How Important Should First Impressions be to Restaurant Owners?
First impressions are formed based on the information people see or learn about you is more powerful than what is learned later. Therefore, when people initially see a small piece of you, that’s all they know about you - and the restaurant, for that matter.
So I think no matter how delicious the food is, how ambient the room looks or how reasonable the prices are, if a guest walks in and some small behaviour rubs him the wrong way, he may never eat there again. Everyone knows someone who has walked out of a restaurant and stated, “I can’t believe what just happened - I’m never coming back!” And I never did.
What should you do to make a good first impression for guests?
Have a meeting with your employees and create the following list: “Top Ten Reasons a Guest Would Leave Our Restaurant and Never Want to Come Back.” Then think of solutions and ways to prevent those problems. You can even site specific incidents from past customer problems. Once the list is finished, make copies for everyone and post an abbreviated list in the kitchen, the bathroom stalls, the break rooms and the smoking area. What can result in a BAD first impression for a restaurant? How do you avoid making those mistakes?
It primarily is because of one simple error: forgetting that the job isn’t about them. It’s common place - mainly for a server - to be in a bad mood, stressed out or upset. (Hey, it’s part of the job!) But sometimes a server will “spill” his emotions on his customers instead of sucking it up. Not cool. The bottom line about first impressions in the hospitality industry is: it doesn’t matter if you have a bad day. It only matters if the guest has a good day.
Differentiate between the things your employees should do to make a good first impression when 1) seating 2) taking phone orders/answering the phone 3) interacting with new guests at the table?
When seating guests, take the few seconds walking them to their tables to strike up a conversation? In so doing, the host may discover that there’s an anniversary or birthday to be celebrated. And wouldn’t it just MAKE THE GUESTS’ DAY if the waiter came over, who’s never seen the guests before, and said, “Happy 35th! My name is Jack and I’ll be taking care of you tonight.”?
Anyone who answers the phone needs to know the entire menu, hours of operation and most importantly, directions on how to get to the restaurant from all parts of town. A good suggestion is to post directions on the host stand, or have an easy-to-grab reference available so hosts can avoid the “Let Me Find Someone Who Knows How to Get Here” trap.
When a new guest comes to your table, the worst thing a server could ever do is not tell the guests his or her name, or not wear a nametag. Nametags are vital tools for service providers. A nametag makes it easier for customers to gain the attention of an employee from whom they need service. Without it, the customers will either find someone else to help them, or won’t get what they need. And if someone’s mouth is burning hot from too much crushed red pepper on his pizza and he needs a refill, nothing will make a worse impression than hearing that person say, “Hey, what was our server’s name again?”
How quickly are first impressions made?
There’s no need to adhere to a specific number of minutes, hours, days or milliseconds to which your words and actions must adhere in order to “wow” the other person. The bottom line is this: every situation and every person is different. Only you can decide how much time you’re allotted before the guest thinks you’re fabulous!
Sigmund Freud said that a person’s name is the single context of human memory most apt to be forgotten. By wearing a nametag you put customers at ease because they know your name. As a result, you are more approachable to them. A couple of chains actually teach their servers to write their names UPSIDE DOWN in crayon on the tables, which makes an unforgettable first impression, not to mention keeps their names in front of the guests during the meal.
If you want employees to connect with guests, they need to get to know them. Not their entire life stories, but enough so that common ground can be established. The most effective way to discover this is by asking open ended questions allowing the guests to share a little bit of who they are, i.e., What are you gentleman up to this weekend? What a great way to break the ice and engage with people!
Approachability is the key to making unforgettable first impressions.
