants will fail within 36 months. That’s a sobering statistic, and there’s a reason for it. The hospitality industry is one of the toughest to do business in and succeed at. The biggest reason most new restaurants fail to get off the ground is the lack of funds or the inability to maintain control over their costs.

How can you ensure this doesn’t happen to you if you want to open a restaurant?

When it comes to your costs, you need to plan ahead and consider everything – be it minor or major. For example, floor space can cost run anywhere from $100 to $800 square foot, dependent on your needs. Your plumbing, electrical and mechanical needs can run anywhere from $70,000 to $100,000 – same for equipment. Make sure your budget includes furniture.

It’s imperative to watch your spending when you decide to open a restaurant. You want to stand out but not at the price that you run yourself out of business. What are some things to consider in your budget?

Used vs. New Equipment

Believe it or not, you should be more concerned with getting the right equipment for your restaurant instead of new equipment. Restaurants that are going out of business will often have equipment you can buy for cheap. Consider second-hand options or doing some shopping on the Internet. Never buy something you don’t need right away.

Decorations

Like your business equipment, don’t get fixated on décors. You can always create a memorable experience on a low budget. All you need is a couple of impactful elements that can speak volumes to your customers. Consider paint colors or soft lighting. Add an area where guests can sign their names. Little inexpensive things go a long way in making a big impact.

Don’t buy anything fancy until your restaurant is a bit more stable.

Technology

You need to purchase a restaurant point-of-sale system, which can handle the receipts, payments, inventory, etc. Be sure to find a system that includes bookkeeping or can be integrated with one. Be sure you consider what technology your staff may need to take orders. Do they really need iPads? If you want to go hi-tech, go for second-hand models or older models.

Marketing

When you need to keep your marketing costs low, the Internet is your ticket. There are all kinds of social media sites that can help spread the word about your business for free or low price. However, you must be actively involved with the social media account to reach your target audience and increase the base. While email marketing isn’t as nice as social media, it’s still a very effective online marketing technique to reach your audience.

Most restaurateurs fail to adequately and properly plan for the unexpected costs of their business. It is imperative you plan for everything – every contingency possible – to ensure your business succeeds in this high-stake hospitality industry. However, even if you fail to remember it all, you should still pursue your dream of owning a restaurant business.

It’s not uncommon for a business to be in the red for the first five to 10 years of the business before they see real profits coming in. It takes hard work and dedication to make a restaurant business successful. It also takes you looking realistically at your budget – where should you spend and where should you be saving?

Where are some areas you can save some money in?

Technology

Yes, your business will need technology if it is to survive and thrive, but it’s also the one area of the company that extra spending takes place. Ask yourself if your business really needs all the high-tech equipment you see advertised. Can your business survive using older tech equipment? If you can get away with the less expensive models, save yourself the cash and do it.

Marketing

In the past, your company may have needed the help of a marketing firm to spread the word about your restaurant. Today, the Internet is a restaurateur’s best friend. You’ve got all kinds of social media platforms that you can use – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to make an impact with your social media marketing campaign.

If you don’t feel you have the time to handle the day-to-day dealings of running a social media business (and chances are you won’t), hire a freelancer to contend with it for you. Freelancers are much cheaper than a firm.

Music

Many restaurants and retail stores have background music playing for their customers to enjoy while eating. Bear in mind that playing music in a restaurant comes with a cost. Since you are a commercial entity, you’ll need to pay a rights to music fee. This fee is a minimal cost compared to others you’ll deal with in the business, but it is one most restaurant entrepreneurs overlook and shouldn’t.

Utilities

All restaurant owners know they have to pay utilities, but they don’t ever consider the actual cost of using them. In fact, the cost may catch some owners off guard. Before you sign a contract, consider looking at the utility situation. If a prior business was located there, did they pay off their bill? Some utilities will force you to pay another entity’s debt before establishing the location in your name.

It’s unfortunate but does happen.

Nowadays, the restaurant industry is more competitive than ever before and this is causing numerous problems. With so much choice available for the consumer, restaurants are finding it hard to get noticed. However, there are some steps that you can take to overcome the largest problems and we have some fantastic tips today!

Issue #1: Customer Service – When people visit restaurants, they do so because they want to experience food that they can’t cook at home and we will look deeper into the menu in just a second. However, it isn’t just the food that people want to experience because the customer service is just as important. Regardless of how good your food may be, most visitors include the customer service in their decision of whether to return so this should be a focal point of your business.

