Posts Tagged ‘restaurant’
Thursday, April 7th, 2011
There’s a general consensus that customer service makes or breaks a restaurant. Industry professionals, insiders and outside consultants agree that exceptional customer service can result in the following:
- trust, confidence and a solid reputation – all can lead to long-term customer loyalty
- happy customers who spend more with less consideration of cost – and they keep coming back
- happy employees who enjoy their jobs and have positive things to say about their place of employment. They tend to stick around longer which means you can decrease the costs associated with hiring and training
- an advantage over your competitors who may not provide the same level of service in the same way
- a better bottom line – it’s less expensive to keep a customer than it is to get a new one. In addition, excellent customer service creates buzz and nothing costs less and means more than word-of-mouth marketing. And, most companies that offer exceptional service are often more profitable overall
We provide our restaurant customers with all of the tools they need to provide incomparable customer service – with the exception of good employees and the drive to stand above the rest. That’s up to them.
Do you have the drive and the staff to take your service to the next level? What about the right dining reservation and table management software?
Thursday, February 17th, 2011
We have a long list of restaurant customers who offer private dining space to their patrons. These restaurants have found a way to take full advantage of the unique opportunity private dining brings to expand their customer base and boost their bottom line.
For example, McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants, Inc., one of the country’s leading seafood restaurants, offers on-site private and semi-private dining space across more than 90 locations. To support the company’s newly implemented National Accounts Program and accommodate its growing on-site catering and event management needs, McCormick & Schmick’s selected ReServe Anywhere®, our web-based Catering & Event Management software.
ReServe Anywhere provides McCormick & Schmick’s national and on-site event sales staff with 24-hour access to real-time event and customer information in a centralized database, as well as streamlined local and global reporting tools.
“With ReServe, we have successfully launched our National Accounts Program, an initiative that was critical to growing our business,” explains Becky Dielschneider, National Director of Catering. “Now we have the productivity tools in place to streamline local and national event processes and maximize our banquet and private dining dollars.”
In addition to what the software has allowed them to do, they’ve mastered the art of exceptional customer service. While our products do things like help them manage their group reservations and repeat customers; control their seating inventory; or coordinate and manage labor resources, they restaurants have carefully selected customer-oriented employees that know exactly how to create unique dining experiences that include the perfect combination of service and personal attention.
While we provide an efficient way for them to manage operations, gather valuable customer data and market to their customer base, McCormick & Schmick’s has figured out how to combine the comprehensive functionality of our software with their superior customer service offering to build a profitable and growing private dining business.
To learn more about the ReServe Interactive and McCormick & Schmick’s partnership, click here.
No Comments
Category Catering & Event Management, customer service, ReServe Anywhere | Tags: Tags: catering, Catering & Event Management, event management, McCormick & Schmick's, on-site catering, private dining, ReServe Anywhere, ReServe Interactive, restaurant, web-based,
Friday, January 14th, 2011
“ReServe is by far the BEST reservation/table management software I have ever used. I’ve used many different programs and nothing compares! ReServe can basically run the restaurant for me. I would gladly recommend ReServe to others.” Rick Roberts, The Melting Pot Tucson
“I have been working on Reserve for 13 years. So with new staff coming on board I set them up with the training and decided to see what was new. It was great for me to learn all the new things that have been added in our updates but never really utilized. My staff really learned a lot and April was a great trainer! Thanks and look forward to the webinars.” Janelle Lembeck, Diablo Country Club
“Our experience thus far with ReServe, as far as timely support and response, has been nothing short of exemplary, right from sales through to planning and IT. Thank you from our team for making this implementation so painless!” Christie Penner, The Charcoal Group of Restaurants
“We’re in the process of fully integrating the program, and our sales staff has been using the software for about 2 weeks & they’re loving it! I’m so happy to have ReServe, and am looking forward to increasing our revenue in the New Year!” Lily Watson, Sterling Affairs Catering
“As a former Delphi user, I find ReServe to be much easier to use, and I especially like the way the customer contact system works.” Sulema Kiekintveld, Wild Fire Grille
No Comments
Category Catering & Event Management, customer service, Dining Reservations & Table Management, General | Tags: Tags: Delphi, reservation, ReServe, ReServe Interactive, restaurant, table management, The Melting Pot,
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
Keith joined ReServe Interactive in August of 2005 as an Account Executive, and is currently in the position of Strategic Account Manager, which he admits is a pretty fancy title for a sales guy! Keith was drawn to ReServe because his position allowed him to couple his five years of experience in the restaurant industry with his 17 years of consultative sales experience, helping hospitality professionals understand and choose effective technology solutions to solve operational issues and take their businesses to the next level. By his own admission, Keith LOVES his job!
