Setting Your Table For Success
Posted by: Carl Smith on Monday April 27, 2009
One night as I was trying to crack the code on taking nGen Works to the next level, I started searching for other service industries that shared our characteristics and challenges but had been around for centuries, not decades. I needed an industry that was project focused but welcomed repeat business. It had to maintain a consistent level of quality with a concern for the customer’s experience. Most importantly it would need to have the answers to balancing growth with finite resources.
The next day I ran into a deli for a quick bite. As I was waiting on my food, I watched the staff work together to keep everything in motion. Customers placing their orders, cooks preparing food, servers taking plates to the customers, bus boys taking dirty dishes back to the dish washers and the owner asking how everything was.
Everyday restaurants open and close, and it’s been that way since the 10th century. The question is, why do they succeed or fail? And what can those of us in other service industries learn from the experiences that keep us coming back?
Making the numbers work
Every restaurant has two things in common. They can only serve so many customers at once and they have to make a certain amount of money to keep the doors open. So are you going to be a cafeteria with low profit margins pushing as many people through as possible or are you going to be a private caterer preparing the finest meals exclusively for those able to afford them? Or maybe one of the infinite options in-between?
No matter the path you choose, you have to figure out the number of clients you can successfully serve at one time while still providing an experience that keeps them coming back. Once you accomplish this, word of mouth does the rest to fill your reservation book.
Tearing your menu in half
When thinking about what you serve you need to focus on what you are known for, what you can consistently be great at and where your profit comes from. Then your menu can get focused on the signature items that fit the criteria.
Try serving everything and you won’t get in a groove with your process or your team. Quality will be sketchy and everyone will lose a little faith, even you. Focus and you get into a routine of fine tuning what works. Things get better and your value goes up.
Working as a team
From the host to the dishwasher, everyone has to kick ass to create the ultimate experience. If one person on the team doesn’t care to be the best they can, then a dirty fork can undo the finest filet mignon. If the server gets one thing wrong on the order, then everyone’s best efforts get thrown away and the meal starts back at zero.
Ultimately it comes down to caring and communication. With the right team and the right tools everyone keeps the process rolling smoothly.
Prepping the stations
It’s not fun, it takes a long time and it’s the foundation of success. In a kitchen prepping means getting all the ingredients ready for the next rush. In other service companies it means the same thing. Instead of slicing tomatoes and dicing carrots, you have to make sure your brain is prepped with the right skills, techniques and knowledge and your tools are state of the art.
If someone on your team is not doing something as efficiently as possible, or heaven help us, doing something that is bad, it can backlog your entire process and nothing gets out to the customer. Once the kitchen gets backed up tables turn slower, customers get cranky and profits go down. Excuses are made and trust gets shaky, but if everyone is prepared, even emergencies can become opportunities.
Creating the right ambiance
When you first walk into a restaurant you get a sense of who they are and what to expect. Are you greeted at the door by a welcoming host or an old sign saying “Seat Yourself?” Do you see starched white tablecloths or place mats on old wooden tables? Is there the low whisper of intimate conversation or is the joint jumping with boisterous talk and heartfelt laughter?
Everything a customer feels at the beginning of their relationship with you frames their entire experience. That’s why being in command of that experience is critical. As your company’s maître d’ you should take great care to make sure new clients know what to expect as well as finding out their preferences.
Taking the order
Making sure you get everything right when the order is given is obviously important. But how you take the order is also an opportunity. Describe the way the meal will be prepared. Explain why it’s better. Share the specials with passion. If you don’t tell the customer why your company’s product is so much better many of them won’t understand. Once they do, though, they will tell everyone about the great experience they had and why it was so amazing. They’ll want to share their discovery and keep your pipeline full.
Working the pass
In most good restaurants, before a meal goes to the table it gets checked by a chef to make sure it meets their quality standards. In some restaurants there is no pass. If something gets served that is subpar or wrong, it’s up to the customer to send it back and probably decide not to eat there again.