As we know, repeat customers are essential for restaurants because there are only a certain amount of people to whom you can appeal. Once all the locals have visited your restaurant, you are essentially out of ideas. Therefore, a sustainable restaurant will focus on repeat business and customer service is a huge factor within this. From busboys to the managers, everybody should be looking out for the visitor and they need to have an enjoyable experience.

In truth, every step is important from the moment they walk in. If they aren’t greeted, don’t know your name, aren’t helped with questions, and aren’t even smiled at once, they will remember and could even tarnish your reputation with an online review. Remember, a bad review can outdo several good ones so do your best to keep all customers happy. Of course, some customers will be tricky to handle but you must try your best and keep the smile on your face at all times.

Issue #2: USP – Why should customers spend their evening and hard-earned money with you as opposed to any other restaurant in town? If you can’t answer this, how can anybody else? Unfortunately, customer service or even the menu doesn’t necessarily qualify as a USP as such as these are just a case of meeting expectations. In order to exceed them in some way, you need something that sets you apart.

Is it the classic 50s music you play while they eat? Do you source all of your ingredients locally? Do all customers get a little gift bag when they leave even if it is only a mint and some other cheap items? Whatever it may be, this will be the bit that has people returning. If it was just ‘food’, people can get that anywhere so what is it about your restaurant that is so special? As soon as you have this, you will be remembered. Why? Because you create an emotional connection with your guests and next time, they might bring more friends and family!

Issue #3: Menu – Ultimately, these three factors at the beginning are a trifecta of factors that make up the foundation of your restaurant. If either one of these is faulty, repeat customers are hard to come by. So far, we have been skirting around the menu a little so let’s address it now properly. In terms of common issues, sometimes restaurants have their menu too small or even too large. Additionally, you could be too expensive, too confusing with your theme, or too frugal with your portion sizes.

When creating a menu, you need to choose a number of dishes that you can do well without compromising the quality. When there are too many items, everything becomes a little rushed and the chef is overwhelmed at what they have to cook. For example, having hundreds of items might not seem a lot but what happens if every single person orders a different dish? Furthermore, you need to consider the amount of ingredients required to fulfil a large menu.

This being said, you also don’t want to limit the choice of your customers because they will only come once or twice before they run out of dishes they wish to try. Therefore, there needs to be a balance between these two factors. As well as providing a good amount of choice, the chef needs to be able to cook all orders to a very good standard. To help, we also have some smaller tips that may help with your menu;

• Avoid using the dollar sign
• Review your menu once or twice a year
• Be ready to adapt if something doesn’t sell
• Keep copies of your menu clean in the dining room
• Use photos and creative text to sell for you
• Keep the most profitable dishes in their own section

Finally, we also recommend making your menu available on your website and social media sites because people are more likely to visit if they can check out your food first!

Issue #4: Marketing – Earlier, we discussed the amount of competition in every location so how do you plan to stand out without good marketing? We aren’t saying that you should be spending extortionate amounts of money on marketing, but you can still utilize social media, a responsive website, email lists, and even a loyalty program for customers. In addition to being cheap, these are all incredibly effective.

Over time, you should be looking to create your brand including the same logo and graphics across all platforms. In truth, being creative is far more effective than spending lots of money so be unique and capture the imagination of potential customers.

Issue #5: Management – Although this isn’t in the main three, management is still important to any restaurant because you are the one in control. Each day, there are many things that need to be assessed to ensure profitability including;

• The most profitable menu items
• The cost of each menu item
• Labor costs compared to ingredients and every other cost
• The items that could be removed due to lack of sales
• The amount of customers who walk through the door each day
• The profit (or loss) you see each week
• The loss that comes from inventory

As you can see, these are quite basic but could prove very important if you are to succeed. If you manage to review the figures listed, act upon what they are suggesting, and then see even more success, this is great news for the longevity of the businesses!

Issue #6: Capital – Ultimately, the biggest problem here is probably the lack of capital that restaurant owners seem to have these days. If you are still in the planning stages of your restaurant and only have enough money for three months, we highly suggest waiting a little longer because this time will go very quickly. If you get off to a slow start, you are getting yourself into debt very early on and it becomes harder and harder to recover as many people find out each year. If possible, it is recommended that you have capital for at least one year before you open.

