A Customers Lifetime Value

April 21, 2016 by Leave a Comment
When I do training, I tell all of my audience that when you’re in the service industry and whenever you have a team member that is face forwarding a guest they have an unbelievable effect on that guest’s lifetime value.

If you think about it, any consumer that comes into a place of business, whether it’s a restaurant, bar, retail establishment, entertainment venue, or a concession, the team members working at that place of business have a huge impact on that guest experience.  In fact, they are the business to that guest. If the guest has a good experience, odds are that they might tell somebody and come back.  If the guest has a bad experience, they will definitely tell everybody and never come back.

To me, it is never about the immediate sale but the relationship my team develops with my guest. Mya Angelo said “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did but people will never forget how you made them feel” I believe this is so very true in business and in life.
Is your staff aware of their impact on your guests’ or customers’ lifetime value and how important they are to the success of your business?

 

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The One Commonality of a Bad Service Experience

April 14, 2016 by Leave a Comment

As a restaurant and bar owner, I have discovered that there is one commonality between a bad service experience; whether it be that I have the poor experience myself,  I receive a complaint letter from a guest for one of my restaurants or I receive a bad mystery shop. That one commonality of all three is the fact that there’s no manager presence on the floor interacting with staff and the guests.

I always say that a manager’s job is simply this, to make things happen or let things happen. If a manager is not on the floor with the guests, then they are not able to influence the guest experience.  I ask my team all the time, what is more important while you’re working than the guests in your restaurant?  The only answer acceptable is nothing!

The guest is not an interruption of our work they are the purpose of our work.  If floor managers aren’t  present to oversee the experience their team is giving the guest and a guest receives a poor experience, then who is ultimately at fault for that bad experience?

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The Best Marketing is Word of Mouth

April 7, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Quite often when I am hired to consult an underperforming restaurant or bar, the first thing I do is stop all marketing and

public relations.  I tell my client, why would you spend all this money to get people in your door when you’re not taking care of them once they come in.

It’s so important that the guest experience is superior because not only will it make your guests happy, but then potentially build them in as part of your marketing team by going out

and telling people about how good their experience was.

Today,  with modern technology, people share their feelings via their cellphones, in real time, whether their experience is good or bad. Social media is the new normal for modern day marketing.

In my business, the clients that I work with write testimonials so that potential clients will see what other clients are saying about my business and services. This form of marketing is worth much more than any advertising  that I could pay for to grow my business.
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What is the No.1 Way to Make Someone Feel Important?

March 2, 2016 by 1 Comment
Often when I work with hospitality groups, I ask the question, “What is the No.1  way to make somebody feel important?”  I get many answers from, “Smile at the guest,” “Make eye contact,” “Say hello,” “Simple greetings,” and while all those are great ways to make somebody feel good, they don’t make somebody feel important.

The No. 1 way to make somebody feel important is to find out their name and use it.  As humans, we all have an innate desire to want to be recognized by our name.  I then ask the group, “If the No.1  way to make somebody feel important is by finding out their name and using it, what’s the best way to find out their name?”  Almost always, the resounding answer is, “Ask them.”

Certainly this would work, however my recommendation is that the best way to find out somebody’s name is to introduce yourself to them first.  Once you’re introduced yourself to somebody, odds are they’re going to tell you their name.  Once you’ve found out their name, use it as often as you can in your conversations and transactions with them.

In my business, 98% of  people pay for their meals and services by credit card, another great way in which to learn somebody’s name.  How great is it if you were to dine in a restaurant, and when you paid the server came up to you and said, “Thank you Mr. Smith, it was a pleasure to serve you.  I hope you come back and see us again.” Something so easy that I train all of my teams to do, and yet 10% of the time, the response from the guest is, “How did you know my name?”  I find this rather humorous considering that staff members do this simple yet impactful step so few times that the guest would actually be shocked that one of my staff members would know their name.
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Is Every Member of Your Team a Brand Ambassador?

February 26, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Whenever I work with leaders of organizations, I notice that the most successful leaders are great at utilizing their team to grow their brand.  In my business, hospitality and the restaurant business, I ensure that every one of my team members knows everything they need to know that one of my guests might ask them.  The importance of this is that every one of my guests or customers meets my team members typically a lot more often than they meet me.

The reality is my brand is 100% represented by the people that work with me.  Any guest that sits in any of my restaurants meets my team members, and they therefore are a representative of my brand.  If a guest asks what the hours of operations are, who designed the restaurant, asks about certain menu or food or beverage items, it’s incumbent upon me to make sure that my team knows every answer because they are representing my brand.

If you are in a leadership role, always remember that managers are not rewarded for what they do, they are rewarded for what their people do.  How well is your team representing your brand?

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The Importance of a First Impression

February 4, 2016 by Leave a Comment

I often ask people that I train how long does it take to create a first impression. I often get numerous answers from 20 seconds to 30 seconds to a minute. The reality is it takes 10 seconds to make a first impression. It takes 10 seconds for somebody to decide whether they like you or they don’t. That’s it! A first impression is critical in the hospitality industry because your guest decides immediately whether they feel that you are for them or against them.

First impressions are black or white, they’re not gray. Never has somebody looked at you and said, “I’m not sure how I feel about you. Let’s start this all over again.”

First impressions are critical because often times in hospitality, whether it’s restaurants, retail, entertainment venues, nightlife bars or airports, all you have is a first impression with your guest. Quite often our only interactions with our Guest is for less than 30 seconds so first impressions http://www.cialispharmaciefr24.com/cialis-generique-indien/ are critical in guest satisfaction.

What kind of a first impression are you showing your guests? Are you smiling, making eye contact, verbally greeting them, making them feel warm and welcome? That is what a great first impression is all about. There’s no such thing as a second chance to make a great first impression.

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