The world of hospitality and catering can be a brutal one. It is considered to be in the same ballpark as retail; hard work, long hours and difficult customers! However, most of these claims are from restaurant owners who are making a lot of mistakes. Yes, it is hard work no matter what, but there are a number of ways you can help you business run as smoothly as possible. If you are considering opening a restaurant as your very first start-up, take a look at these useful tips that will help your business thrive.
Make bookings simple
Restaurants don’t function if there aren’t any bookings. After all, you cannot run a restaurant without customers. But getting regular bookings is something a lot of restaurateurs find difficult. Relying on walk-ins can work for some people, but most of the time it is a risky business. It is always better to secure a solid number of bookings each night, and then if you have spare tables you can donate them to any walk-ins you may get. However, a lot of restaurants make the mistake of not bringing their bookings system up to date. Unless you are in an extremely busy location, chances are your restaurant won’t open until the late afternoon or evening on weekdays. Therefore, if the only way customers can book a table is by calling the restaurant, they will be left hearing the phone ringing for a quite a while! An online booking system can save both you and the customer a lot of hassle and will mean you increase sales at previously quiet times. Speak to a company who will be able to provide you with some web app development in order to integrate this feature into your website.
Market yourself appropriately
There are a lot of different types of eateries, and your branding needs to show what you are to customers who may not have even heard of you before. Consider carefully everything you use in your branding, both online and in person. If you are a luxury, romantic restaurant, should your staff be in t-shirts and jeans whilst they are on shift? Probably not. If you are a casual Jamaican restaurant, would you use an elegant scripture as your branded font? Think about what your business looks like to an outsider before making any branding decisions.
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Take on customer feedback
Thanks to Tripadvisor, it is becoming a customary part of our culture to leave a review for somewhere after we have visited. This can be anything from a museum to a hotel, but the main bulk of review websites are taken up by restaurant reviews. Even Facebook now has a feature where customers can leave reviews and ratings for your business. It is vital that you respond to as many of these reviews as you can, regardless of whether they are positive or negative. If you get a bad review, try and make amends and apologize for whatever it was that went wrong. If you get a glowing response, thank the customer for their input and tell them that you hope to see them again. It is little things like this that will make your customer base remember you, and hopefully bring in new ones too.
This article was provided by ellie jo