Staffing issues are nothing new. Restaurants have struggled with high turnover and labor shortages for years. But over time, these challenges can have a corrosive effect on the customer experience. A short-handed staff is more prone to errors, delays, and unresponsiveness, which can lead to refunded checks and negative reviews, to say nothing of its negative effect on repeat business.
Fortunately, a host of new tech-enabled solutions are helping operators offset these challenges. They boost restaurant efficiency and ultimately enhance the guest experience even in the face of labor shortages.
We wanted to learn more about these solutions, so we caught up with Stuart Lachovsky, Vice President of Sales and Strategic Partnerships for Libro, a leading-edge guest engagement software provider. Below, we highlight his valuable insights with an emphasis on some of the best customer experience strategies.
Lachovsky stresses the importance of being proactive. The best strategies are rooted in better preparation, better anticipation of customer expectations, and better use of technology.
“Get creative, not complacent,” Lachovsky says. “These strategies will not only boost efficiencies and optimize operations, but also significantly enhance the guest experience and ensure your customers leave wanting more.”
It’s important to ensure that your dining room capacity does not exceed your staffing capabilities. This is vital to providing a positive guest experience. While you may not always be able to control your staffing capabilities, Lachovsky points out that you can control your dining room capacity.
Lachovsky advises limiting reservations during timeframes when you expect problems, for instance if you constantly experience a rush during specific hours or need help finding staff to work on certain days.
“To further manage peak days and times,” he suggests, “temporarily shut down third-party apps and focus on pickup orders placed through your direct online ordering channels.”
Automation can help improve customer experience strategies for restaurants of all sizes. As Lachovsky notes, “On-premises dining with a limited staff can take a toll on any size restaurant. Automating the order-taking process through QR codes or digital kiosks can alleviate a lot of stress for your team and will make guests feel in control.”
In fact, the newest generation of tech-enabled tools is making self-service technology more accessible and affordable without a major investment of capital. In turn, this technology provides a way to boost restaurant efficiency without raising labor costs.
It’s important to anticipate and meet customer expectations at all times. Bottom line, customers expect timely service.
“A major cause of customer dissatisfaction is long wait times,” says Lachovsky.
“A digital wait list lets customers book a table on your website and receive a text when their table is ready. Better than a bulky pager, digital wait lists help stagger arrival times, manage wait time expectations, and kick off the customer experience on favorable terms.”
As you choose the right combination of digital tools for your tech stack, think about how each solution might enhance the guest experience. Lachovsky offers some insight into making this choice.
“To stay focused on guest services,” he says, “opt for a first-party software solution that is easy to learn and does more than take a table reservation.”
For instance, in addition to facilitating online reservations and table management, the Libro Guest Engagement platform includes email and text marketing tools to optimize your efforts to gain high ratings and positive reviews.
The key to effective customer experience strategies is using technologies that simultaneously make life easier for your employees and make dining more enjoyable and hassle-free for your guests.
One of the simplest but most effective customer experience strategies for restaurants is to show your regulars special treatment. They are the people most likely to support your business even during lean times. Give them reasons to keep coming in, especially during slow periods and for dining at your restaurant outside of peak times.
“For example,” Lachovsky says, “you could offer 10% off orders placed before 4:00 p.m. on a typically slow weeknight. A complimentary dessert or double reward points will go a long way with loyal customers.”
Labor shortages can make it difficult to keep up with important guest communications. But the right technology can take this burden off of your employees and boost restaurant efficiency.
As Lachovsky notes, “Confirming their reservation or rating their dining experience is time-consuming, but it can be fully automated.”
Automation can be particularly valuable for fast-casual restaurants, many of which have been acutely affected by labor shortages. For instance, Libro client Goodfellas “appreciated the operational efficiencies of automating guest communications and two-way texting in the Libro solution. Automating reminders via SMS helped the Toronto-based restaurant chain reduce no-shows while empowering their guests to confirm, modify, or cancel a reservation quickly and easily.”
Customer experience strategies should be built around speed, simplicity, and ease-of-use. Your goal is to create a hassle-free experience whether your guest is sitting in your dining room or checking in online.
“One way to add convenience to the process,” says Lachovsky, is to use Reserve with Google to add a “reserve table” button directly to your restaurant’s business profile on Google Search and Google Maps.
Lachovsky explains, “Reserve with Google is a low-touch strategy that allows diners to book a table with one click while helping your restaurant elevate its exposure and increase reservations.”
Strategies like this are easily implemented, and they can create a frictionless online guest experience and ultimately boost restaurant efficiency.
Guest expectations continue to evolve. Likewise, restaurant operators continue to grapple with labor and staffing challenges. The restaurant business is as fast-paced and competitive as ever. These are the realities we face as restaurant owners and operators.
The key to navigating these realities is implementing customer experience strategies that both boost restaurant efficiency and enhance the guest experience. Lachovsky notes that solutions like Libro’s Guest Engagement platform make both objectives possible by allowing you to “refocus on business strategies that lead to enhanced efficiency, alleviate operational challenges with more automation, and start making genuine connections with your customers.”
To find out how the newest generation of restaurant tech is helping restaurants add value and convenience to the dining experience, reach out for a free consultation today!