How to improve your business's customer care ~ Market and Economy

For businesses in the hospitality sector - restaurants, pubs, bars and other catering businesses - customer care is especially important. These businesses are all about the customer's experience and making improvements to customer care should be a constant effort.

That's probably the first thing businesses should bear in mind when thinking about customer care - the effort must be on-going.

The art of improving customer care, or of making sure the customer's experience is excellent at all times, is not a difficult one to understand. Putting it into practice, however, does require effort and the application of standards that are clearly understood.

The secret, as almost all experts will agree, is to see and experience a service from the customer's perspective.

If you're running a business, it can be hard to see everything from a customer's view because it's difficult to divorce yourself from the reasons why there may be shortcomings; but the customer isn't interested in reasons, just the quality of the experience. This is a good reason to bring in outsiders and elicit frank feedback.

Here, then, are some suggestions as to how any business, but especially those in the hospitality sector, can engage with and work on customer care.

Just as it's important to test the customer experience with a critical eye by using independent testers, it's also important to find out what customers think.

Getting feedback is important. But getting quality feedback - that is finding out what people really think - is not easy. Many customers may be reluctant to be brutally honest, especially about small matters. Others may be overly fussy and offer criticism that's unreasonable and unnecessary, finding faults where nearly all other customers wouldn't. To find out what reasonable people think, you probably need to get their feedback anonymously, possibly through a feedback form a d a suggestion box.

Some kind of mechanism for feedback is a good idea. This may be in the form of a competition for great suggestions and feedback, or another way could be to invite customers to come along to an evening for the express purpose of commenting on service or dishes or drinks. Getting the customer involved is key.

Of course, it's also important to listen to customers less formally. If they have something to say about the way the business is being run, the quality of the service of the food, anything, then really welcome it. It's an opportunity that should be taken advantage of. If it's complimentary, that's great and helps to suggest how to emphasise strong points; if it's negative feedback, it gives you a chance to put things right. 'The customer is always right' is still a valid maxim to apply.

That's fine for feedback. But the fundamental aspect of a great customer experience, especially in the hospitality business, is the quality of your staff.

It's vital to create a culture in which customer care - the customer's experience - is central to everything that takes place within the business. Set the bar high and insist on quality service. Reward and praise behaviour and the attitude you want to see and discourage that which you don't want. Attend to detail because customers will.

Create an example for others to follow and make sure staff understand that the quality of service they provide has a direct impact on the business and, ultimately, on their job. Give staff real incentives to do well - cash ones, if possible.

Ensure that everyone understands that they are customer facing and must behave accordingly. In a restaurant, for example, kitchen staff who don't serve the public may well need to come into contact with customers now and again. When they do, insist that they maintain the same standards as those staff who directly deal with customers.

Have regular meetings, perhaps once a week, to discuss improvements to and suggestions for customer service. Make these meetings upbeat and make sure staff feel they are an important part of the success of the business.

Make sure staff are aware of precisely what you expect from them.

Lead by example - basically always behave in the way you want your staff to.

Keep your staff happy - or at least root out any problems that are causing friction, unease and so on. Unhappy staff simply can't create happy customers, unless they are Oscar-level actors.

Make sure staff know about the products they are selling - whether it's a drink or a dish, they should be able to answer reasonable questions. And, if they can't answer a question, then, of course, they need to be able to offer to find out and do so.

Never leave customers waiting. This means when whatever they want, attend to them, whether they are at the bar to be served, waiting to be seated or to settle a bill, or wanting to ask for a service. If there is an unavoidable delay, explain quickly and honestly - it's far better than trying to stall.

Answer your phone promptly and enthusiastically. Sound helpful. Never let a phone ring without being attended to. Make use of call forwarding or voicemail, if you must, but get back to callers promptly.

Be reliable. If you say you will do something for a customer, however small, then make sure it's done. If you promise a table by the window, or a replacement dish, for example, then deliver.

If complaints arise, as they will always do from time to time, treat them as feedback for future improvements, sure, but also deal with the substance of the complaint there and then. Don't delay: tackle the problem and try and resolve it head on. Customers will generally respect you for your sympathy and your efforts to resolve the matter.

These are simple ideas, but unfailingly executed they're also powerful ones. The golden rule, though, is never stop looking at the service you provide from the customer's point of view.

Premierline Direct offers retail and shop insurance carefully tailored to suit the specific needs of your business, as well as comprehensive restaurant insurance solutions which can be tailored to suit your business.

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