As a restaurant owner, guests are your bread and butter. And while you prepare the best food and service to entice their arrival, remember that every guest who enters is seeking a way to feel connected to your restaurant. While there are many ways to create these connections, some are easier than others.
A simple effective way to enhance the guest experience is through micro-interactions. Small gestures as simple as a smile, nod, or quick conversation which instantly make people feel welcome.
As technology advances and people are less necessary to the transactions taking place between the customer’s ordering and payment processing, we sometimes experience this moment with little to know human interaction. However, while the credit card is transmitting or the receipt printing, consider this moment an opportune time to engage your customer.
Simply asking, “How are you today?” is an excellent way to engage your guest.
Here is another moment which might seem intuitive, but in my experience is often better trained. Always make your movements in the restaurant a guest-first atmosphere whereby allowing guests first down the hall, across the floor, to speak, into the bathroom, and so on. I cannot tell you how many countless times a food runner or host has cut me off when crossing a restaurant or even entering one.
Find unique ways to engage the guest, ask them questions, be sincere, put them first and you will be surprised how a guest becomes a life-long customer because of the effort and micro-interactions your restaurant focuses on creating everyday.