1. Bad Table Location is A Common Restaurant Liability
Many restaurants try to maximize revenue by placing tables wherever they’ll fit, regardless if they’re near the kitchen door, the bathroom or a busy walkway. If you have a busy meal service and often need to utilize every available seat in the house, you can do a few simple things to turn a seemingly bad table into a desired one.Make the guests feel special when they’re seated at one of these tables. Explain that because they’re seated in a location that might not be the best for “being seen”, they’ll be treated to some special tastes and treats during their meal.
One restaurant, The Blue Honu, in Huntington, LI stamps the paper table covering with a branding iron denoting the table’s special number. They make sure to bring out free appetizers, desserts and other special tastes from the kitchen to those sitting at the table by the kitchen. By the end of the meal, the patrons want to come back and only sit at that table! By doing this, the restaurant turns what would’ve been an okay dining experience into a special one. A friend told me about her experience, and now I want to go and sit at that table! The Blue Honu gets added revenue and positive word-of-mouth by using this strategy.
2. Adverse Weather is a Restaurant Liability We All Deal With
If it’s awfully hot, and people don’t want to come into eat, send out an email message to your local customers enticing them to come in. Offer them something for free or a discount during your “Hot & Sweaty Promotion.” Make sure to give free refills on iced tea.If it’s very cold, and people don’t want to travel outside to eat, offer free valet parking if they have to drive to you. Instead of just bringing water to the table when guests are seated, bring them a mug of hot apple cider. Boy will that make them feel warm and welcome!
3. Steps Are Another Restaurant Liability
If you’re not stroller or handicapped accessible, make sure to help people with strollers and walkers up and down your steps. Post a sign on your door saying that you welcome strollers and will help those who have difficulty with steps. People will feel welcome and special if you make an effort to help them.I went into a new pizzeria recently with my son in his stroller. There was a big concrete step up to get to the door. The owner was outside and saw me trying to get into his restaurant. He immediately came to help me, lifting the stroller and making room in the small eatery for me and the stroller. He made me and my baby feel welcome.
4. Off-Peak Hours
Be creative when it comes to trying to fill your dining room throughout the day. Many restaurants offer “happy hour” drink and appetizer specials to get after work crowds and “early bird” dinner specials to get an early turn on their dinner service, but there are other ideas you might want to try.If you’re in an area where there is a need for late night dining that doesn’t involve a drive-thru window, consider serving small plates into the wee hours of the morning, especially on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. One restaurant in Manhattan, Mas, offers fresh Oysters and other small plates until 4 a.m. on the weekends. They’re located in Greenwich Village where there is a lot of night life, so they get a nice crowd and extra revenue in the morning hours. Small plates don’t require a lot of kitchen staff. They can be prepped ahead of time and easily assembled by one person in the kitchen.
5. Running Out of a Top Item
It happens. No matter how much you plan, sometimes it’s unavoidable. The last piece of your famous chocolate raspberry pie is ordered at 7:15 p.m. and there’s no time to bake more for the rest of the dinner service. Some people will be very disappointed. If they’re like me, they may have come to your restaurant just to have the pie for dessert.So, how do you turn extreme disappointment into a positive experience? Treat the guest to an alternative of their choice. Also give them a rain check for a free piece of pie to entice them to return. Explain that everything is baked on the premises and that you had an unforeseen early run on your specialty of the house. Tell your guests that other items are equally as wonderful, suggest a replacement, and apologize for the inconvenience as you give them their rain check. (Have rain checks printed up and ready to be handed out. Put an expiration of one year on them and detail what the customer is entitled too and sign it.)
