Better yet, be proactive in anticipating what customers want from you — their beverage glass is empty, so fill it before they ask.
You enter a restaurant for the first time. You look for a human or some sort of sign to tell you to wait or to be seated or to seat yourself. Instead, you are greeting by a void of uncertainty. Is anybody there?
Real World Story:
I cannot explain why the above scenario has been happening to me more and more. I cannot find a reason for this. Don’t business owners know that customers need and want to be recognized immediately upon entering their establishment? Don’t business owners know that customers have MANY choices in where they spend their money and can and will easily go elsewhere?
Recently, I was joining a colleague for a business lunch meeting at a restaurant I had never before visited. When we entered, we could see people sitting and eating at tables, but we weren’t sure if we were supposed to seat ourselves or wait for someone to seat us. We stood there for a while — and nothing. Finally, we simply started walking through the restaurant aimlessly searching for an answer to our nagging question. We then spotted an employee who was busy chatting with another employee. He turned to us and said bruskly, “Sit anywhere.” He then immediately turned back to his coworker to continue his conversation. Ugh! What a horrible welcome. My colleague and I shrugged our shoulders as we found the nearest table. We sat at the table for another while before a waitress brought our menus. She seemed in a hurry and not at all interested in having us add to her workload. She hurriedly took our order and disappeared. Every time we needed something, we had to hunt her down to let her know. We eventually began to feel guilty about being so “needy.” Although we left filled with food, we were not filled with excitement about ever returning to this establishment!
Strategies that Turn it Around:
- Greet customers immediately. Ideally, you want to provide the human touch when greeting customers, someone who has a smile and warm disposition. If you cannot provide the human touch, then at least post a sign informing customers what to do — sit yourself, wait to be seated, SOMETHING!
- Be attentive. Some customers need more attention than others — and that’s okay. Pay attention to their body language, eye contact, and facial expressions. If the customer is looking around, it’s pretty clear they are in need of something. Better yet, be proactive in anticipating what customers want from you — their beverage glass is empty, so fill it before they ask.
- Make every touch point matter. It doesn’t matter if it’s not your job to seat customers. Team members should always be willing and able to assist when and where needed. Treat all customers with kindness and respect. Treat them as a priority, not a disruption.
Remember: Customers have choices in where they spend their money. By greeting them immediately and warmly, being attentive to each customer each time, and making every interaction with every employee matter, you will create loyal customers who will reward you with repeat business and positive word-of-mouth endorsements, which will lead to a profitable bottom line.
What do YOU do to ensure your customers are made to feel that they matter? Please share in the comments section below.