Some of the most challenging businesses to operate are those situated within the restaurant industry. This fact was true even before the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic. However, it is especially true now that the health and safety of consumers and staff are prioritized at the top of every hypothetical menu. Around 60% of all new restaurants fail within their first year of operation, and almost 80% close down before they reach their fifth anniversary. COVID-19 has only served to exacerbate these statistics, leading countless restaurants to close their doors permanently.
That said, restaurants fail for many reasons besides a devastating pandemic. Bad management, untrained and inexperienced employees, ineffective accounting, poor quality food, and bad customer service are significant causes of restaurant closures. Thankfully, our experts at DESTEC Solutions have compiled a list of some of the best tips and tricks restaurants can implement to increase their odds of remaining open and prosperous!
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Evaluate Operational Efficiency Regularly
There’s no good way to improve the operation efficiency of your restaurant if you don’t already know how well it’s performing; that’s why it’s essential to hold regular operational evaluations to find areas where things can be improved. Operations involve everything from purchasing and pricing food to preparing and serving meals and even cleaning up at the end of the day. Determine how well your current approaches to operations are working, and then try implementing new tactics to boost efficiency and effectiveness regularly.
Upgrade Employee Training
No restaurant can become successful- or even hope to remain open- without the dedication of skilled and properly trained employees. Having well-trained and happy staff allows for smoother operations and reduces the chances for errors while also enhancing customers’ overall experience. If you want a more effective staff, take the time to upgrade their training regimen and provide continuous training opportunities, like seminars. Also, consider implementing monthly staff meetings and performance reviews if you don’t already have them.
Related: How to Provide the Best Retail Customer Service
Improve and Streamline the Menu
Your food is what attracts customers and keeps them coming back for more. But while it may be tempting to create massive menus with tons of options to meet everyone’s taste, that drives up your food costs and typically reduces the quality of the food you provide overall. Many experts agree that crafting a smaller or even a one-page menu of quality food options is a great way to enhance your restaurant’s flow and allow customers to make their choices quickly, resulting in better turnaround times.
Assess Inventory and Supplies Often
Having to throw out old and expired inventory in your restaurant continually can significantly impact your bottom line. Because of this, it’s essential to regularly assess your inventory to help ensure as few things are going to waste as possible. Develop a system to help you keep track of what you do and don’t need to buy to help avoid extra losses and excessive food waste. It can be beneficial to set predetermined thresholds for automatic reordering of low stock items.
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Strategize How to Eliminate Food Waste
This point goes hand in hand with inventory assessment since overstocked and unused inventory creates a massive amount of food waste for restaurants. To reduce food waste, take the time to analyze your most commonly-ordered meals and compare them to your inventory reports to determine the most important products to keep stocked. This can help you make better, more informed inventory decisions. You can also look at customer food waste, adjust meal serving sizes accordingly, and even donate any leftover food in your inventory to local charities.
Upgrade Equipment and Tools as Needed
Quality restraints tend to use efficient tools and equipment to help streamline processes and provide better quality meals to customers. If you’re currently working with older equipment in your restaurant, it may be a good idea to consider upgrading. This also allows you to avoid issues with broken equipment that may take specific menu options out of rotation until you get a replacement.
Related: How to Improve the In-Store Experience for Your Customers
Integrate Relevant Apps and Technology Into Your Business Plan
Newly developed apps and other technologies are now available that can significantly improve the operational efficiency of your restaurant. Consider exploring some of the most popular ones available and integrating them into your business plan. We highly recommend the Smart Call communication solution, which helps ensure the quick response of employees to customer requests. This excellent tool can help you significantly improve the speed of your delivery and order times and help ensure higher levels of customer satisfaction.
Stay Engaged With Your Customers
Customer engagement and creating a loyal customer base are critical elements of operating a successful restaurant. Thankfully, countless technologies are available to help you track customer satisfaction and figure out ways to improve their experience. Pay attention to online ratings and reviews, leverage customer surveys, and develop loyalty programs to provide customers with great deals when they continue to eat at your restaurant. According to research, 79% of customers reported that loyalty programs make them more likely to continue to do business with specific brands.
Need to Improve Your Restaurant? Here’s how DESTEC Solutions Can Help!
Consider implementing each of the above tips and tricks into your restaurant business practices today to see how it impacts employee performance, customer satisfaction, as well as your bottom line. Restaurants need to do everything they possibly can to gain success and stay afloat during these uncertain times, so owners, managers, and employees alike need to be able to step up their game. If you’d like help doing this, please consider exploring our expertly designed products at DESTEC Solutions today, and also consider reading through some of our educational resources for more helpful information.
Are you a busy restaurant owner currently searching for a new and effective way to improve the communication between your customers and servers? Our experts at DESTEC Solutions have worked hard to develop specialized technologies built to help promote workplace efficiency, increase profits, and enhance customer experience!
