“It was Christmas night and humongous people visited our restaurant. After some time when I saw the crowd on the floor, I failed to keep control. At first, people were annoyed and few wanted to leave the restaurant immediately. That was the day I realized my restaurant needs an effective tool to manage customer queues. And further, my hunt for a prominent queuing strategy began”
These are the words of a restaurant owner from Boston who runs a food business on a big scale. Guests hate waiting and you hate disappointing them. No entrepreneur wishes to see their customers stepping back from their place. The major reason behind their annoyance is the “waiting line”. Long queues ultimately affect businesses and customers. However, unhappy customers are expensive!
This blog aims to help you manage customer queues at busy hotels with easy tricks. Here we will be focusing on those sections of restaurants where business owners fail to build a loyal customer base. If you are a restaurant owner and struggling with the same issues, then this is the right spot for you.
Happy Customers + Positive Experience = BUSINESS GROWTH
6 Easy Tricks To Keep Your Customers Happy While They Wait!
Give them an accurate time to wait
When you are honest with your customers, you eventually win their hearts. While your customers are standing in a line, make sure you tell them the exact time of their turn. There might be a time when you’ll hesitate to inform an accurate time of their turn. But by judging their reactions to the wait time make sure they’ll be waiting for the table.
Live music & drinks will skyrocket
Boosting customers with some fun activities and serving them with a big smile can make your customers happy. All you need to do is distract them while they are waiting in line.
The time when you observe your customers not being able to stand or wait, make sure to entertain them with some live music & try creating an aesthetic ambiance. The most common and unique way to distract your customers can be digital signage or HDTVs that features a screen broadcasting a match
Based on the research taken by experts, 86% of customers are likely to spend great money if they have a positive experience.
Also Read – Is Digital Marketing Good For Small Business Owners?
Keep Them Busy for a Meantime
If your restaurant is surrounded by few shops, suggest they spend some time there while offering their estimated time. When the customers are away from your restaurant, you can take their mobile numbers so that you can call them and notify them when the table is free. This will help you not lose any customers, in fact, you build a trust and good connection with them. You can also provide a menu book so that they can decide what they want to order in advance.
Apply Pre-orders When Suitable
Restaurants should keep an option for the customers to reserve their table ahead of time. It reduces their wait time! Customers can call, reserve a seat, and then arrive at the restaurant at the given time to avoid long queues. Your customers can pre-order their favorite food. By using the online application form to free up phone lines, your customers can order their food, keep a track of it and pick it up when it is ready.
For a better customer experience, you can even allow customers to make reservations online. This avoids the hassle and saves your customers time.
Know Your Client Base
Most restaurant owners think their restaurant will be busier on weekends. There’s no doubt about it, most people prefer going to a restaurant on Fridays and weekends.
Though, intuitions at times might be work but not all the time. There might be a mid-day of the week where customers rush out in the restaurant. So, while collecting data and overlooking the ongoing leads, make sure to get ready with an effective Restaurant Queue Management System that will help managers to keep a track of customer visits and handle them effectively.
The data analytics report grants invaluable information about customer visits and the number of people in the restaurant.
Step-By-Step Guide to Know-How Restaurant Queue Management Works?
- The restaurant manager receives the order.
- Token no (QR Code) will be generated in the form of confirmation.
- Personalized notifications or alerts will be sent to customers.
- Orders are confirmed and customers receive the order.
Keep Your Customers Happy
For long waits, make your customers feel comfortable by providing them enough space or corridor to wait in a line. Also, consistently ask them if they require anything and offer as best as you can.
Customers who find little space and feel congested tend to leave the place immediately. So it is always better to how long the wait is and work according to their needs. When guests arrive, make sure to greet them at the door.
Finally, when they are seated, offer them the best of you can. Serve them in a polite manner, always keep a smile on your face while communicating to them. You can also offer a snack who wait for an hour or more.
Final Thoughts
Most often businesses feel unsusceptible! Specifically, restaurants.
If there’s a huge crowd in front of a restaurant, then something there must be perfect that a huge number of people love to visit there. Though, long waiting lines over a long period of time ultimately turn the business into a great loss.
At times, customers get fed up with the long waiting line and leave the restaurant immediately. And with this, they share their experiences online that majorly affect the businesses.
Businesses including restaurants are already implementing tools that create a better F&B Queue Management system and avoids the hassle of long waits. Though little smart changes, collecting the right information and implementing an effective tool to keep the track of business management is required.
As mentioned above, “Long queues ultimately affect businesses and customers”, the matter can be easily resolved by applying a prominent Restaurant Queue system, By taking the help of these useful hacks, you can also help your business grow, run and work smoothly without any hassle.