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There are many interactions that a customer might remember when visiting your restaurant however the last one carries the most weight if it goes wrong. The meal was perfect, the ambiance was delightful, the service was good and then they bring dessert.

They bring out a smallish tray of cookies. Actually one cookie for each individual at the table.
What does your guest remember? The puny cookie of course.

End with a flourish, always!

Despite all your best efforts

those ungrateful wretches we call customers complain about your attempts to maximize revenue. Rebecca Smithers explains;

For cash-strapped diners understandably anxious to squeeze value for money from eating out, table-turning clearly rankles. Other practices getting the thumbs down are poor service – including the not-so-optional service charge – and being left waiting for the bill to arrive, even when it has been requested.

Restaurateurs with an eye on the bottom line should take note of the other moans published in today's Plate of the nation report, which surveyed more than 2,000 British diners and quizzed 100 of the country's biggest culinary names: almost two-thirds (64%) of diners say they are irritated by tables being packed too closely together, while half are annoyed by persistently wobbly tables. Of the well-known restaurants, 15% admitted they table-turn at peak times.

More than half of the diners quizzed said that being asked to sup up and ship out at specific times because others were waiting came towards the top of their list of restaurant bug-bears. Other moans which make diners see red are "incomprehensible" menus, and charging corkage on wine brought by diners.

Staff rudeness and the customer experience

Christie Nickelson shares that rudeness between employees on your staff impacts the customer experience.

The studies confirm that witnessing an uncivil argument between two employees leaves a bad taste that goes well beyond the individual incident. Customers tend to generalize their newfound negative opinion to the entire organization, its employees and any future interactions with it. So serve it with a smile, please, for those in front of the counter and behind it.

Cravings and fun

Mark Brandau highlights a NPD finding about restaurant behavior

Cravings and fun atmospheres drive consumers to restaurants rather than the local supermarket when time-starved families need a solution to the age-old question, “What’s for dinner?” according to a new report from The NPD Group.

The market research firm found that nearly two-thirds of prepared foods sold at retail come from traditional supermarkets, but there are advantages that restaurants can leverage to prevent further erosion in their takeout-meal market share from what NPD calls food stores.

It is not my birthday really

Jan Dennis discusses how well intentioned promotions can go awry. A surprise at a dinner can be welcoming or annoying depending on a certain point of view,

“Not all customers want to be entertained,” she said. “Some just want to escape and be left alone. So the bottom line here is that businesses really need to consider their target audience before creating rituals that are effectively forced on people.”

The study examined rituals that are embedded into sales and service practices, creating a virtually mandatory branding tool that seeks to deal businesses a unique drawing card but gives customers little chance to opt out.

Researchers analyzed how customers are swayed by the sights, sounds and other frills of those nearly inescapable business rituals, from at-the-table food preparation at Teppanyaki-style restaurants to eateries that serenade diners celebrating birthdays.

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“Businesses should not just be on autopilot when they’re creating rituals,” she said. “They really need to understand the difference between optional and embedded, and the potential consequences of forcing customers to sit through certain rituals.”

Exactly what does the server do?

Chris Brogan is relating a story about how confidence affected an interaction with a"Order takers" should not be paid 20% gratuity. Servers should be trained to interact with the customer and sell. I am sick and tired of being waited on by horrible "order takers". If the server can not or will not interact then fire them. They are hurting your business. Chris's points on confidence are spot on. If you have a position, state it confidently. If your wrong, admit it and move on.

The guest at the table next to mine asked their server, “What do you think of the halibut special?” The server replied, “I’m not really sure. What did you have in mind when you came in?

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I take great pride in my confidence and conviction in matters that are important to me. I use confidence as a leadership trait all the time. And I admit when I’m wrong as often as is necessary to make those two traits worth a damn.

Oh, and one last detail:

The halibut looked pretty, but my first bite had three bones in it, and it tasted a bit too fishy in their preparation. I would’ve given the guest the wrong advice. But I’d have meant it, and she’d have bought it. And if she complained, I’d tell her that I was clearly wrong, and offer her another meal. That’s what happens.

Confidence. Conviction. Practice them.

Variety equals better experience.

Most restaurateurs are acutely sensitive to changing the menu. They understand the dynamic exercises that are required to change even a letter on their menu. There is a way to completely improve the dining experience without having your accountant go ballistic. Increase the number of condiments you have available.

There are three benefits to this strategy.

1) The basic menu is unchanged.

2) Operating cost increase is negligible.

3) The variety that your existing menu offers has just gone parabolic and the guest experience has improved.

Customer Service Cycle

Elizabeth Garber defines the process to improve customer experience.

That steak was fantastic

Jonah reminds us that the memory is only as good as we think it is

At first glance, this experimental observation seems incongruous. After all, we like to think of our memories as being immutable impressions, somehow separate from the act of remembering them. But they aren't. A memory is only as real as the last time you remembered it. The more you remember something, the less accurate the memory becomes. The larger moral of the experiment is that memory is a ceaseless process, not a repository of inert information. It shows us that every time we remember anything, the neuronal structure of the memory is delicately transformed, or reconsolidated.

How does your sale help the customer's desired results

Geoffrey James channels Jeff Gitomer,

• RULE #6:Help the customer build the customer’s own business.
• RULE #7: Think end-of-time friendships not end-of-month totals.
• RULE #8: Define your niche and position yourself as the expert.
• RULE #9: Translate what you offer into the customer’s business results.

