Everybody knows that the restaurant industry has always been ultra competitive — restaurants that start out popular can close down in under a year or two once business starts to dwindle. Even if your restaurant is doing great business, it’s important to look for new methods of improvement in case your fortunes change in the future. And whose business couldn’t stand to benefit from a little more profit?
With this in mind, here are a few ways that you can rejuvenate or improve the operations at your restaurant to give your bottom line a boost.
Employee Scheduling Software
Some of the best tips for improving employee happiness at your restaurant involve the newest technology that is specifically designed to benefit restaurants — employee scheduling software. Don’t you want your employees to spend more time at their primary task when they’re at work? Employee scheduling software reduces the time it takes to create work schedules people love by as much as 80%, freeing them up so they can finish the work that matters.
Restaurants also notoriously suffer from high turnover, so it’s very important to retain employees — not only does the restaurant run better when the team has lots of experience together, but training new staff is a drain on time, money and energy. Your staff will love using employee scheduling software to submit requests for days off remotely, and keeping your staff happy is a win for both them and your business.
Promote People Skills
One of the most important parts of dining out is the experience, and beyond things like the restaurant’s ambiance or even the food, excellent service can provide an intangible boost that really makes a good meal feel truly special.
It’s not enough to tell staff to be polite to all customers; staff need to be mindful of their body language during all their interactions. The content of what your staff say should match the attitude they physically convey. Even when they’re not speaking, it’s important to listen carefully and show customers you’re being attentive.
This is the “hospitality” industry, which is about more than telling people what’s on the menu: it’s about making people feel well cared for. The right training, support and encouragement can go a long way in improving your staff’s people skills, which in turn helps increase customer loyalty.
Use Social Media Smartly
Every restaurant has social media tools available to them, which if used correctly can be a powerful way to make the community learn what’s going on inside your restaurant.
You don’t want to misrepresent the vibe or the actual food you’re serving, so take care to ensure the images and the tone of your posts is consistent with the restaurant itself. It may take a while to develop the right voice, but free and effective promotion for your restaurant is too great an opportunity to pass up.
Whether you rely on new technology, old-fashioned hospitality, or old-fashioned promotion using new technology, it’s wise to use every method at your disposal to give your restaurant’s business the boost it needs.
