Are you struggling with keeping your team organized and motivated? Are customers complaining about the customer service at your restaurant? It might be time to dig deep into restaurant service standards to learn how to improve the customer experience and keep your staff happy.
What Are Restaurant Service Standards?
Restaurant service standards refer to the experience you create for customers who visit your restaurant, as well as the expectations they have.
They include all the interactions between your restaurant and the customers, from customer service to food quality, atmosphere, and so on.
The Benefits of Implementing Restaurant Procedures and Policies for Service
Abiding by 5-star restaurant service standards can help you improve the customer experience as well as preserve consistency in your customer interactions. Ultimately, this promotes loyalty and can help you attract more returning customers.
Having a restaurant service standards checklist can also keep your team organized and on top of their tasks, so they will always deliver the highest quality of service.
An organized team that is given proper on-the-job training is more likely to stay at their job for longer, which will help you increase employee retention.
Ultimately, clear service standards in restaurants help everyone, from the restaurant owner to the employees and the customers.
How to Implement and Maintain Impeccable Restaurant Service Standards
1. Get your staff’s input
Your staff is a huge part of your restaurant operations. Most of them interact with your customers daily, which gives them invaluable insight into what clients want and expect from your restaurant.
As such, when crafting a restaurant customer service policy, seek their input on what you could improve, from the steps of service to new technology that customers might have been asking for.
Put all of their suggestions together and see which ones are useful and feasible for you to implement. Asking for your staff’s take on restaurant service standards will make them feel heard and encourage them to speak up every time they want to share something.
2. Keep your mission statement in mind
While there are general food service industry standards that most restaurants can find themselves in, these standards will also depend on the type of food business you own, your values, mission statement, and company culture.
For example, let’s say your goal was to open a traditional Italian pizzeria that serves Naples-style pizza based on authentic recipes passed down from your Italian grandparents all the way to you. Are your restaurant service standards reflecting that?
If you own a fine dining restaurant, put more thought into the restaurant atmosphere besides the food. If you own a fast food, think of ways in which you can serve more people faster.
3. Create a restaurant service techniques manual
Training your staff in restaurant service requires a bulletproof training manual that contains all the procedures and processes that employees must follow when interacting with customers.
From front-of-house service standards that ensure customers are satisfied while dining at your restaurant to takeaway service standards that preserve the same quality of service even when clients order food for pickup or delivery.
Writing down your service standards will make them easier to memorize and adjust as needed. Make use of Excel spreadsheet templates to create consistency. This will be a manual that you and your staff come back to again and again.
4. Train your staff to comply with proper service techniques in restaurants
Based on the manual you’ve compiled, you need to train your staff to ensure they’ve assimilated the information and to answer any questions or concerns that they might have.
Post the information somewhere they can check it whenever they want, and email all training manuals, handbooks, and checklists to the entire staff.
Repeat the training whenever you hire someone new and periodically to old employees too, especially if you make changes, but even if you don’t. A refresher course now and then will ensure everyone reaches their full potential.
You can also improve parts of the training with visual aids to make the process as interactive and engaging as possible.
5. Listen to your customers
To check whether your restaurant is meeting 5-star restaurant requirements, check your reviews. They will give you an unfiltered insight into what people are thinking.
Are a lot of guests complaining about slow service? Consider implementing a QR code menu for dine-in ordering that will speed up the process by allowing customers to place their own orders the moment they sit down.
Whenever you come up with solutions to people’s problems, make sure to respond to the review and let them know their feedback has been heard.
Remember that other potential customers also see your replies, and they might decide to give your restaurant a shot seeing how much you value your customers’ input.
You could also set up a restaurant survey dedicated to asking customers about your newest service standards and how well they are implemented.
6. Ask for feedback and review your restaurant standards regularly
Finally, your restaurant service standards will never stay the same for long, and that’s okay. Constant improvement is what the restaurant industry is all about.
Both your restaurant and customers are always changing and evolving, so it’s natural for your procedures to change too.
From introducing new technology to keep up with your competitors to keeping an eye on social factors affecting restaurants, one thing’s for sure: your job will never be boring.
Periodically check in with your staff to see if the standards still align with your goals and if they think customers’ expectations are met.
Ask your employees if there are any areas they would like to change or checklists they’re having difficulties with. If more employees single out the same thing, it’s a sign you need to change it.
Wrap-up
Every restaurateur who wants to build a successful business that will stand the test of time should be aware of restaurant service standards. This set of rules and procedures can help you improve customer service and increase staff retention.
When creating service standards for your restaurant, take your employees’ and customers’ feedback into account, and create detailed training materials that stay true to your restaurant’s values.
