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Month: April 2018

How to Tackle Customer Feedback – The Good, the Bad and the Fake!

Posted on by inrestoblog

We all know that customer feedback is an essential component that can make or break any restaurant business’s reputation. Now if you’ve been receiving great feedback, your brand will automatically be held in high regard. On the other hand, even one bad review can go viral and ruin your brand’s image.

First and foremost, it’s crucial to own your feedback! A lot of times, feedback on third-party platforms are fake and unreliable. If you record feedback before the diner leaves your restaurant, you will be able to find out what your weaknesses are, track your staff’s performance and figure out what people actually think about your restaurant.

If you are reviewing feedback responses on other platforms, it’s important to identify whether the review is good, bad or fake. Once you filter them, you can develop different approaches to respond to all of them. The key is to set a few basic responses and personalise them as per every review that comes in.

Here are a few interesting tips, on how to handle customer feedback; the good, the bad and the ugly:

Make Loyalists Out of Good Reviews!

Appreciation from diners always means they’re already impressed with you. Now if you respond to these reviews with a personalized message inviting them back, they might just come back with a group of friends, helping you reach a new audience effortlessly.

Studies suggest that 78% of the time, customers prefer quick responses to good reviews about your restaurant. Engaging responses and thoughtful ones that reflect the review itself are even better.

Depending on InResto’s suite of products, such as the InResto Feedback application, positive reviews will expand your chances of building a larger forum for such reviews. It is always beneficial to encourage positive feedback from patrons and loyal customers soon after their visit.

Handle Bad Reviews Gracefully

Understand that not all negative reviews are bad.

Yes, you read that right! There’s an old saying that goes like, “Sometimes, a loss is more nourishing.” A negative review will bring to your attention the weaknesses of your restaurant.

Nothing pleases your customers more than seeing the management actively working on feedback and making their experience even better! The harder you work and listen to them, greater are the chances of customers becoming regulars.

How to deal with the negative feedback though?

  • Accept your mistake.
  • Create a personalized apology message.
  • Invite them back to your restaurant ensuring their issue is resolved in the next visit.
  • Follow up and make sure that the problem does not persist.

Ensure Prompt Responses

If a bad review on a feedback form at your restaurant isn’t taken care of in time, there could be angry rants on social media platforms the next day.

In order to avoid that, you must monitor all your reviews digitally and ensure that nobody leaves your restaurant unhappy. How can you ensure that?

InResto Feedback is the answer to the above. Not only will the application provide the customer a hassle-free feedback-platform, it’ll also instantly notify you if a review is negative.

How to Sort out the Fake Ones:

Heard about The Shed at Dulwich in London? If a fake restaurant could top the list of TripAdvisor’s restaurants, then a fake review to mar your brand’s reputation is definitely a cake-walk!

Usually, fake reviews arise from competitors, disgruntled employees or ex-employees getting back at you! Your response to these reviews can be identical to that of a bad one. You must ask diners for their contact details and invite them back, promising a great experience. Usually, the ones who don’t respond are fake reviews, which you can stop pondering over.

Although you must have a well-sought out manner for catering to feedback, your best bet would definitely be inResto Feedback. You can record all reviews digitally, and in case there’s a negative review, you get an alert immediately which leaves enough room for real-time grievance redressal. So, with inResto feedback, never let a diner walk out unhappy!

Remodelling Your Space? 8 Tips You Must Follow to Successfully Transform Your Restaurant!

Posted on by inrestoblog

Have you ever felt that your restaurant has lost some of its shine? Seen a few regular customers become not-so-regular, maybe? Perhaps you’re wondering why the new Italian joint across the road is attracting longer queues, even though you know that your food offerings are much tastier?

The reason is quite simple – if your restaurant has been around for a while, your policies, menu and even the ambience may feel a little tired. Diners’ these days love to have an ‘experience’ every time they go out. This ‘experience’ is what separates the best from the rest!

You may be serving the best food in your genre, yet, unless you keep on improving the customer experience, you’re unlikely to see much growth. As a restaurant, if you’ve waited till the time it seems like you need to start afresh and remodel, you’ve waited too long.

That being said, renovating your restaurant is a hard task. Here’s a simple and effective guide to get you started.

  • Customer is King

Without a doubt, your customers are the single most valuable resource you have. Before doing anything else, you have to listen and analyse what your guests say.

People love to see effort and will leave constructive feedback – 8 times out of 10. You can even host a contest, or a giveaway (discount coupons etc.) to give them an added incentive. Usually, this process of ‘asking’ should be done when they’re waiting for the bill.

One quick way to get started with this is to visit inResto’s feedback and let us do it for you. 🙂

  • Outline and stick to your budget

Here’s a fact: Remodels and renovations always cost a lot more than you expect them to and a lot more than you want them to. Let us give you an example, – You want to change your restaurant’s wallpapers, but upon removal, you find mould underneath. You need to remove this too, of course.

Respect your investors and stick to a budget that you can spend. It’s always wise to have a contingency budget, usually 5-10% of your total budget. So if your total budget is Rs 50 lakhs, you must keep 5 lakhs as a buffer.

  • Consider your Revenue Generators

Suppose your bar and terrace are your biggest revenue generators. Renovations offer a perfect chance to improve upon them!

You could add a bigger, better and a more spectacular bar to increase your alcohol sales. You could perhaps change the entire décor of the terrace area, while keeping your theme consistent.

  • Take Inspiration!

For instance, one of the most trending restaurants in the country; Robot in Chennai is a success story because of massive renovation and remodelling. Earlier known as MOMO, the owners have retained the Thai and Chinese menu but revamped the entire theme along with introducing robots in lieu of waiters!

  • Prepare Your Checklist

You need an architect, a designer, an equipment supplier and a general contractor at the very least. The contractor will then provide you with sub-contractors, workers and all the manpower you need.

If your team and vision is strong, it would go smoother than expected.

  • One fell swoop?

Do you wish to stay open during the renovation? Are you willing to put in the extra effort to manage your bookings, while fielding complaints of noise from your guests?

You need to be clear with your goals. If there is only a minor renovation needed, you could stay open. However, major projects are not a good time to stay open.

  • Your team is your biggest asset, not the four walls

Your staff will look at you for guidance during and after the renovation. They’ll need money to sustain themselves and keep them happy! You could either get them a  temporary job somewhere else or send them on a paid vacation.

  • Let the world know

Use your ‘legacy-data’ and reach out to all your customers. Unless you let people know that you’re open, they will not know!

Send out SMS’s, start email campaigns, offer discounts, and light up your social media accounts – your imagination is your only limit.

Successful renovation and proper advertisement will let you see a 10-25% increase in sales straight away. Afterwards? It’s all about maintaining and increasing your value.

Just remember, inResto is always here to help you!