Issue #7: Staff – Finally, your staff will be one of the most important cogs in the day-to-day wheel because they are the face of the business. If you make mistakes in hiring, you end up wasting a good amount of money on the hiring process as well as the training that took place to get them up to scratch. This, coupled with the fact that the food industry tends to have a very high labor turnover rate, means that you need to be extra careful with hiring the right characters.

If you place focus on staff, you will become more efficient as time goes on and this leads to a happier experience for your diners. Although hiring can be an expensive process, this doesn’t mean that you should be hanging on to the wrong staff. Let’s face it, some people aren’t cut out for working in the busy atmosphere of a restaurant and this is absolutely fine. Once you have the right team, you can train them well and they could potentially become management one day and this is something to keep in mind. If they have the potential to join the management team in the future, keep hold of them!

Conclusion – There we have it, the most common issues seen by restaurants. As long as you take our tips on board, you should now have some solutions to make your restaurant venture a success both now and long into the future!

When running a restaurant, you will have goals and margins you need to hit over the coming weeks, months, and years. When all is said and done, most of this comes down to money and increasing your revenue. When you increase revenue, you increase your profit (depending on costs) and this allows you more funds for marketing or just improving your business as a whole. On a more basic level, more revenue allows you to keep trading for a longer period of time.

Nowadays, we are aware that some marketing techniques are just too expensive. If you are a small business, you might not be able to afford TV ads and huge billboards but these aren’t necessary as long as you are clever. Below, we have compiled a list of the 12 best tips we have seen through the years. If you want to be successful in 2017, follow this advice and you won’t go far wrong!

Snapchat Geofilters – Driven primarily by millennials, these filters are like overlays that show location or even branding. With this, pictures will be sent between friends and they show where they are located. For example, your customers could snap a picture of their meal before sending it to friends with the overlay. Not only does the meal look appetizing, all who receive the meal will know where to buy it from.

Direct Mail – Whilst technology brings huge benefits, you should never forget the roots of marketing because there is still something to be said for direct mail. Considering it can be extremely affordable, it is superb for restaurants because it is the locals you want to convert into regular customers. If you add coupons to the mail, you will have the attention of the community and this can only be a good thing.

Influencer Marketing – On every social media platform, we have what we call ‘influencers’ and these are people will a huge following. Since they have so much support, their followers trust what is being said and they have a certain influence over the market (hence the name). As a restaurant, you will be in a great position if you can have the influencer talking about your brand. Because the followers trust the word of the influencer, you will gain credibility if they enter your restaurant.

Sometimes, people say that this is hard to do but it can all begin with a simple message. When contacting them, say that you love their blog and that you think they will enjoy your food. From here, you can make arrangements if they show an interest; of course, the influencer needs to be in the food niche.

Delivery – Sure, you might not have the manpower to deliver yourself but there are now superb services that act as the middleman. If your locals enjoy your food, there are services that will deliver to homes and businesses on your behalf. Although they will receive a cut, these are customers you wouldn’t have otherwise had. If you can afford it, having someone visiting local homes and businesses can be a good move because you are actively marketing your brand.

Social Media – Every day, we spend millions of hours on social media but you cannot just expect people to visit your restaurant after one little post. Instead, you need to be creative by starting competitions or providing genuinely interesting content. If you move away from the pure advertising posts, you will capture the imagination of your followers. Furthermore, the funny or clever posts will also see more shares and then people will be interested in your brand. When you just post about your business, everyone gets bored (even you!) so be creative.

Coupon Drops – For landlords, they are always looking to add more value to their tenants because this allows them to justify the price. Therefore, get in contact and offer them a coupon drop program. As long as they live locally, you can regularly drop coupons and special offers and all those inside the building can benefit.

Text Marketing – Nowadays, we have our mobile phones permanently attached to our bodies in some way or another. If you utilize text messaging, you can persuade your existing customers to come back. As long as you don’t spam their mobile phones, you can be helpful with great offers and rewards.

Email Marketing – Despite now being considered an ‘old’ piece of technology, people still check their emails nearly every day so this is a great location to drop some advertising. Once again, you can send special offers or email-only deals for all the customers who have provided their email address.

Radio – Although you can benefit from paying for a radio spot, you will benefit even more from a long-term relationship with a station. Therefore, why not get in touch and see what you can do together? As well as sponsoring their events, you could create a combined Facebook contest, live on-air promotions, live broadcasting, ad vans, and more. In recent times, radio has received a lot of negativity but it is something we still listen to in cars and offices regularly.