Ultimately quality assurance should only catch a few things because the team is so finely-tuned few mistakes are made, but those few things could derail your entire team if not caught. Taking care of a problem before it gets to the customer is much less distracting than having something sent back. Great quality assurance leads to improved efficiency and positive word of mouth which in turn fills more tables.
Timing
Most great dining experiences involve everyone in the dining party being served the right food at the right time. Appetizers, main course, dessert. Nothing is rushed and nothing takes too long. The customer has time to enjoy each phase. In your business it should be the same. When people feel rushed or ignored, it’s a recipe for bad word of mouth. If something takes a long time to prepare, explain that at the beginning of the process. “All of our desserts are made from scratch, we recommend you order them at the same time as the main course so they will be ready when you are.”
Asking a simple question
We’ve all been asked “How was everything?” We’ve all lied and said, “It was fine.” And we’ve all appreciated that server who asked us again with a smile and a knowing look, “If something wasn’t right, please let me know. I want to make sure you come back again.”
Too often in today’s world many of us forget to ask how we did. Exit surveys and comment cards are great, but actually making eye contact with the person who hired you and asking if they are happy with the outcome is personal and shows you care. It’s also the last opportunity you may have to find a flaw in your offering. Even if they are disappointed and you can’t help them, you will be better off having asked.
Dropping the check
Very rarely are we surprised when a server brings us the bill. They almost always wait until it seems things are slowing down and then ask one more time if there will be anything else. As always, they aren’t rushing us and will take payment whenever we’re ready. Looking over the bill, things normally cost what we expected. Occasionally we’ll be shocked to find that gratuity was already included. When that happens we go into detective mode and get cranky. “What else are they trying to slip by me? I was going to tip 20% but if they feel 15% is enough then fine.”
There is a right time and a wrong time to bill in every industry. Obviously the right time is when the customer is happy. It’s also critical to avoid surprises with billing. Restaurants show us prices at the beginning of the experience and bill us those prices. While everything you do may not be as cut and dry, you owe it to those who hire you to keep them informed of cost along the way.
Saying thanks
As the customer is getting up and heading for the door there’s one last chance to say thanks and come again. Take it. It can make all the difference.
Breaking it down for the night
So here we are. The last customer is gone and we need to get ready to do it again tomorrow. What have we learned? What can we do better? How can we be the best?
The biggest revelation is there are great lessons to be learned around us every day. Lessons from interactions we have with people in industries far older than our own.
The next time you have a truly great experience, dissect it and see what made it wonderful for you. Then infuse that in your business however you can.
If we all begin adopting successful practices regardless of where they come from, then we’ll all start expecting the best from every single interaction. The companies who can make the experience of working with them as amazing as the product they deliver will lead us to the next evolution of business.
Comment RSS Filed under: Interweb
Geof Harries
04.29.09 at 4:53pm
Terrific analogy, Carl. I really appreciate it when you write articles such as this that focus on the basics of customer service, manners and etiquette (must be your southern heritage). We each get easily caught up in the roller coaster that is running a business and all too often completely forget about the essential aspects above.
Jeffrey Harrington
04.29.09 at 5:06pm
This was really insightful. You could expand this analogy in many ways.
The only critique is the word-of-mouth promotion. In this economy (I’m beginning to hate those words), even great restaurants have to promote themselves, especially if there aren’t enough customers in your locale to keep you afloat.
Maybe your next article could address promotion using the same analogy.
Carl Smith
04.30.09 at 6:09pm
Look at that, it’s the guys whose name sound the same!
@ Geof – All that stuff matters man.
@ Jeff – I agree and disagree on word-of-mouth not being enough. I think it depends on who you are and how you foster your WOM opportunities. It’s probably also terminology. I consider our email blasts part of my WOM campaign. Keeping top of mind awareness with peeps that know us. Excellent idea for another post. Thanks Jeff!
Vikki
05.06.09 at 4:16pm
Hey man… you sound like you might have worked in like PR… you are brilliant.. but way too nice to work with those wolves *:)
nGen Works
05.06.09 at 4:46pm
@Vikki I used to work next to PR people and I studied them closely. Different breed. Glad you liked the post.