Ask the Experts Archive

This month's topic: Guest Interaction and Technology

Question: How come there are some restaurants you are NEVER able to get into? Are all of their tables really full? Are there any tricks to getting into one of these restaurants? - Brian Wyeth, New York, NY
Answer: Alex: It’s a rare restaurant that is always full, all of the time. However, if the restaurant is not very large but is very popular, you may have a difficult time getting a table at peak demand times. And some restaurateurs do hold available tables for VIPs or celebrities that come in at the last minute.

If there is a particular restaurant you would like to get into, I would suggest that you try to become a VIP yourself. Make a reservation at an off-peak time. For instance, most restaurants are not completely full at 5:00 p.m. on a weeknight. When you do visit the restaurant, introduce yourself to the staff, owner and manager. Be complimentary to the staff and tip well. Return several times. When you call for a reservation, be sure to mention that you have been to the restaurant before. After a few visits, the staff will recognize you and begin to treat you as a preferred guest. Good luck!

Question: Why do some restaurants hire hosts that are rude and snobby? Is this a strategy? Does it work? - Carol Rice, Newton, MA
Answer: Alex: This can be an intentional strategy, although one I cannot understand for the life of me. This topic is also related to Brian’s question above. Restaurants who want to cultivate an air of exclusivity will sometimes instruct their host and maitre’d staff to treat non-VIPs as if they are beneath the restaurant’s notice. They believe this will result in their restaurant becoming a “status” destination, i.e. if you can get a reservation you must be someone important.

On the other hand, the restaurant management may have no idea how their host staff is treating guests. This may be a personnel issue rather than an intentional strategy. In either case, I recommend that you alert the owner or manager. The worst that can happen is they confirm your already poor opinion of their restaurant, but they may be grateful to be alerted to a problem, and you will see it corrected immediately.

Question: Some restaurants have the wine list brought to you on a computer. What other cool technology will we see as customers in the near future? - Mark Hill, White Plains, NY
Answer: Lewis: We are seeing some very exciting things happening with restaurants and technology these days. Restaurants are enthusiastically adopting handheld devices. Servers and even guests can be given access to the restaurant’s menu for ordering. And servers and managers can carry handhelds to update table status and view guest preferences and history.

For restaurants that run a wait list, one of my favorite new technologies is mobile phone paging. Instead of giving you a bulky coaster pager to hold onto, a restaurant can automatically send a pre-recorded message to your cell phone to tell you your table is ready. This allows you the freedom to walk down the street and do some window-shopping, for instance, if there is no room to wait in the restaurant itself.

Question: What are some examples of questions restaurants should ask their guests to have better customer service? - Debbie Clark, Columbus, OH
Answer: Alex: There are questions, and then there are observations. Every one of your staff members who interact with your guests on the phone and in the restaurant should be instructed on both.

Regarding questions, first and foremost, “Is this your first visit to our restaurant?” is important, so you can make new guests feel welcome and you don’t irritate your returning customers by repeating what they already know. Next, ask if this is a special occasion. If it is, try to get the exact date of the occasion (birthday, etc.) so you can put it in the guest’s profile for next year. Serving staff should ask if the guests have any allergies or preferences the kitchen should be aware of. Again, this information should be stored in the guest’s profile for future visits.

Then there is observation. Each staff member should be trained to watch the guests for cues to help make this and future visits more personalized. Do they request a booth rather than a table? Do they give their dinner salad to their dining companion instead of eating it themselves? Do they ask for limes instead lemons for their iced tea? These types of preferences should be documented in the guest’s profile.

On the next visit, the reservationists, host and server can be armed with the information previously gathered, and the guest will be amazed and gratified at the personalized service they receive. This translates to more return visits and great word of mouth for the restaurant.

Question: In today's marketplace, how important are online reservations? We currently only take phone reservations. Are we missing out on customers? - Albert Tobin, San Diego, CA
Answer: Alex: Online reservations are becoming more and more important from a guest service perspective. Today’s restaurant customers increasingly technology-focused, and they’re used to accessing the information they want, when they want it. So if it’s midnight and they want to see if they can get a reservation for Saturday night at your restaurant, they’re going to look on your Web site to see if you offer online reservations.

At peak times, your reservationists may have to place your guests on hold before assisting them – and no one likes to wait, especially in this business. An online reservation removes that phone call from your reservationists’ workload. The reservation is already on your books when you come in the next morning.

If you are unsure about whether to offer online reservations, you can always do what I did: survey them. Your guests who prefer to talk to a live person will always call for a reservation. But online reservations will offer the rest of your guests an option available even when your restaurant is closed.

Question: What can restaurants do on their Web site to make them unique? - Anne Lang, Minneapolis, MN
Answer: Lewis: You already have a unique restaurant brand image and personality. Your Web site, just like an ad campaign, should reinforce your brand. Then when your guests visit you online they will get the same feeling they have when they visit the restaurant they know and love in person. If your restaurant is a minimalist modern space, an austere, simple Web site design will extend the look and feel of your brand. Similarly, a French bistro may want to use a more elaborate font and formal color scheme to enhance the online experience. Some restaurants use Flash as an animated intro – always give your guests the option of skipping the animation if they’ve seen it before.

Keep in mind that any links you have from your Web site to others will also impact your brand image. So if you are linking to other companies’ sites for any reason, the experience your guest has on those sites will also reflect back on – and distract from – your brand.

