Restaurants Are A Tough Business – Learn From The Successful Ones

Everyone expects perfection every time they go to a restaurant. We expect no wait for a table and we expect a charming waitperson, knowledgeable and helpful. We expect an exceptional menu and reasonable pricing. Of course, we expect the food to be excellent, bountiful, hot, and simply perfect. In short, we expect a total commitment to excellence delivered right each and every time.

That’s a tall order but that is the reality of a restaurant. And it gets harder, because once a good experience is delivered and the customer comes back again, they expect equally good performance and consistency each and every time. If not, they are quick to tell others the restaurant is going downhill. Without consistency, a customer will quickly jettison their loyalty and not return. Fickle, maybe. Demanding, yes. A slow waiter, cold food, lack of consistency in the recipe, or any other little thing can destroy the goodwill carefully built up over time. One misstep and it’s gone in a flash.

We all know this to be true. We have all experienced what I am describing. It is very difficult for a restaurant to perform at the highest level every time. We have all walked away from a favorite restaurant disappointed and find ourselves reluctant to return.

Is this issue only applicable to restaurants, or is it applicable to every business? I believe the answer is obvious – every business faces the same challenge, i.e. consistent delivery of excellence.

How is your business doing? Are you training effectively? Do you have quality controls? Are you delivering excellence every time up to bat? Do you even know?

Look into it or you may find yourself here today and gone tomorrow.