Special Events – With some restaurants, the regulars stop coming because every night is exactly the same and you can’t blame them for this. If you want to recapture the attention of your locals, hold special events where certain demographics receive a cheaper dinner. For example, we recently saw one restaurant doing a ‘Daddy/Daughter night’ where all dads and daughters received a discount from their meals. Additionally, you could do ‘End of Week Friday’, ‘Wine Wednesday’, or whatever you fancy!

Give Back – If you operate within a community, the locals will love it when you give something back. As an example, you could run an event for a local charity or even for a local school. Online, you can advertise this event and you suddenly become a leader in the community.

Watch the Competition – Finally, we never advise copying the competition in your niche but you can certainly watch what they are doing. As well as their menu, you can also assess their marketing techniques and special offers; they could be advertising on a local website and seeing success!

There we have it, some simple steps for increasing your revenue. If you combine a few of these tips, you could start seeing more customers very soon and, with any hope, they will become long-term visitors to boost revenue!

It’s become harder and harder for a new restaurant to look unique – to get the attention of consumers. After all, there are a plethora of restaurants with fine dining and amazing good for them to compete with. But, did you know that all that ambiance and good food may not be enough to win people over and get them to come back?

In fact, it’s the service a restaurant provides that lures people back in. Your earn customer loyalty by providing them with amazing customer service, being attentive to the details and giving them a personal touch. This is what leads to repeat business.

It’s important to offer good service to your customers, but why not strive for outstanding service instead?

Now, you may think that providing customers with outstanding service is going to cost you a lot of money. It doesn’t and shouldn’t have to. All it means is your staff going the extra mile with the tasks they’re already doing.

Have Your FoH Manager Check On Customers

Most waiters and waitresses check on their customers, but a FoH manager checking in on them when customers get their main course is a demonstration of amazing service. This simple service act shows customers that your FoH manager cares about them and their experience. It shows the customers that if they have a problem, the manager is willing to step in and help.

Reduce Your Customers’ Wait Time

If a customer makes a reservation for a particular time at your restaurant, it means they want to eat at your restaurant. Take it as a form of flattery. Be sure to exceed their expectations by preparing for their arrival in advance. If the party has to wait, even though they made the reservation, make sure they’re offered complimentary drinks or food. Have the restaurant manager apologize for the wait and why the wait is happening.

When the customers have an understanding of what’s going on and that a solution is being offered to pass the time, they’re more likely to be less hostile about it.

It’s the little things you do that, when properly carried out, makes a world of difference for a customer. They’ll remember it just as much as they will the food.

Your Restaurant’s Ambiance Plays A Role In Customer Service

Believe it or not, the kind of ambiance your restaurant has plays a huge role in customer service as well. Be sure you have the right type of music playing. You may have a crowd of people that drown out the music, but it’s what sets the tone in the restaurant. Don’t turn up the music just to get patrons to hear it, but do turn it down if people are asking for it to be lowered.

Another important aspect is the lighting. While lighting will differ from one restaurant to the next, the key is to allow customers to see each other and their food but create a mood that makes them want to stay and eat. Be aware that a lack of good lighting makes it hard for people to read a menu, which can cause some patrons to get up and leave.

Create A Personalized Experience

You want your customers to feel like they got a personalized experience from your establishment. When it comes to the management, you don’t want something to come out rehearsed. Talk with customers directly, asking for their names and repeating it when you see them again. It’s the little things like these that make a customer feel like they are important.

You also want the wait staff to engage with your customer. These relationships can foster customer loyalty while also boosting the chance of a good tip for their hard work and service.

Online Marketing for Restaurant Managers

Within the Restaurant Manager role, you’re in charge of every process of the business. Although some will receive a little help from the owners, others are in charge completely and this means everything from the day-to-day running of the business to choosing an appropriate marketing strategy that meets the needs of the business.

If you can’t afford an external marketer, it can be daunting doing it all alone but success will actually come with strategic planning. For example, the customer experience should always come first because this is the foundation of success. If nobody is enjoying their experience, you don’t want to be advertising until you’ve fixed the issue. After this, we recommend the following tips!

Find a Niche – First and foremost, the idea of trying to reach out to everyone no longer works so find your audience and do everything you can to keep appealing to them day after day. Through marketing, you can then reach out to this niche with clever wording and a clear message.

Delegation is Key – While you’re in charge of the restaurant, this doesn’t mean you need to do everything alone. If you’ve hired a top team of professionals, use them in your marketing campaign, get them involved, and delegate certain tasks.

