Situation: A big time dining restaurant in NY started noticing that the profit they were regularly earning was declining steadily. There were several complaints from the customers about slow service, even though the staff had 20 extra hands on duty. The last straw was when several customers just walked out saying their order was served cold.
Analysis: A meeting of the whole staff was called and these were the findings - The use of mobile phones, kept distracting the customers from properly going through the menu. Slow service complaints seemed to arise from the young adult crowd, who forgot that they had ordered just then or had not placed the orders at all. The same age group had more complaints about cold food service, as they took more time snapping pics than eating the hot and fresh meal. The same social media effect that had made the restaurant popular had become their worst enemy.
Solution: The tables had a sign kept on them saying - Gadget free zone, your personalized meal awaits you, Conversations are great when you know your food is own it's way etc. Management made sure to tell the tables waited on that the service staff would be more than glad to click pictures of the customers. The week they started this rule, they had a 10 minute timer placed on each table, which had a hidden clause saying that if the customer finished ordering within that time, a free ice cream was served. temperature checks were introduced to the food served, with the waiters announcing that the hot meal has arrived along with clocking the time of service.
Result: Though met with a bit of initial skepticism and annoyance from frequenters and regulars, the idea became a hit as the customers found a sense of contentment with the orders, more time on their hands to converse with friends/ family that they were with. Using re-establishing connections and enjoying good food as the agenda, the restaurant's management made an impact on the customers, while earning themselves a great profit.
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