How to increase the customer orientation of the staff in the restaurant? At the request of Psychologies, business coach Olga Mukhina follows the developments in the reality show “Make Me Tasty” on the Moscow 24 TV channel and advises participants on how to build relationships with each other in order to succeed.
As a person who is not familiar with the work of restaurants and has never seen a professional kitchen, it was very interesting for me to look at the process from the inside: you immediately understand how complex and complex the business is. What do customers see (and appreciate) in a restaurant? Of course, the menu and the variety of dishes, the taste and how it looks on the plate, maybe even the dishes and the interior. But in order for us to get a delicious dish made from fresh high-quality products, a very complex system of procurement, delivery and storage must work flawlessly. In fact, this is a complex business, and a failure in one part can cause a chain reaction in all other stages.
- Why so much misunderstanding?
But I think it’s right that we, the clients, do not know the inner workings — after all, why should we? We go to a restaurant and want to get delicious food and good service. It is not for nothing that Alexander Ilyin, one of the leading restaurant critics, begins to evaluate the quality of a restaurant’s work in a reality show from the way he was met or not met at the entrance.
Aruse is probably easier in this regard — she does not have waiters, and she communicates with guests herself. On the one hand, this is attention to visitors, besides, it can smooth out potential situations of discontent in advance. On the other hand, will it always be like this? Will she still have to transfer this work to hired people? But for this they will have to be trained.
- Do not break and do not go broke — in the reality show «Make Me Tasty»
The Shaggingdog restaurant manager and his chef are just doing this job — they tell the waiters (and even check their knowledge) not only about what the dishes consist of, how they can still be prepared, but also explain why the waiters themselves should know this (“ It will be easier for you to answer questions from visitors” — that is, you will look more professional) and why this is important for the customers themselves (“Some people may be allergic to certain products”). I think it’s the right approach — the waiter should be able to tell everything.
- Do not agree? Say so!
I would advise not only to check the knowledge of the menu, but also to observe how the staff works in the hall with real visitors, how they react to complaints, how they behave in difficult situations. Unfortunately, customer focus is not our strong national trait, so we should pay special attention to this, and not only when Alexander Ilyin comes to the restaurant. Do not forget about the Internet and «word of mouth»: a well-known fact — one dissatisfied client «closes» for you at least 7-10 potential customers who simply do not reach you. I hope that both Rico and Shaggingdog will keep this in mind and do everything to make visitors feel not only tasty, but also comfortable.