5 Things Customers Expect from a Good Restaurant

1. Speed

2. Order Accuracy

3. Quick Payments

4. Updated Stock

5. Helpful Staff

Running a restaurant can be tough at the best of times, especially with customers expecting more from a restaurant than just great food. While providing mouth-watering cuisine was the crux of what a restaurant needed to do in the past to get customers through the door, things have changed somewhat in today's market. We're not saying that sub-par food quality is acceptable. Far from it. However, in addition to providing customers with amazing food, there are a number of other things your business should be doing to earn the respect and repeat business of your customers. Let's examine five important things that customers expect from your business (besides great food):

1. Speed

Time is always at a premium these days, and ensuring that your business is running at optimum efficiency is a great way to ensure that customers keep coming back. Making customers wait due to poor operational performance or because of a lackluster POS system is a surefire way to gain bad publicity. This is where a fully-integrated system can really show its worth. Having everything from mPOS systems to kitchen displays in constant communication with your POS ensures a smooth service and that all staff members are on the same page. The relaying of information accurately and quickly can mitigate errors, reduce turnover times and most importantly, keep customers waiting for less time. 

2. Order Accuracy

Keeping a customer waiting is one thing; bringing the wrong order out is quite another. There's nothing worse than having a hungry customer eagerly await a dish, only to discover that it's the wrong one. A hungry customer is often a grumpy one, and it's best to put your best foot forward and ensure you're always on your customers' good side. Thus, in much the same vein as the previous point, having a single system that communicates to all relevant operational devices is a godsend. Not only do such systems mitigate the need to re-enter orders after taking them -which is where many errors occur- but it also ensures that the same order can be seen by all relevant staff. This type of order transparency makes it easier to spot errors and also makes it less likely that there will be errors in the first place.

3. Quick and Flexible Payments

Your customer has just enjoyed a speedy, error-free meal and goes to pull out their credit card. Much to your horror, you don't support that type of payment. Much to your customer's dismay, they'll be embarrassed in front of their friends, family, or even their date. If that doesn't leave a bad aftertaste, we don't know what will. To avoid such situations, ensure that your restaurant has as many payment types supported as possible. Ensuring those payments can be processed quickly is an additional benefit that'll make customers enjoy their overall experience. Pay particular attention to popular payment trends such as eWallets and local cards. Cater to your customers' every need and they'll never have to go anywhere else. 

4. Updated Stock

Through no fault of their own, wait staff are often saddled with the unfortunate responsibility of delivering the bad news that a menu item ordered by a customer is out of stock. Such blunders get the dining experience off to a terrible start and can leave a lasting negative impression. Instead, employ an inventory tracking system that can help your business keep tabs on all its most-important ingredients. If something is out of stock, or running low, your staff will automatically know. This will lead to better food management, greater food waste reduction and no more customers feeling jaded that the Chicken Parmesan was out of stock.

5. Helpful Staff

Your staff are the ones who truly make or break the dining experience for customers. If staff are always busy and are barely able to keep up with orders, this will reflect in their service. Hastily taking orders, taking the wrong orders and entering in incorrect information can lead to chaos and stressed-out staff. A modern POS system allows staff to take orders through an iPad or even a mobile phone directly at tableside. This ensures that the correct order is taken, and that once the order is entered, it does not have to be typed in again. This bypasses the need to write orders down on paper, then manually enter them into the POS and then have that order be fired to the kitchen. Furthermore, being able to take orders without having to memorize them means that wait staff can dedicate more of their time to recommending specials, upselling, or ensuring they're providing the friendliest, best service possible.