Use Local PPC – If you haven’t heard this term previously, it stands for ‘pay-per-click’ advertising and it’s a way of getting your ad to show to all those nearby. After setting a limit on how much you’re willing to pay for your ad to show, simple Google searches will display your business and this should convert into clicks and customers. With this tip, we urge you to be careful because it’s easy to overspend. Either outsource this task to a professional or, alternatively, set a budget at the beginning and stick to it.

One Channel at a Time – Instead of trying to do everything at once, start with one marketing channel and expand this until it’s running efficiently and at an optimum level. Once you’ve mastered this one, move on to another and keep going until you have each platform complementing one another. Nowadays, it’s very easy to get caught up in writing blogs and taking pictures that you forget to actually run the restaurant. Also, forget platforms that don’t fit in with your strategy and business; you need to target potential customers in the best way rather than be active on a platform just because it’s the ‘norm’.

Social Media – While on this topic, we value Facebook highly because a significant amount of your customer base will have an account. By having a profile and being active in local groups, you can really build your brand image and attract people to your restaurant. Once again, you can also use PPC on this platform to have your ad show for those based locally.

On your menus, leaflets, and even in person, you need to encourage the use of social media at all times. When they leave reviews, ‘check-in’, and talk about your brand online, this is the modern-day word-of-mouth and it’s incredibly effective. After responding to all feedback, you become more personable and everyone will want to pay your restaurant a visit.

Google MyBusiness – Nowadays, a lot is made of SEO but it doesn’t have to be the resource-intensive process people seem to think. Instead, all you need is a Google MyBusiness entry alongside a high-quality website and you’ll be right on track. After searching for a restaurant online, have you ever seen the business listings come up before the results? The aim is to get your business to have one of these sidebars whenever somebody nearby searches for your type of restaurant.

When creating an online presence, you need to make all the important details available and this includes opening times, a PDF menu, and more. With enough work, you could show at the very top of results with a panel showing all the details people need to know to book and visit.

Reviews – If you want potential customers to be impressed by your service, provide existing customers an opportunity to leave reviews whether this comes on Facebook, Yelp, TripAdvisor, or any other popular site. Today, people always look for the reviews of previous customers before spending their money so gaining superb reviews acts as a motivator to try your restaurant. If you receive positive (and especially negative reviews), be sure to respond by thanking them or addressing the problems the customer has highlighted.

Pictures – Finally, if you’ve got a youthful team, you’re also likely to have someone who loves to take pictures. Therefore, allow them half hour to walk around your premises taking photos of dishes, the building from the outside, the interior, tables, the bar, and everywhere you can imagine. At the end, you should have a pile of photos to be used online.

Conclusion – As a restaurant manager, we appreciate your job is hard work but marketing doesn’t need to add to your burdens as much as you might think. With these simple tips, you can make progress in the time ahead while also focusing on the more traditional marketing channels to engage with your community.

Customers Would Like To See Four Minor Changes In Restaurants

It’s important that you serve your restaurant patrons food they’ll rave to friends and family about, but that’s just half your battle in being a successful restauranteur. Your customers may have some gripes that you never even considered being an issue. Fixing those problems could lead to a better customer experience for them and others in the future.

Believe it or not, your choice in music, menu design and other things play a huge role in how customers feel about your restaurant. What are some issues your customers could be having a problem with?

Menu Design

You may have the best chef in town, but how are your patrons going to know it if they have to hunt for the choice on the menu? Most people spend no more than 110 seconds on the menu, which means you need to grab their attention fast. Be sure to focus on the menu’s appearance and structure, using eye-appealing images and food values that resonate with them.

Color Scheme

Did you know that the color red causes people to get hungry? It’s why many fast food restaurants use the color in their logo designs. However, according to research, the color red shouldn’t be used in a restaurant’s décor. Instead, colors like brown, green, yellow and orange fair better in a consumer’s eyes. You want the ambiance of your restaurant to mesh together – to make it where consumers want to come back to the business.

Reuse Your Marketing Plan

It’s important that your marketing plan gets brought back out, as you want to go over it with a fine tooth comb to ensure everything is working like the plan laid out. You can also devise some new strategies to include in the plan.

If you’re not using social media, you’re missing out on some potential customers. If you do have social media, but they’re rarely used, consider hiring the services of a freelance social media marketer to assist you in keeping the content fresh.  You also want to ensure your website remains current (add your menu to it, so people will know what kinds of foods you serve before they come to your restaurant).  Always use clear, colorful pictures to lure them in.

