How Your Restaurant Can Encourage Customer Feedback

Customers can be a restaurant’s eyes and ears. Getting their feedback is essential for improving your overall guest experience. If you want tips on measuring customer satisfaction and best practices for implementing change, read on for details.

Why is Customer Feedback Important?

60 percent of restaurant customers check online reviews before visiting an establishment. What’s more? One out of three customers will pass on a restaurant with an average rating of three or fewer stars. Getting customer feedback before negative reviews hit the internet can help you increase visitors and boost sales. In fact, some statistics reveal that raising your Yelp rating by just one star can drive revenue up by 5 to 9 percent.

Creating your own restaurant feedback card or online survey allows you to gain crucial insights into your guests' likes and dislikes—from service to food. The more feedback you receive, the more data you have to make critical business decisions such as menu changes and improving the customer experience. However, to gain as much feedback as possible,  you want to develop a system that maximizes getting crucial info while making it easy for your guests.

Strategies for Creating a Useful Feedback Form

You want to start with a solid and simple strategy for your feedback system. Whether you’ve never designed a feedback program before or want top tips to revise your current practices, here are a few things to keep in mind.

Choose Your Feedback System

Asking customers for feedback can be straightforward. There are plenty of ways to develop your restaurant feedback program that can work for your establishment. For example:

• Physical cards handed out with the check at the end of the meal.
• QR codes on tabletops or printed on the final receipt.
• Email or text-based survey that can quickly be sent along with a customer’s digital receipt.

Keep Your Questions Simple

When requesting customer feedback, you want the process to be quick and easy for your guests. The longer and more complicated the questions, the less likely you are to receive helpful comments.

Something as straightforward as, “Let us know how we are doing. We’d love to hear your honest feedback” can go a long way. Open-ended questions give guests the freedom to comment on anything they feel necessary to share. Plus, they might comment on something you never thought about.

If you are looking for more targeted feedback, like menu likes, thoughts on beverage offerings, or the dining experience, tailor a few questions to give to your guests that address your specific concerns.

What Do You Do With Guest Feedback Once You Have It?

98 percent of consumers pay attention to online reviews. Reach out to guests that gave you positive feedback and ask if they would be willing to share their experiences on social media or other review sites. This can help increase your client base and help you manage your online reviews.

Respond to negative feedback. Whether you get an online review that is less than glowing or via your comment cards, take the time to address your guest’s experience. While no one wants a bad review, responding to negative feedback can boost your overall satisfaction. 89 percent of customers are likely to try out a restaurant that takes the time to respond to all reviews—poor ones included.

Be willing to make menu and service changes as needed. Are you getting feedback about customers wanting more tech-based ordering options? Do you need some vegan menu items? Sift through your client suggestions and see how you can shift some of your operations and menu ideas to meet client needs.

Check Out Helpful Business Tools from US Foods CHEF’STORE

Are you searching for menu design ideas, help with team management, or tech to improve your online ordering? CHEF’STORE has a wealth of business tools to help your restaurant satisfy customers while enhancing your brand.

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