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In our Business Poll, of those that responded, 9% believed that Making customers happy was the area that they found the most challenging when marketing their business. This is an interesting response because if you look at the GetSatisfaction.com study of why customers leave a company, 68% leave because of the treatment they receive, 14% are dissatisfied with products and services and 9% begin doing business with the competition. This survey is admittedly a generic survey and not specific to restaurants, however, it highlights a disconnect between what customers experience and what business owners know about their customer's experience.

As noted in the Get Customers section, knowing who your Customers are, letting them know you, and making a visit to your restaurant worth their while are the critical first steps in developing a successful marketing strategy. Use your computer, your networking contacts and your common sense to know your Customers. Share yourself in your restaurant, online and at local events. Finally, create special promotions to attract your most desired Customers.

In the next section, Make Your Customers Happy, we look at ways to make your Customers happy by keeping employees happy, creating a great first impression and keeping Customers coming back.

Happy Staff = Happy Customers

Recently, research firm J.D. Powers and Associates published a cross-industry report titled, "Achieving Excellence in Customer Service. The firm listed 40 brands as Service Champions, among them one restaurant chain, Caribou Coffee. What should be interesting to restaurant owners is not that Caribou was the only restaurant brand listed but, rather, this insight from Gary Tucker, senior vice president of global services and emerging industries at J.D. Power. "Every day, consumers interact with companies from a myriad of industries. Invariably, they compare the quality of these service experiences. Industries and companies should be doing the same if they expect to keep pace in today's increasingly competitive environment."

The tip here for restaurant owners is clear: keep an eye on your competitors, but look at other industries as well. While you may not be competing for the same dollars, you should learn from and emulate the best of them in the competition for the service experience. As Tucker explains, this is the customer's desire for both standardization and customization, that is, we want consistent, reliable service tailored to fit our needs.

Businesses that excel in providing excellent customer service often enjoy higher rates of customer retention, pricing advantages and reduced costs to acquire new customers, compared with companies with lower levels of customer service satisfaction. Key to providing exceptional service includes an empowered staff with a customer service mindset. What better way to instill that mindset than by practicing it yourself? In a customer-oriented environment, restaurant owners treat their employees like customers.

Tips for Retention

For the first quarter of 2011, the People Report Workforce Index, or PRWI, found that 47 percent of surveyed companies reported increases in hourly worker turnover and 49 percent recorded higher management turnover. In last year's first quarter, only 13 percent of companies reported increased hourly worker turnover and 33 percent saw higher management turnover. This churn may be due to an improvement in opportunities for managers and staff (today's restaurant industry employs nearly 13 million people, says the National Restaurant Association, and is expected to add another 1.3 million positions by 2020.)

Despite the industry's turnover, some 46 percent of restaurant employees say they would like to own their own restaurant some day, and a full 80 percent of restaurant owners started their careers at entry-level positions (National Restaurant Association). That said, for many people working in a restaurant is a means to an end. But regardless of why someone chooses to this industry, they tend to leave for similar reasons: inadequate pay, lack of recognition, not enough hours, conflict with staff or management, too few opportunities for advancement and a lack of benefits.

Controlling turnover starts with recognizing and rewarding good performance with pay raises, rewards and benefits (especially health insurance). Rewarding good behavior creates an employee who is motivated and encouraged. Interestingly, his peers are likewise affected and, in fact, may be compelled to mimic him! A kitchen and wait staff that competes for creating the best experience for the customer should be your ultimate goal.

Being fair with scheduling starts with creating a protocol for balancing the needs of the staffer (Student? Working parent? Long-time employee who has earned the right to money-making shifts?) with the needs of the restaurant and its regular customers. One way to be fair with part-time workers is to update their shift requests quarterly but set up a calendar with room for them to request particular days off for special needs. Allowing co-workers to swap shifts (and be responsible for his substitute) helps to keep the onus on the employee.

Communicating issues, changes and asking for suggestions will both engage employees and help minimize conflict. To motivate staffers, offer incentives, including bonuses for implemented ideas, or ask for recipes and give recognition (or cash prizes) for dishes that make it to the menu. "Our special tonight is 'Pasta Jenny' and was invented by our bartender Jenny Watson."

Cultivating a Culture of Service and Continuous Improvement

Your employees are also customers in other restaurants and, as mentioned earlier, in other industries. What are their opinions, thoughts and ideas about customer service? Consider inviting each one to eat at your restaurant and complete a serious comment sheet in which they evaluate every step of their experience from arrival (car park) to greeting, dining, food, service, etc. This exercise boosts morale and empowers employees.

View employee satisfaction and retention as an ongoing process, integrated into the restaurant's culture. Give all employees the decision-making authority concerning the customer's interests. For example, are your waiters free to discount or comp an entrí or offer a free dessert or glass of wine to soothe an irate (for any reason) customer? They should be.

Is the employee motivated to serve? Frankly, not everyone is naturally disposed to customer service. Can your employees see their customer's point of view during interactions---both cognitively and emotionally?

Keeping employees happy, i.e., engaged and enthusiastic, reduces turnover and benefits both you and your customers. After all, diners like dealing with the same employees. This is especially true in restaurants where the experience of eating and drinking, discussing food, being known by staff and greeted with respectful familiarity is linked to an intimate need for community.

To Conclude: From valet to chef, engaged employees are your best salesperson.

Next Tip: Make Your Customers Happy: Create a great first impression.

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1-888-700-8181

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