Keith grew up in Vacaville, California and began his love of the hospitality industry at the Nut Tree, a landmark restaurant group. Corporate giant, Chevron, soon lured Keith to San Francisco with the promise of higher income, benefits and “normal” hours. Ten years later, Keith tired of being “normal” and returned to his one true love, hospitality, joining Paragon, which operated three restaurant concepts nationwide. At Paragon, Keith was part of a team that travelled to under-performing stores and implemented new service standards and menu concepts, optimized systems and successfully moved the bottom 30 percent into the top 25 percent across the brand.
From there, Keith began his sales career where he found he enjoyed helping people navigate the labyrinth of technology solutions, and seeing their eyes light up when they realized how much easier their lives could be.
When he’s not busy doing demos and servicing clients, Keith enjoys playing golf, collecting fine wine, reading and playing more golf!
“It was a pleasure to work with Keith; he provided the needed info clearly and concisely and was more than willing to provide the referrals necessary to insure our continued partnership for the next year, overcoming a proposed change to the competition. Keith should be considered a valued asset to your operation.” Rita Norman, Holiday Inn Hotel – Odessa
Friday, May 21st, 2010
Have you ever been in a situation where things are moving along, the information or experience is just what you expected and then, out of the blue, you hear or see something that makes you stop in your tracks? Have you ever had an Aha! moment? A moment of clarity that changed your perspective, your attitude or the way you do something moving forward?
At ReServe, we want all of our customers to experience that Aha! moment when they are using our software. We want them to be continually blown away with every single click of a button.
We do hundreds of live demos every year with prospective customers and there is always a moment during the demo when we hear someone say “Really? I can do that?” or “Wow! That was so easy.” Today, we know that more than two-thirds of prospective customers who participate in a live demo will purchase our software within 60 days and stick with it for the long haul. Why? Because they’ve seen that our software provides Aha! moments on a regular basis and it has changed the way they do business.
When the CEO of a restaurant company can log in from his hotel room at 1:30 in the morning and see a revenue summary across all 80 of his restaurant sites, as well as comprehensive booking information for the upcoming holiday weekend and details on the restaurant’s latest marketing initiative, the power of the Aha! moment abounds.
Have you experienced your Aha! moment?
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
I came across a great article in the January 2010 American Express Market Brief about restaurant trends. One of the things touched on was online dining reservations. It states that as few as 14 percent of consumers have made restaurant reservations online. That seems like a staggeringly low number considering today’s 24/7 Internet connectivity, endless cell phone apps and the ongoing push towards the use of technology for everyday activities, such as socializing, grocery shopping and schooling. But really, if you think about it, technology can be intimidating and with so many new applications and gadgets coming down the pipeline at a steady pace, it’s no wonder that so few have taken advantage of online reservation services.
The research also explained that 44 percent of consumers, when asked what they felt was the primary advantage of using an online tool said they liked the ability to make a reservation when it was convenient for them. Followed by not having to talk to a live human being, never being put on hold, getting an immediate confirmation of the reservation, having the reservation details entered correctly and earning rewards points for booking online.
What does all of this mean? Online reservation systems are just catching on with consumers and when they do take advantage of the ability to book a reservation online, they do it because it’s convenient and it eliminates some of the hassle associated with calling a restaurant during business hours to book a reservation.
Restaurants have several options for online dining reservation tools. The key is to find one that is convenient and cost effective for them. Steer clear of ‘per seat’ transaction fees. If a busy restaurant takes quite a few reservations online, this fee could end up costing thousands of dollars. The other consideration is finding a tool where reservation data is captured, owned and maintained by the restaurant, and the restaurant alone. Restaurants shouldn’t have to pay to use their own customer data. Finally, when a customer requests a specific reservation time and it’s unavailable, restaurants want to make sure that the guest remains on their site and in their dining room, so the ability to offer alternative dates and times is critical. No one wants a tool that will suggest different restaurants with that available date and time. That’s money out the window. The ultimate goal should be to implement a tool that will bring in business and boost revenue. Convenience should be just as important to the restaurant owner as it is to the consumer.
ReServe offers an online reservation tool called ReServeIT. We think it’s pretty convenient – for everyone who uses it.
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
How much control do you have over your dining room? Do you know where your guests are in the dining cycle? Like who’s just been seated and who’s been given their check? Are reservations running on time or will you have to make some adjustments that will impact upcoming reservations? Two parties have just walked in without a reservation – can you accommodate them?
So often, I’ve gone to eat at a restaurant without a reservation, fully aware that both reservations and walk-in guests are welcome. I feel for the hostess who is scratching away at her reservation book, pencil sharpened down to a nub, eraser chewed from stress. She takes frantic glances into the dining room, blows the hair out of her eyes and makes a spur of the moment decision on where to place her newest guest. She’s acting on instinct, information she’s receiving from servers on the floor or, in many cases, she’s just taking a guess.
