Chapter 10 | Foundations of Resteurant Management & Culinary Arts The Now “Word of Mouth”: Gustomer Review Web Sites For the longest ime, ‘word of mouth reputation meant just that opinions about ares- ‘aura fod or service spread fram ane person to anather—in person! But the Internet has quicy changed all ofthat With the everincressing number of Web stes dedicated {posting customer feedback, word of mouth can spread just as easly around the county zt can around a county. Tis poses both possblties an risks for restaurant and fondsenies establishments On the dawside, any rte customer can post @ negative review to a Web ste for thousanes of people to access and road with the cick ofa button. This means any mistake an operation makes, any bad night that an operation has, can come back to haunt it on the Web for years to tome. There's defray less room for emarin a world ‘where instant feedback has become the norm. ‘Web sites tke TipAdvisor specialize in collecting customer feedback on restaurants around the worl, but information on a local restaurant can ust as easy be found in Google Maps where thousands of people submit their opinions about everthing from restaurant décor to food to customer service, The iPhone offers the popular Urbanspoon application that allows customers to not only rate an give feedback, but encourages {quess to lake pickres of menus and food, The number of Web sites that offer such review forums is only increasing, On the ussde, peratons can use al of his feedback constructively. They can examine the positve things customers are saying and tr to capitalize on those elements, and ‘they can aso look to improve onthe negative tings people are saying, And the best part? An operation can access and use this feacback without paying & penny. For better or worse if al totaly free! Resolving Customer Complaints ‘There vill inevitably be occasions when things go wrong and a guest is not happy. Any unhappy customer is bad for business, so every operation needs an ‘organized system for andling and resolving all guest complaints. ‘The person who first receives the complaint is responsible for making sure it gets resolved, even ifthat means deferring to someone els, such as a manager, to do se.Some operations choose the on-duty manager or shift supervisor to resolve complaints. Other operations allow employees to solve the problem ‘without supervision I is important that managers support employees’ deci- sions when they authorize them to resolve complaints. This develops the trust necessary to have empowered employees. However an operation chooses to resolve customer complaints, management must train every staff member on hhow tohandle these situations.3 S S, Chapter 10 | Serving Your Guests Handle guest’ complaints in proven ways. These methods help to effectively resolve problems: Listen to the guest attentively always looking for ways to solve the problem. "© Treat the guest with courtesy and respect. ® Donit become defensive, Dorit take guests! complaints personally. Be patient = Empathize with the guest. "= Paraphrase the problem to confirm it with the guest. In other words, restate the problem and main detail "Take respensbilty for te situation asa manager or employee. Dorit hide bbehind ajab description. Never brush off a guest by saying, "Sorry that’ not ry job! Dont passthe buck or blame other employees. Take ownership for resol {ng complaints unless the situation necessarily calls for additional help or authority such asa supervisor or manager. Did You Know...? “Many restaurars conduct regular staf traning exercises to ensure that everyone under- stands pois procedures, and manu items. Some facies take this a step further, using scheduled or random quizes to test employee knowledge. These can be ora or wien tests, Ofer establishments use role-playing actives te demonstrata proper server- customer interaction, Allof these activites help to maintain a consistently high level of ually custome: service, no matter which servers are working during a particular shift, ‘When are tests a good idea? '= When management changes the menu or beverage list 15 When staff members need a refresher on management policies When customers complain 15 When management hres « number of new employees '= When management imploments new polices or procadures 18 When serves need a refresher on suggestive sling methods Testing can andshould be use as aval tool to maintain snd improve business operations Be sure to frame tin tha light for staf, rather than as a way to “ateh” employersChapter 10 | Foundations of Restaurant Management & Culinary rts eel Py 4g 3 iB 616 It's important to recognize when a guest is upset so thatthe problem can quickly be resolved. Some problems are easy to recognize, especially when a customer is visibly upset. However, most problems are more difficult to recog- nize because the large majority of customers simply go away unhappy. Customers need to be asked whether everything was enjoyable, Rather than only asking, “Was everything OK?’ ask "Did you enjoy the red snapper?” ‘Actively look to see whether the guest is demonstrating signs of being unhappy with the service or meal, and then encourage the guest to explain the problem. Some of the more subtle signs ofan irritated guest include looking annoyed, not finishirg a meal, avoiding eye contact, or saying unconvineingly that everything ‘was just"OK” Be aware of these signs and be ready to help solve any problems. In short, never ignore or avoid a dissatisfied guest. Problems occur and mistakes are made; customers understand this. Proactively addressing such ‘oceurtences with customers can turn a dissatisfied customer into repeat guest. Mirror, Mirror... Responding to Customer Complaints Fear too often, canflcts get aut of control because people don listen to each other, or dont ac’ ike theyre listening to each other. A method of cnflit resolution that ies to fix this common problem is miroring, or paraphrasing language. Microring language ie very simple to do and helps clay points of view when people are frustrated or angry. People micor language when thay simply repeat back what someone fle has said before carrying an with ther own thoughts or ideas. For example fa cus tomer isirate because they\ve watted aver an hour fer ther entrée to come, ist Isten attentively to al they have to eay and then begin a response by fst repeating back what they sail For instance, "| understand that youve baen waiting for over an hour, and that your kid are starving. and you fee your sever has been avoiding you| apologize for this, and! want to ty to fx his situation fr you? By repeating back, or mioring, all the grievances ofthe guest, the manager domon= strates two crucial hing 1) attentive listening and 2) empathy, This ciminishes any ‘hance ‘or continued misunderstanding or miscommunicaton. If the manager simply starts by saying, "| apologize" without clearly stating they are apologing for the guest right not think that they are really listening, Mitraring, then isa simple tool to difuse a potently explosive situation, Afra often alla disgruntled guest wants i fo be heard, and miroring can resolve that issue simply by doing it 7 Notify managers ofall guest complaints. This helps the whole operation to take corrective action so the problem won't happen again. Customers appreciate itwher. managers apologize and show concern, In extreme cases,a follow-up ‘written note of apology is appropriate