When people think about quick service restaurants, oftentimes they automatically think about the speed of service, low cost, or a certain comfort food, but rarely do people associate the quick service industry with quality customer service. Good customer service enhances overall customer satisfaction when they visit your establishment and is just as important as good customer service at a fast casual or fine dining restaurant. When customers have a good experience, they are statistically more likely to return and tell their friends. If they have a bad experience they are likely to not return and tell their friends. Customer service has declined and some of that is due to staffing shortages. This makes it difficult for employees to keep up with all the restaurant shift responsibilities while adequately attending to customers, but there are still ways your business can maintain good customer service.
Employee Training
The more you train your employees, the more confident they will feel while performing their duties. When you hire someone on your team, make sure they know the importance of great customer service and how your restaurant specifically aims to satisfy and meet the needs of everyone who comes through the door. Having specific ways they can greet people, take orders and respond to conflict will impact how customers feel when they leave your establishment.
Technology
If you are wondering how technology can play a role in customer service, the answer is simple. Customer’s love technology. They can save their favorite orders for quick access and easy ordering and many apps offer rewards or coupons which makes for a happy customer. If your restaurant has not implemented those forms of technology, hopefully you have a back-office software solution that helps to run your restaurant more efficiently, which will in turn increase customer satisfaction.
Upgrading Customer Experience
Customers want to have an experience when they go out to eat, even if it is fast food. This doesn’t mean you need to create an extravagant plan, but you should be intentional about how you serve your customers. Small things can really make a difference, so if your quick service restaurant has a high volume of families as customers, consider how you can enhance their experience. Maybe you have crayons and paper for the kids or a toy that comes with their kids meal. Some places have disposable placemats for young children so they can spread out their food on a clean service. Small gestures such as these can leave a big impact. If you have a lot of young adults or college students, maybe having a menu for bundled deals or late night promos will speak to them and enhance their experience.
There are many ways to up your customer service game that do not cost your restaurant lots of money. Not only are they cost effective, but the return is typically substantial. Good customer service is invaluable. Take the time to see how your restaurant can improve customer service and implement those changes as soon as possible. If that means holding a training session for current employees, or adding technology that would significantly increase efficiency and help staff to focus more on the customers, then see how you can make that happen. Your customers will thank you for it!