Her job doesn’t have to be so stressful. She just needs the right tools in place to give her control over the floor. Why struggle with a paper-based reservation book where your hosts or hostesses are manically flipping through pages looking for names and crossing off no shows?
When restaurants use ReServe, the atmosphere is notably different. Staff is relaxed, laughing, talking with guests. Walk-ins don’t rattle anyone. Guests are seated quickly and with smiles. There’s an atmosphere of calm all around the dining room.
Our software offers a ton of features that help restaurants efficiently and profitably manage their dining operations, but most importantly our software provides front-of-house staff with control and peace of mind. You can’t put a price tag on happy, productive employees. And the trickle down effective is remarkable – happy staff leads to a relaxed dining environment and happy guests which leads to repeat customers and recurring revenue. It’s amazing what a little control can do.
Thursday, December 10th, 2009
The headlines are as diverse as snowflakes – “restaurants are struggling”, “restaurant business is on the upswing”, “private dining business at all time low”, “private dining offers new opportunities this season”. Regardless of the range of reports, one thing is true – people look forward to the fun and festivities of the holidays.
Across the country, events have been planned and private dining and banquet rooms have been booked. Are you ready? From holiday parties to corporate luncheons to celebratory dinners, holiday events present a wonderful opportunity to let your business offering shine. With a focus on guest accommodation and superior customer service, holiday-goers can easily become long-term, loyal customers.
Begin with a plan to impress. Use the tools at your disposal to ensure the seamless execution of your customers’ events. From the technology you use to manage those events to the selection of table linens your guests can choose from, go above and beyond to cross every ‘I’ and dot every ‘T’. Shower your guests with extra attention by dedicating staff who will focus on managing your holiday event schedule. Plan carefully and you won’t run the risk of over- or under-staffing your event space or dining room.
Now is a great time to flex your consulting muscles by assisting your customers in executing a memorable holiday event that won’t break the bank. Many venues are offering reservations before and after peak hours to accommodate customers working with tighter budgets. Some have broadened or revised their party menus to include a range of items at various price points. Think outside the box to generate ideas that will impress your customers without taking away from your bottom line.
If you’re booked through the season and everything is set to go, enjoy this time of celebration and may all of your wishes for a profitable holiday season come true.
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
We have a long list of restaurant customers who offer private dining space to their patrons. These restaurants have found a way to take full advantage of the unique opportunity private dining brings to expand their customer base and boost their bottom line.
How do they do it? In addition to automating their processes and centralizing their customer and booking information with our software, they’ve mastered the art of exceptional customer service. While our products do things like help them manage their group reservations and repeat customers; control their seating inventory; or coordinate and manage labor resources, these restaurants have carefully selected customer-oriented employees that know exactly how to create unique dining experiences that include the perfect combination of service and personal attention.
While we provide an efficient way for them to manage operations, gather valuable customer data and market to their customer base, these restaurateurs have figured out how to combine the comprehensive functionality of our software with their superior customer service offering to build a profitable and growing private dining business.
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
Just last week, I was talking to a restaurant manager who had heard from one of his customer’s that when he tried to make a reservation online, the website said the restaurant was booked solid. Taking a chance, the customer drove over to the restaurant and found out there were actually several tables available. The manager was concerned. How often had he lost out on patrons and revenue because his reservation software had given the wrong information? He was frustrated and wanted a better way to manage his online reservations.
Sadly, I’ve had this same conversation more than once.
Part of my job is educating customers on ways to improve operations so that they can see an immediate impact on their bottom line. The manager I was speaking to needed a way to manage reservations so that he could take advantage of his entire table inventory. He needed reassurance that when his customers go online, they find accurate information and can book a reservation easily. He also needed a way to keep customers in his restaurant when they did find their requested dining time to be unavailable.
Could he rely on the dining reservation software tool he was currently using? That depends. How many times had this happened before? How much business was he losing? Why was there a disconnect between the software and his dining room?
I ended up walking him through the features of our dining reservation software. I focused on our Smart Reservation Technology. It’s different from the static slot system that many restaurant reservation books and other software systems use. We take into account the specifics of the dining room and manage reservations based on the actual table inventory, real time! Regardless if those reservations are booked over the phone or with ReServe’s online dining reservation software. I also informed him that, with our software, he can manage all of his locations in one database, so he can report on the information he gathers, cross reference reservations and data across locations, and cross market to customers all from one place. Also, if a customer’s requested reservation time is unavailable, our software offers up alternative times so that the customer stays in his dining room. We talked for quite a while that day and he seemed to feel better by the time the call was finished.
I love these types of conversations. Sometimes they turn into a sale. However, for me, the payoff is knowing that I’ve given a hard working restaurateur some peace of mind and a solution that will make a real difference to his business.
