| On the Front Lines of Service-By Jackie Yudd jackie@pointsofprofit.com
Developing
Your Ambassadors of Recovery
One of the critical
role that a manager plays in the operation is that of recovery when
a food or service problem arises. How
a manager handles the recovery determines your rate of success at
retaining your guests.
The most basic need
that every guest in your restaurant has is to feel welcome, wanted
and appreciated.
Step
One: When their basic needs are not met (see last
month’s article) you must as the very first step genuinely
apologize for what has disappointed them. Use their name (if you know it) and always directly refer to the situation at hand. For example:
Say, “Mrs. Jones, I am truly sorry that your soup was not
hot when it was served to you”.
Step
Two: It is also crucial to offer
compensation for not being up to par
on your food or service standards.
The compensation must be appropriate to the situation, or
even go beyond the course or service sequence related to the problem.
Say next, “We've taken the soup off your bill and the chef
is preparing a new bowl for you as we speak. I would also like you to save room for dessert, on us, of
course.”
Step
Three in Guest Recovery: Hold true to your promise.
Follow up to make sure
Mrs. Jones enjoyed the hot bowl of soup.
Make sure you have told the server that the desserts will
be comped and that you would like to know when that course is served
so you can do a personal check back.
Then make sure you make that important check back.
Step
Four: Genuinely thank
your guest for coming; reassuring them they made the
right decision when they initially walked through your doors that
evening. If you follow
these Steps of Recovery you may in fact increase the odds of your
guests recommending your restaurant and also returning to it
themselves!
Key
to Recovery Success: Look for ways that your service
staff can take these steps of recovery rather than involving the managers. The more front line staff can do directly
and quickly the faster the recovery!
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