Long term stress

Seth shares this; The long term stress is starting to become prevalent in far too many individuals and organizations. The natural progression without some circuit breaker is to reframe the discussion entirely.

More and more, I'm seeing bus company behavior from previously great organizations. It's a symptom of companies (and cultures) under long-term stress. These are all traits that occur when you allow standards to erode, when you embrace the status quo and when management gives up. You don't need lots of money or squadrons of people to change this, you just need to care.

Customer Service and the Olympics

Here is the issue. Your staff has worked a long hard shift. Have you noticed that the late customers pay the same amount as the early customers? Why is the level of service energy lower? Ask your staff why thier energy and service is less than perfect and what you as an organization can do about it?

Tipping essentials

Bill Shrink explains tipping,

Give Name to customers
Touch the customer

Train schedules and signals

There is a magic in a train schedule. You know that there is certainty in your life. You anticipate the arrival and then the railroad crossing signals engaged as the familiar ringing blares out. Too often navigating in the uncertainty overwhelms and we long instinctively for a respite.

The negative to the positive of course is that there is a tyranny in a unbending schedule. If you are late, you are late. There needs to be a balance. I do not know where that balance point is, however I am certain that you need to provide that balance to keep your customer coming back.

Certainty without tyranny is a winning formula, find yours!

The return of Fine Dining

Greg Burns article illustrates that fine dining never went away only the frequency of visits were curtailed.

Ironically, embracing the past might be the best way to attract a younger, 40-and-under crowd, he said: "It would be new to them. The styles always come back."

So does the economy -- eventually.

Baldwin thinks the downturn bottomed out in August, and he sees the numbers moving in the right direction. But it's still slow. "The period of self-deprivation is behind them," he said of his customers. "The trends are in fact better this holiday season than in recent months. We'd like to see the slope of the line a little steeper."

A line out the door waiting for tables would be nice too.

Lifetime Value of a Customer

Too often when a customer walks into the restaurant for the first time there is no emphasis placed on the lifetime value of that customer to the business. The consideration is skewed heavily toward this one transaction. Where management may occasionally remember the lifetime value equation, the staff tends to be especially weak in this area. The concern for extracting the largest tip or increasing the check amount during this one transaction takes precedence with the staff. When was the last time a server ended a transaction by saying "come again soon and ask for me"?

Seth's post offer some kindle to this discussion;

Instead of comparing what you invest to the benefit you receive from the first bill, the first visit, the first transaction, it's important to not only recognize but embrace the true lifetime value of one more customer.

Write it down. Post it on the wall. What would happen if you spent 100% of that amount on each of your next ten new customers? That's more money than you have to spend right now, I know that, but what would happen? Imagine how fast you would grow, how quickly the word would spread.

Imagine if your staff embraced customers as lifetime partners in the business. Actively tried to build a book of business by their service and in doing so grew the restaurant. Imagine that every customer is not a single transaction, but a continual stream of transactions. How do you treat that customer? Why are you not doing that to every customer that walks in the door? This is a cultural discussion, your establishment either treats all their customers as a relationship or it does not.

It is pretty obvious which establishments value the lifetime customer!

Back to the value equation

Darren explains business models that work

“The limited-service sandwich chains that continue to perform well have conveyed a strong value equation to their customers—from craveable flavor profiles to reasonable pricing to convenience of ordering,” says Darren Tristano, EVP at Technomic, a foodservice industry consultant. “Given the challenging economic environment, leaders should understand the shifting expectations of their customers and be prepared to make the necessary changes to remain relevant, while keeping a watchful eye on margin erosion concerns.”

Culling the customer base.

Jackie Huba's post reminds entrepreneurs that they actually have a duty to protect their good customers from their more disruptive brethren. It is ok and even beneficial to say "NO" to an individual who is disrupting another guest's experience.

To which Tim wrote on his blog:

"Fabulous.You sir are exactly the type of patron that I never want to see at an Alamo Drafthouse ever again. People who continue to talk when the movie has started are impolite, self-absorbed losers who were never taught common decency by their parents. WE DON’T EVER WANT YOU AT THE ALAMO. Please take your business elsewhere for the rest of your life....To our friendly customers, stay vigilant, report talkers and keep our theater safe from the raging hemorrhoids of cinematic society."

This happens all the time inside stores, movie theaters, sporting events, airline flights; an obnoxious customer makes everyone uncomfortable, and everyone in charge is oblivious.

Customer satisfaction is getting vocal.

Reuters' post discuss how the economy is impacting your guest's tolerance of less than exceptional service.

"The survey for online restaurant marketing service Livebookings also found nearly a quarter admitting they are more likely to moan about poor service due to the economic downturn."

People have less money or are feeling less wealthy in most cases and they are simply not going to tolerate exchanging their few discretionary dollars for a dining experience that does not meet their expectations. The study identifies the percentage that would complain, more problematic for your business are those who feel the experience was sub par and choose not to return. In those cases you have no idea why they did not return. The customer just vanished, and guess what if your business has a trend of vanishing customers, the business will also vanish.

Closing out the guest experience.

The guest experience does not end after the guest has consumed their last morsel. Everything that occurs from the presentation of the check to the time the guest physically leaves the confines of your space (i.e. drives or walks away) or munches on the last remnants of their doggie bag is part of the experience.

Too often, a perfect meal is tarnished because the restaurant failed to follow through and close out the guest experience in a congruent fashion. The last memory tends to be the one that has traction.