Supersize Your Guest Cheques!
Upselling: on the one hand, it might seem like you are being pushy; on the other, think of it as an education process and one that gives your customers information about menu items they may not be thinking about—or were afraid to ask about.
The sooner your wait-staff recognize the value of upselling—without being pushy—and can upsell with sincerity, the sooner your bottom line will be healthier. And your staff will be happier when their cheque-average increases along with their tips.
It’s a question of psychology as much as anything else. People are shy, timid, feeling guilty. If you ask them, “Would you like dessert,” it leaves them with an easy “Yes/No” answer. It will be much harder for them to refuse a server’s pleasant story about a dessert, told with a wink and a smile. For example: “I love our chef’s chocolate mousse cake. It’s made for chocolate lovers. People have said it has changed their lives.”
Know your menu and be suggestive
“When it comes to dessert, people are sometimes hesitant to ask, especially after a fairly substantial meal,” according to Steve Marshall, director of sales for Magnum Food Brokers. Wait-staff have to break that silence by prompting customers.
Suggestive selling, according to Chris MacVicar, Flanagan Territory Manager, can be successful when you trade spots, metaphorically, with your guest. It’s about focussing on their needs and desires.
“I like to think of a customer watching as a server comes to my table. There’s nothing like a waitress being excited about menu items. And it’s not just about selling the least expensive items because sometimes more expensive items are really fantastic.”
It is important, MacVicar adds, that wait staff try the food and be knowledgeable about it, from appetizers to entrées and on through to desserts. Whatever the style of restaurant and dining, your staff should recognize that people are visiting a restaurant for the dining experience, whether that is Black Angus beef or home-style meatloaf in a comfort-food setting. Otherwise, they would be eating at home.
In order to get that experience, MacVicar believes guests are eager to talk to restaurant staff in order to learn more about the menu and what some of the special dishes are. Give them what they want: therein lies the upsell.
That goes for relatively simple items too. Something like sweet potato fries are a popular stand-alone premium appetizer that can be served with different and creative dips that can be made back-of-house, according to Josh Horbow of McCain Foods.
“They are effective for upselling as part of a combo of soup, salad, or sweet potato fries for $1.99. We are seeing a lot of success with this right now mainly because as an appetizer more and more people are starting to try it. It’s being recognized and a bit of demand for it has evolved.”
Companies like McCains have resources permitting them to assist with menu creation and the development of customized table tents for customers.
When all is said and done, staff training is key, especially in light of more educated customers who refer to themselves as “foodies” and asking with more confidence about menu details and for suggestions from staff. You do not want to get caught not seeming to know what the menu items are like and how they are prepared.
Of course, the wine list also requires attention when it comes to server knowledge and upselling. If you have wine suppliers visiting your restaurant take advantage of that and ask them to discuss their products and do some tastings, MacVicar adds.
“More are more people see themselves as connoisseurs and will ask openly for a server’s wine selection with their entrée, for example. It’s important that staff is trained to be able to respond and make the upsell happen.”
Talk and get your just desserts
Ah, desserts: they are the last impression—visual and taste—that your customer has of your restaurant. So upsell guests on dessert and make sure that what they buy positively dazzles on the plate.
Original Cakerie, Canada’s largest independent baker according to Marshall, prepares gourmet round and sheet-cake desserts for the foodservice industry. The products are noted for their quality and versatility, permitting restaurants to cut the cake into a particular desired shape, thereby controlling portion cost.
“However, if the wait-staff is talking about it that can make the difference. If staff are trained to say, ‘We have this great chocolate dessert and I had some yesterday. It was fantastic,’ you might just find that people jump in and you’ve made your sale.”
Another consideration that Marshall adds is not to isolate one guest. Encourage people to share the guilt and sell suggestively, almost as if the answer is going to be yes, “The chocolate truffle mousse cake and two forks?” With the customers’ affirmative response, you then have a round of coffee sales to add to the chit.
“Comments and tasting notes shared by your staff can make an instant human connection with customers—something a menu can never do,” said Marshall.
And focus on plate presentation. It doesn’t have to be overly dramatic, but a brownie on a plate at a restaurant has to look much more enticing than what customers could eat at home. He suggests working with wait-staff a bit on plate presentations for desserts that add entertainment value.
Marshall does not generally believe in using dessert trays or trollies—the food just cannot maintain a high enough standard of quality and appearance to benefit sales.
And as well, give your customers dessert menus at the right “dessert moment” and don’t include them with the food and beverage menus. “Make sure wait-staff are talking about coffees and special coffees with dessert as they are clearing the table at the end of a meal,” says Marshall.
“It doesn’t need to be a hard sell, just a suggestion and then walk away. When staff come back and check in, the response is surprising. You could see dessert and coffee sales jump about 20 percent if your entire staff does that.”