Question: I own a medium-sized fine dining restaurant. I like the idea of gathering more information about my guests’ preferences so I can personalize their visits. But how do I go about getting the information without irritating my guests or making them feel like I’m invading their privacy?
Answer: Alex: There are actually two steps you need to make toward your goal. First, actually getting the information, and second, providing the information to your staff so they can create that feeling that I like to call “restaurant magic”. You can make gathering information about your guest’s preferences part of your staff’s normal routine. The reservation-taking process is a natural place for your staff to begin asking questions about the guest’s preferences. When the guest arrives, the host staff and servers can observe and make notes about what the guest prefers. You can also ask the guest directly, and reasons given could include tracking allergies and dislikes so the kitchen can be prepared on future visits. Those notes can be given to a manager for entering into the guest’s profile after the shift.

Lewis: I would also add that, from a technology standpoint, some reservation systems can interface with your point of sale system. This allows you to track key items that a guest may order, such as wine or dinner specials. Then on their next visit the server can make recommendations based on their ordering history.

Alex: Right. But that doesn’t replace the need for the server to observe details about the guest outside of what they order. It’s the personal details that can make a memorable experience. Once you have data about your guests, it’s time to use it. The reservationists, host staff and servers all need access to the guest information so they can personalize their interactions with that guest. For example, reservationists can view the guest profile in the reservation system and ask the guest how they enjoyed the salmon on their last visit. Servers can get a report printed out before the shift or upon seating. This will enable them to greet the guest by name, offer a favorite drink and remember that the guest prefers their sauce on the side. Don’t get me wrong – it’s a lot of work to get your staff bought into a culture of information gathering. However, once they begin to use the information and see the reward in guest loyalty and better tips, the process becomes self-perpetuating.

Question: Currently I’m the only one who knows my regulars/VIPs. We’re opening a new location, and I can’t be in both places at once. How do I help my staff recognize important guests?
Answer: Alex: You have to record the information. Keeping profiles of your guests, even if it’s just in a spreadsheet or on 3x5 cards, will at least allow your staff to look up the guests and start to get to know them before the guest visits. However, a technology solution, such as a reservation system or a table management system with a guest database, will allow your staff to more easily access the guest data as they interact with the guests in real time.

Question: I love to go to nice restaurants, but I’m concerned about my contact information being sold to other companies, especially when I’ve given a restaurant my email address, my phone number and all of my address information. Some of them even have my credit card!
Answer: Alex: Any good restaurateur knows that his guest information is his most valuable asset. He won’t be sharing your data with anyone, except for perhaps another restaurant within his group. Most restaurateurs keep a close eye on who has access to their guest data.

Lewis: There are also regulations governing the use of your data For instance if you receive an email from a business, restaurant or otherwise, the federal government requires that business to allow you to unsubscribe from any future emails. Also, technology products that capture credit card and other personal data will soon be required to comply with new rules regarding data encryption and user ID tracking, which will help to protect you from identity theft.

Question: I was in London recently, and the restaurant sent me a text message on my cell phone to let me know that my table was ready. It was incredibly convenient. Why isn’t text messaging from restaurants more common in the US?
Answer: Lewis: In Europe, cell phone systems are much more standardized than in the US. We have several different providers that don’t communicate in exactly the same way, especially with regards to text messaging. So while in Europe it’s easy to write a piece of software to have the restaurant’s computer text you when your table is ready, in the US not all cell providers would be able to receive that text message. However, there are technologies available now that will actually call your cell phone with a pre-recorded message saying that your table is ready. This works with any cell phone and is much more convenient than carrying around a pager or waiting in front of the host stand for your name to be called. Plus, the restaurant doesn’t have to bear the cost of lost pagers. I expect this type of system to become more and more popular in the near future.

Question: My business partner and I have a disagreement about online reservations. He thinks we should put them on our website. But the restaurant is already full most nights, and we don’t need MORE reservations. And my guests like the personal touch of speaking to a real person. Is there any reason I should change my mind?
Answer: Alex: To answer the second part of your question first, online reservations will never completely replace the phone. Those guests that like the personal interaction will always call you. But in my restaurant, Brennan’s of Houston, we were having the same debate. We didn’t think that our clientele would like online reservations. So we put a survey up on our website. And we were very surprised when 92% of the respondents said that they would like to have the option of making an online reservation. Now they can make a reservation when it’s convenient for them, and some of my staff time is freed up from handling incoming phone calls. To address your first point, a good reservation system will prevent you from being overbooked, whether the reservations come in by phone or online. And you should also be able to limit your online reservations to smaller parties, for instance, so bookings that need a manager’s approval will still go through a live person.

Question: How do I prevent my email newsletter to my guests from being blocked by spam filters?
Answer: Lewis: First, you need to look at your email content for spam-like characteristics, and then you need to ask your recipients to help you.

Spam filters look at your email for content found in typical spam. Limit the use of phrases in your email text (and especially subject line) that are similar to those found in spam, such as “free”, “urgent”, “no purchase necessary”, “you have been selected” and, of course, “cures baldness”. One of these phrases by itself is not enough to trigger a spam filter block, but multiple phrases might.

Most spam filters will ignore any email from a trusted source, so your other task is to ask your recipients to put your return email address in their email address book. This can be part of your email. A typical request can look like this: “Keep our newsletters coming! Add info@abcrestaurant.com to your email address book!”

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