It becomes more and more evident that in the restaurant business you need to have an eagle-eyed outlook on everything going on in your business. The constant race to cut costs resembles that of an arms race between yourself and your customers and this simply does not have to be the case. No business owner wants to face off in battle against dozens or hundreds of customers a day.
The good news is that it is possible to cut costs and improve your margins without compromising on the quality of your products or how you treat your customers. There are always going to be external factors that can affect your bottom line – ingredient price fluctuations, macroeconomic forces, nearby roadworks and so on. There are plenty of factors that you can control, albeit to varying degrees.
Here are three key points to focus on that are the most evident when it comes to service delivery.
- Mistakes When Placing an Order
The staff you have handling this process actually have a tough job, make it easier by installing a point of sale system. There will always be a human element in this process where mistakes can be made but train servers to capture orders accurately and you’ll see a phenomenal improvement in order mistakes. Some customers are sympathetic to mistakes but if the customer is having a bad day, you could lose the customer over a simple drinks order mistake. You need servers who pay attention to detail and communicate clearly. - Communication between Front and Back of House
Another process that is simplified by a reliable point of sale system is the communication between the front and back of house. During the crazy rush of a restaurant peak time, the blame is often shifted between the front and back of house and is difficult to pinpoint where these errors came from.
Under such circumstances, occasional mistakes are inevitable, but they’re much more likely when the front and back ends aren’t in sync. Restaurants that rely on verbal communication between front and back end employees are primed for costly misunderstandings – from relatively innocuous screw-ups that can be corrected with no lasting ill will, to serious failures that destroy customer relationships and create public relations crises. - Not Meeting Delivery Deadlines
Since it’s easier to pick up the phone or hop on the web and place an order than to corral your family or friends for a trip outside the home, customers have less emotional investment in delivery food. That means they’re less likely to give the benefit of the doubt to a restaurant with which they have a negative delivery experience. Unfortunately, this puts a great deal of pressure on restaurant operators (and their delivery personnel, who shoulder a great deal of responsibility for the end product) to deliver a satisfying experience.
These, and countless other areas of uncertainty, can be avoided with the use of a reliable point of sale system. It is vital to ensure that you have every area of your service delivery covered and that you have the staff on board to help you reach your long-term goals of success for your restaurant.
