It is important to greet guests when they arrive at your restaurant professionally. This is their first impression of the dining experience. Hosts and hostesses share a lot of responsibilities. They often need to be adequately trained and left to their own devices. This can lead to impersonal greetings such as “hi guys” or “how many?”
This is a sign that it’s time for you to make changes in your restaurant. It may be obscure, but the wrong greeting could ruin your guest experience.
What makes greeting guests in the right way so important?
Making a restaurant stand out among the rest is one of the most challenging aspects of managing a restaurant. More is needed to have great food. You must provide exceptional service for your guests and make them feel special.
While restaurants spend hours training their servers to deliver impeccable service, they need to realize that customer service starts as soon as the guest walks in the door and is greeted/greeted by the host/hostess.
The greeting is what makes the first impression on a guest. It’s not only your physical location and online presence. It establishes the foundation and sets expectations for guests, which can be crucial to a guest’s entire experience.
A friendly greeting will make your guests feel more at home and welcome them to your restaurant. It can make all the difference, especially for those visiting your restaurant for the first time.
You can greet guests over the phone.
Even more critical is greeting guests on the phone correctly. You can lose potential guests if you are rude or impersonal.
Integrating your phone line with your CRM software is a great way to greet your customers in a personal way. Eat App’s phone integration lets you connect your restaurant’s telephone line to your table management software, giving hosts essential details such as name, number of guests, tags, etc. You can see who is calling before they answer. They can see who is calling before answering the call and can personally greet guests with a personal touch to improve their experience.
It allows your staff to provide better customer service, saves time, and streamlines workflow efficiency. You can convert calls into reservations easily through the call screen.
This simple feature will make your business a game-changer.
Not Customers, but Guests
This article provides valuable tips and scripts to help you greet your guests more effectively. It will also provide helpful information about how to make the experience better. The best way to greet your guests is through your staff’s attitude toward them.
A great way to influence that attitude is to refer to diners as guests, not customers. Here’s why.
According to the Oxford dictionary, a customer is:
- One who purchases goods or services
- One must deal with
A guest, on the other hand, is:
You would treat them with respect and hospitality as if they were guests in your home.
Most people would agree that “guest” is a more welcoming way to talk about the people who frequent your restaurant.
Let’s start talking about your customers and restaurant guests as guests.
You would treat them like a friend or family member who is visiting. You would greet a guest at your home with warmth and friendliness. They would be genuinely happy to have you as a guest and would be excited and animated. They would be delighted to be in your home. This is how you and all your staff should treat your guests at your restaurant.
CRM Systems can help you better greet guests
Personalization is the key to an excellent greeting strategy. Personalization is the key to a great greeting strategy. Instead of generic greetings such as “welcome to the restaurant,” you can approach your guests personally.
How do you make this happen? With advanced CRM systems such as Eat App, you can elevate your guest experience.
These systems allow you to create rich guest profiles, which include a variety of information about your diners, including their names and contact information, as well as their seating preferences, order history, and allergy information.
With all this information, hosts can greet diners with a personal touch that is impossible without a CRM system. If they have VIP customers, they can greet them by their names, introduce themselves, guide them to the table they prefer, and even treat them with a special touch.
Your guests will be delighted by this level of detail and will feel valued and unique. It will also strengthen their loyalty to your restaurant.
Here are some tips for greeting guests the right way
- Could you not make them wait? If they are on the phone, try to be there within 30 seconds.
- Always be polite. It would help if you were polite and kind to them. Use a soft tone. Half of the message is in your style.
- Concentrate on the guest. Do not let other things distract you from greeting your guest.
- Refrain from assuming that the party is large. Even if there are only two guests, it is worth asking them about the table size they want. Asking ” one,” especially if there is only one guest, might cause them to feel uncomfortable or insecure.
- Use positive language instead of using negative words. Is that okay? ‘
- Use a different greeting for every occasion. Although following scripts can be helpful, they can also sound robotic. Use a variety of greetings to make your message personal.
- Personalize your greeting. Your CRM system will allow you to track your regular guests and recognize them by their names. This will make diners feel more special and enhance their experience.
- Guests will feel appreciated when you comment on their outfits, jewelry, and hairstyles. Be careful not to make it personal.
- Use their surnames instead of their first names. Use their surname and title to refer to guests. This creates a formal conversation.
- Use appropriate language. Your restaurant’s style will dictate the tone of your greeting. Your greeting should reflect the sophistication of the restaurant. But it shouldn’t be too casual or chatty.
- It would help if you found the right balance between efficiency, warmth, and both. You can make your guests feel welcome, even if you are working long hours.
- Let’s say goodbye. It is just as essential to ending the guest’s journey with a positive note as the initial greeting. After the cheque has cleared, remember your guest.
