The Insider Tip –What makes a good customer and what should you, the customer expect?

The  Insider Tip –What makes a good customer and what should you, the customer expect?

The hospitality industry is based around people. Those who work in it are (or should be) people pleasers. We cook with passion, our coffee is made with love, we want you to feel welcomed and we love it when all that is brought together and you leave as very satisfied customers.

Isn't customer service a two-way street?  Sure, some business aren't perfect but neither are customers. To some, this may be a sensitive topic as it is viewed  “ the customer is always right”.

Are they? Knowing how to be a good customer is just as important as knowing how to treat customers. And likewise as customers, you should know what to expect from the staff.

So here are my insider tips to what makes a good customer and what should you –the customer expect.

What makes a good customer?

• Please don’t yell at the staff. It’s not their fault if they run out of something, or you have waited too long or you don’t like the price or don’t like the product or service. See the person who makes those decisions. They are paid according to listen and deal with your complaint.
• If you are in a hurry, please tell us when you order. Not after ( for example) you have ordered a well done steak and you only have ½ hr for lunch.
• Never yell “hey” or click your fingers to get the attention of an employee.
• When we ask “ how are you?” please answer, don’t ignore us -we do actually care.
•  Please don’t cuddle us or pinch our bums. While we like you… we just don’t like you that much.
• If you are unhappy with the product or service, please tell us. We don’t always get it right, in fact sometimes it can be a shocker. However, a great hospitality business will welcome all feedback and deal with them according. So please, step out of your comfort zone and tell us.
•  If you make a reservation for a certain time, then please be on time. We plan around reservations. We really don’t want 2 tables of 10 arriving at once.
•  If you book a table for a certain number of people, then please tell us if that changes. We might not be able to make the table bigger if you arrive with a bigger group or we could have reused part of your table for another booking that we had to turn away.
• Please don’t sit at a dirty table. Tell us you want that table and we will clear it and get it ready for you. Sitting at a dirty table doesn't mean you will get served any sooner.
• If you get refused service because we think you are intoxicated, please remember we are the sober ones. We aren't doing it to burst your party bubble. There are substantial fines for us if we keep serving you. Quick tip –if you then start arguing and yelling at us, that’s a sure sign we have made the right decision in the 1^st place.
• If you pre-order your meal or takeaway for a certain time, then please be on time. Don’t be upset with us if we held your order till your arrived and then you have to wait or complain that its cold.
• Please respect our place and stuff –Don’t steal our ash trays and hand soap. Please don’t smash our toilet seats –we want you to have nice toilets. Please don’t leave your baby’s dirty nappy on the table for us. Please don’t put sugar in the salt containers and ruin someone’s meal –it’s not funny. Please don’t put more and more firewood on the fire –particularly after we ask you not to and then you start a chimney fire and please don’t let your children draw on our furniture and walls. 

 What should the customer expect?

•  Eye contact -staff should look up from whatever they are doing and make eye contact. Its called acknowledgment.  Whether they can serve you or not at least you know you have been seen and something will happen soon.
• A smile and warm welcome. They are in the hospitality industry and it should be 2^nd nature. You can teach skills but you can’t teach someone to smile.
• Staff should be focused on you, not talking about their hangover or what they did last night.
• Staff should know what they are selling. Telling you they “don’t know what the fish is or what’s in the salad” isn't good enough.
•  Coffee shouldn't be bitter nor the milk burnt. And it should be in the cup not the saucer.
• Your beer should be cold and your glass shouldn't be chipped.
• Your poached eggs should be soft and runny. Hard eggs is just wrong.
• If the chef tells you that you can’t add or takeaway something from a menu items –that’s rubbish. Spend your money somewhere else. It’s not hard to take anchovies off a pizza or put them on.
•  A restaurant is never full. If you are prepared to wait something will come up but just because a restaurants bookings are all in at 6.30pm doesn't mean something want be free by 8.30pm. If a restaurant still  turns you away after you are willing to wait, then you probably should just spend your money elsewhere.
•  We should always keep you informed. You should know if there is going to be a wait or a problem with what you have ordered.
• The premises should be kept at an adequate temperature. It’s about the customers, not the staff running around taking your order.
• An experience – a level of food, beverage, service and atmosphere that we as hospitality owners or employee's would  like to receive ourselves.

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#goodcustomers
#goodcustomerservice