The idea is to stay engaged with your current customers and lure in some new ones.

Use The Right Technology 

Technology can give you a leg up in the restaurant business, bringing customers back to the restaurant even. With a restaurant POS system, you can attain more information on your customers such as their phone number, email address, etc. These tools will provide you with usable information.

POS systems can let you know which menu items are the most popular and bringing customers back. They can let you know which servers are able to upsell. They can also let you know what the most recent foods your customers are ordering, so you give them an even better experience next time around.

When it comes to repeat business, you want a person to leave happy, so they’ll want to come back and will tell their friends about the experience.

Designing for Millennials – Why is it Important?

Millennials, although not have much of the spending power currently, are said to dominate the consumer behavior in the near future. The trend has started to take place and it will continue to grow. A restaurant operator must connect with the millennials for a successful run.

Five defining characteristics of Millennials have been presented in a research by Nielson.

1. Millennials are divers, expressive and optimistic:

Not all millennials are the same, they believe in self-expression and their level of education has really a say in their choices.

2. They are urban thinkers:

Most of the Millennials prefer living in big cities, away from their parent’s home. They have an urban though process and way of living. They are in the quest of vibrant energy when it comes to housing, shops, and offices.

3. Desire to authenticity and care:

Locally produced and high-quality items are preferred by the Millennials. The places that have a social impact; Millennials are drawn towards them.

4. Millennials are well-connected and they look for the personal touch:

Millennials depend largely on the technology gadgets in almost every aspect of their lives. Social media has enabled them to communicate on a personal level with brands.

5. Millennials are struggling, yet climbing the ladder:

Millennials had to struggle hard because of the Great Recession. Their economic position may not be so strong, but they always prioritize value when it comes to purchasing decision.

A restaurant operator must be aware of these above-mentioned five characteristics in order to understand the needs of Millennials. If you are opening up a restaurant targeting Millennials, you must set your core values according to their characteristics. Creating a brand image requires everything in your business and restaurant reflecting that image.

To get start with, your brand should cater the passions of Millennials. Setting the core values that are relevant to them will be beneficial in creating a long term relationship with them. You should make particular efforts in respecting their diversity, creativity, and authenticity.

This generation is really active on social media networks, you can reach up to them through such means. Create value by supporting their causes, and offer them those deals which give them a great value. All this will help in catching their attention through which you can convert them into long term customers.

Read on to know some additional ways through which you can cater the millennials.

• Communicate your Causes:

Make them known what social causes you are supporting. This can be done through social media networks or at the point of purchase. You can highlight the ingredients in your menu that you have purchased from local suppliers to support the local industry or the items that benefit a charitable organization.

• Variety:

Provide your target customers with a variety of food and settings. You can have different types of settings in your restaurants to cater people with different interests such as lounge areas with soft seating, community tables, counter tops with bar seating.

• Show what you are offering:

The design and food of your restaurant must be clearly communicating the concept and brand image. If you claim your restaurant to be a healthy one; you need to show the way it’s healthier like having fresh and organic options in the menu and the setting should display a healthier style.

Knowing these things will definitely give you a better idea of dealing with the target customers (Millennials) in a better way to gain the better outcome.

For many years Cameo China has been working extra hard to gain your trust. We truly believe in one simple philosophy: Do what you say.

This simple four word Mission statement is easy to say, but takes a lot of hard work to achieve. Every day we tell our customers that the items they would like to purchase are in stock at our warehouse in Toronto. We dedicate our efforts to preparing and shipping orders with the shortest delay possible. The entire Cameo team will set aside their regular tasks to help fulfill this promise. We do this because, as a company, we said we would.

The results of this dedication and hard work have been calculated. Cameo China has achieved a 99.9% Fill-order-rate* within 3 to 5 business days. Simply put – we do what we say. We receive process and ship your order with an efficiency unheard of in the foodservice industry. Why do we work so hard? The answer is right in front of us. We do it for you, our loyal and valued customers. You told us that you need products immediately at any time of the year. A simple request that we are proud to say we have satisfied 99.9% of the time.

Trust Cameo to continue to deliver high quality, durable and economical dinnerware to you. We did what we said we would do!

From the entire Cameo team, thank you for your support.

