Tips for Extinguishing Poor Restaurant Management
Measuring your success is more than just sales figures. Your sales may be high, but that doesn’t mean your business is thriving. Effective restaurant management plays a huge part in the overall success of your restaurant. Poor restaurant management will result in a decline in business and sales.
The past year has undoubtedly challenged restaurant owners and managers in the industry. From lockdowns, limited capacity, alcohol restrictions, and much more, restaurateurs have had to adopt new methods and technologies to stay successful during a global pandemic. After the hardships of 2020, restaurateurs who are determined to achieve success in 2021 will need to leverage modern restaurant POS technology and proper procedures to improve their restaurant management.
Prioritize Health and Safety
In the restaurant industry, the health and safety of your customers and staff should always be a top priority. As restrictions lift this year, many consumers will be eager to return to “normal” dine-in environments. However, many consumers will remain wary of being in busy public spaces and won’t want to dine at an establishment that doesn’t have thorough sanitization procedures in place.
If you haven’t already, put your customers’ worries at ease by implementing new health and safety measures throughout your restaurant. Such measures can include but are not limited to sticking to a strict sanitation schedule, offering hand sanitizer in accessible places, placing tables 6-feet apart, separating bar seats with plastic dividers, and requiring that employees wear masks and gloves while working.
Restauranteurs can also adopt new technology to assist in keeping their establishment clean. Contactless payment solutions will eliminate direct contact between customers and staff at checkout. As you put these procedures and technologies in place, it is good to advertise your efforts to the public. Let hesitant customers know that your restaurant is a safe space to dine.
Value Your Employees
If not held in check, poor restaurant management can easily lead to overworked and undervalued employees, especially amidst the chaos that the last year has wrought. Take the time to get to know your employees. Learn about what motivates them, whether it be bonuses, recognition, job perks, or schedule flexibility. When you find out what they value, you can adjust your restaurant management accordingly for a happier, more motivated workforce.
Motivate your employees with more than just bonuses, perks, and flexibility. Build employee loyalty and trust through the practice of active listening while they express concerns or give suggestions. By taking staff concerns and ideas seriously and treating them with respect, your employees will be more likely to work harder. As the leader, you set the example for your employees. Your employees will reflect your attitude, so make sure it’s a good one.
Leverage Technology for Improved Customer Experience
Customers can pick up on the quality of your restaurant management based on their own customer experience. If they experience slow service, late or incorrect orders, and sluggish checkout, odds are your restaurant management needs improvement. Solve issues like these by equipping your employees with the tools they need to provide the best service possible.
Utilizing restaurant technology such as mobile POS will make taking orders and processing payments a breeze. With mobile POS, orders are taken by staff tableside and sent directly to the kitchen, minimizing errors and saving time. Online ordering technology will give your customers the power to order from home. Further, you can implement SMS notifications to update your customer on their delivery order status or send them directions for pickup. With helpful restaurant technologies like these, your operations will become streamlined, and your customer satisfaction will skyrocket.
Properly Train Employees
While it’s a good idea to implement new technology to enhance the customer experience, it’s all for naught if your employees don’t know how to use it properly. When you introduce new tech into your workforce, be sure to train your staff thoroughly. Don’t hinder your customer service due to employees trying to understand new tech on the fly. Technology should make things easier, not harder.
Aside from technology, employees should also be equipped with the knowledge and skills to deal with customer issues. The staff’s attitude is a direct reflection of how well or how poorly a restaurant is managed. If a staff member is rude to a customer, it will harm your restaurant’s reputation. Offer customer service refresher courses when needed to ensure your staff handles customer complaints and concerns in a way that will reflect positively on your restaurant.
Put Customer Satisfaction First
Every restaurant manager knows that customer satisfaction is crucial—unhappy customers are bad for business. To make sure your customers stay satisfied, pay attention to their needs and behaviors. You can put all the effort you want into menu offerings and specials; however, it will fail if it’s not in sync with the customer. Instead, organize promotions geared towards what they want. To do this, review sales data and trends from months past.
A huge part of customer satisfaction is catering to food preferences. Restaurants with excellent management will work with customers to accommodate dietary issues. You don’t want to turn away customers because you don’t offer vegetarian, vegan, or even gluten-free options and substitutes. Suppose you do encounter a situation where you can’t accommodate a customer’s dietary issues. In that case, it’s crucial to listen to their feedback and use it to improve your service in the future.
2020 was a rough year full of challenges for restaurant owners and managers. To make up for lost time and money in the past year, restaurant managers must focus on improving their businesses and adapt to the new restaurant environment in 2021. Poorly managed restaurants can create a toxic work environment for staff and a disappointing customer experience. With the right technology and proper procedures in place, restaurant managers can ensure happy customers and employees.
Whether a single, independent restaurant or a large chain, NCC can provide a customizable and scalable solution to meet your unique business needs. Contact our team of experts today.
