Successful restaurant work and management can teach important lessons that would be beneficial in just about any type of business or industry. A restaurant, just as with any business, that is managed in a way that influences passion and creativity from its employees will likely encounter many years of success.
Although these six lessons may seem insignificant at the time, especially from an employee’s perspective, we can see just how applicable they are to owning a business and maintaining a great relationship with your employees as well as your customers. Owning or working at a restaurant is nothing to take lightly, which is what makes the following 6 lessons in good business practices so widely applicable.
1. Have a lasting impression
In a restaurant, hostesses offer customers the first and last interaction of their visit into your establishment. This impacts the customer in many ways and influences how likely they are to return. The treatment that a customer receives often defines what a business values.
2. Avoid many “trips to the kitchen”
In the restaurant business this means that waiters, for example, shouldn’t have to constantly go back and forth from the kitchen to the customer’s table. The goal should be to anticipate as much of the customer’s needs as possible and have things at the ready.
3. Teamwork matters
It is easier to ensure a positive customer experience when your team works together to help each other out. Team members should always feel open to asking for help and this applies to any business just as much as it applies to a restaurant.
4. Personality and patience are important
Just as in any business, you will likely deal with impatient, indecisive and/or combative customers. As tough as any situation like that may be, being patient, smiling and being empathetic can lead to more success in the long run.
5. Have brand advocates and not just employees
Your employees can’t provide the top notch service your business strives for if they are unhappy, untrained and disengaged in the business or product. A way to solve this is to treat employees more like a larger family than a team of people who work for you and help turn them into brand advocates.
6. Look for opportunities to evolve
A restaurant is a tricky business because it is one physical establishment surrounded by a constantly changing environment. The customers change as well, so a restaurant should be open to learning about these changes and adjusting to them.