( * Refers to Canadian operations only )

This past year in 2016, the Cameo team had one objective – simply put; “At Cameo. We do what we say”. Goals of this nature are easy to say, but their success requires a lot of hard, consistent effort.

We are proud to focus our effort on our goals to provide reliable, high-quality customer service, to every customer, every day. Cameo produces and markets high-quality, durable and affordable commercial-grade dinnerware throughout Canada. Our commitment to customer service and efficient, timely delivery are the keys to our continued success. Again in 2016 we maintained a fill-order rate of 99.9% in 3 to 5 business days.

In 2017 Cameo will endeavour to maintain our dedication to our core philosophies.

All our distributor partners and valued customers can rely on our attention to your needs every day. When an extra effort is required, you can count on us to ensure your satisfaction.

All of our efforts would be wasted without your loyal support and your continued interest in our products. We promise to continue to strive to improve Cameo in every thing we do.

Our mission continues:

AT CAMEO. WE DO WHAT WE SAY

Preparing for the Holiday Season: Five Fantastic Strategies

As we finish the thanksgiving weekend, our journey to Christmas has well and truly begun. However, it has actually been real for many for over a month since a recent study showed 40% of people to start holiday shopping before the end of October.

For retailers, they take just under one-third of their yearly sales during the holidays and this year we’re set to see retail sales smash through the $700 billion barrier. For us, on an individual level, the average American spends $740 on gifts, food, and everything we need to prepare for the season.

As restaurant owners, we know that this time is equally important. Generally, people feel more generous and more willing to step outside of the ‘norm’. If one partner turns to the other in April and asks them if they want to go to a restaurant, the answer would be ‘why?’. During the holidays, this answer turns into ‘why not!’ and we’re here to benefit. Below, we have five strategies you can use to prepare for the big month.

Focus on the Customer – Every year, customers are looking for special offers and deals they can utilize while they’re in a great mood. The earlier you plan your seasonal menu, full to the brim with offers, the more likely you are to see success. Of course, we recommend utilizing social media too since this is where most of the decision-making is done these days. Soon enough, your followers will be tagging their friends in your promotions and interest will generate.

If you’re hosting any type of event during this time, make sure you create an event on Facebook because this is a great way to build excitement. For example, a simple holiday karaoke evening event on Facebook will get people talking and this is exactly what you need.

When they arrive, your customers also need a fantastic experience and you can provide this with holiday decorations. With a little tinsel and a beautiful tree, your guest will feel as welcome as they do in their own home!

Create a Plan – As we head towards December like a bullet train, things can get a little hectic so take a moment to sit down and write a plan. As early as possible, you want to hire all the staff you’re going to need and have them trained. If everybody is ready and raring to go, you’ll be in a great position to offer a brilliant experience for all.

After this, plan for your inventory needs over the coming weeks and plan what specials you want to offer. Are you going to choose something completely different to your menu? Are you going to adapt your menu and give it a festive makeover? Also, things don’t always go to plan so think about back-up options too.

Sell Your Gift Cards – If we look at the last decade alone, the idea of gift cards has exploded and you’re missing out at this time of year if you can’t offer one to your guests. Whether you decide to go physical or electronic (or a combination of the two), people are more inclined now to buy gift card experiences so your restaurant would be a popular option. With $30 on a gift card, people can give their friends or family members the start of a relaxing evening.

Team Up with a Charity – As they say, Christmas is a time for giving so consider working with a local charity. During the holidays, you could hold an event and raise funds for the charity. For example, you can raise money for a charity who buy toys for orphanages. As you involve your customers, they’ll be willing to promote the event and help out wherever possible. Although this isn’t the main idea of the exercise, it will get people talking about your brand and the community gets to know what your business is all about.

Work with Other Businesses – If you don’t focus on your dessert menu too much but you’re within walking distance of an independent dessert eatery, why not team up over the holidays? If you advertise together, you can create a campaign that sees people eat their main course at yours before walking to your partner for dessert.

For this to work, there needs to be something to gain for everybody and you shouldn’t be looking to team up with competitors because you’re forcing the customer to make a decision. In the example we gave, the services were complementary so both companies can enjoy the benefits.

Enjoy the Holidays – As an extra tip, try to think outside of the box and just enjoy the time of year where everybody is more relaxed and melancholy. If you use one of our five strategies, or, even better, combine them all, you’ll be putting your restaurant on the map. When you can do this, the effect lasts much longer than just the holidays so you can enjoy a positive 2019 too!