As usual the morning has been steady since opening the doors. You are looking around whilst running a mental checklist, to ensure everything is being done and that your team are on schedule.
What you notice as part of this daily ritual is a few familiar customer faces turning up. There seems to be no daily or weekly pattern to their arrival. The regular customers attract the odd new customer who are turning up to try you out as well.
It always intrigued me what these regular customers did on the days they did not call in to our cafe. Were they being unfaithful and visiting other cafes, or was their budget restricted.
So, I wanted to enhance the customer experience by implementing a strategy to ensure that our customers got the best experience. We all know customer service extends to many areas in business. However, I believe the first few minutes they walk into your establishment are the most critical.
That has prompted me to compile my list the top 7 easy tasks to implement into your cafe today to boost your customer’s experience.
1: Acknowledge the customer
When you or your team see someone walk into your cafe, acknowledge them as soon as possible. If it is the customers first time visit, they may be unsure what to do.
If you are busy for a moment, a simple “Good morning” or “Hello” is sufficient with a smile in your voice. Tell the customer you will be with them shortly, or to have a seat and you will see them soon.
Should you believe that you will be longer than a minute, then get a staff member to take over from your duties, or get a team member to greet the customer.
What is important here is that the customer knows they will be attended to shortly. Not acknowledging the customer at all in the first minute, and they may just turn around and walk out.
2: Greet your customer like a friend visiting
I would always view where ever I worked, as my home away from home. Whether it was one of my cafes, working in restaurants, or my office at work, I always welcomed people in, as if it were my home. With a bright smile I would say “Welcome – come on in,” “How has your morning/day been.” “How can I help you!”
Ice breakers I called them. I always thought this introduction would drop some barriers and let the customer know they were in a friendly relaxed place. Ultimately, we would strive for every customer to have an enjoyable time with us.
Over the years I have visited many types of businesses looking to buy items or services. On numerous occasions I have felt uneasy walking into a business, as I was not sure I could communicate my problem to the staff. However, once the staff relaxed me, I often walked out with more knowledge, and often purchased more than I intended to buy.
People find comfort in talking to a friend, so be that helpful friend and they will keep coming back.
3: Address your customer by name if you know it
This is not as hard as it seems. In fact, it is easy to source a customer’s name, and trust me they love it when you address them by their first name.
Check if the customer is wearing a work uniform, often their name is embroidered on their top, or they may have a name badge. If they were frequent customers that I got on with, I would just introduce myself, and often they would reciprocate.
When I was working for a local beverage bottling company, we had embroidered names on our shirts. I would often run errands, call into shops on the way home, and get fuel.
With the 5 years of wearing my name on my shirt, I visited many businesses locally on numerous occasions. Of all those interactions I had, only 1 person address me by my name when I walked into their business.
The day I was greeted by name, I felt like the most important person in that busy shop, a celebrity walking the red carpet. I will share that story in another post as it was such a so good moment.
4: Listen to your customers
When ever a customer starts to talk, listen intently, no matter what they are saying. If they are placing an order at the counter repeat it back to them so they know you understood them. If they have a question pertaining to dietary requirements or whether they are simply in a hurry, you can solve these issues easily by just listening.
It is important that you acknowledge what they have to say. They may just want to tell you a story, or vent an issue that happened to them that morning. Give them your focus and let them know you care.
5: Communicate with your customers
Whether you are a cashier, waiter, or the business owner, you know exactly what is happening in the cafe at any moment of the day. You notice all the dockets and phone orders coming in so be honest with your customers. If there is going to be a delay let them know when they are about to order. At least then they can decide if they want to wait.
A customer would be grateful if you told them there was a delay in service, rather than be frustrated in the delay. A customer has their own sense of judgement and are not aware of the complexity, behind the scene.
Should they decide to go elsewhere they will come back to you again. Some people have limited time, or are on a schedule. Keeping them longer than they expect and they may give you a negative score that day.
Perhaps you could offer something already premade, out of the cabinet or drinks fridge for today. Offer something quick for them as a suggestion. Assuming you can squeeze their order through without to much disruption then that is a bonus.
Never over promise and under deliver….
6: Compliment the customer
When the customer orders at the register a simple “Thank you for your order” goes a long way. When they are about to leave compliment them again. Say “Thank you – have a great day” or “We enjoyed your company this morning – take care.” Here is another feel good line that is also an invitation “Hope to see you again soon.”
If someone was leaving your house after dinner, you would probably walk them to the door to say thanks for calling around, and farewell. Acknowledging the customer is leaving is way better than saying nothing. It communicates to the customer that they are valued and were not an inconvenience.
7: Make notes for when they return
Making small notes about your customers helps not only you, but also your staff, greet your customer in a more relaxed manner next time they visit. A regular customer expects people after a period of time to know their order, so start practicing.
We used to have a couple of small pages sellotaped to the cashier’s desk with customer notes on them. This aided whoever was serving the ability to scan quickly and find the customer. When the customer was ready to order our staff recited the customer’s order and sound more knowledgeable.
Customers were referenced internally by there orders and/or attire. It is surprising how many people have a unique drink or dress attire. I have provided some examples below;
G=Guy, L=Lady, C=cup, M=Mug, ST= Strength, T/A=Takeaway, N/S=No sugar
G blue shirt – ½ st Latte M
L grey hair – b/e toastie runny egg
G Toms mate – l/black C no sugar
G tall glasses – T/A L Cap no choc 3s
L Tracy – Sm T/A soy dcaf n/s
Once our staff knew the customer both by name and orders, then those customers were like part of the team. Once your relationship with a customer is established enough you can source lots of information, that can help your business.
In summary
Customers are profit and you are overhead, so keep working on building that profit.
Your customers belong to clubs, associations, and all sorts of groups. Outside of work, they can be volunteers, committee members, or simply have an interest in a sport, or a hobby. You will never know your customers interests if you never improve the customers experiences.
I am a big advocate on customer service, and understand that it is expensive to get customers to try out your business and services. However, once you have those customers just work with them in a friendly manner. Make them feel special. Make them feel like the most important person in your busy shop, a celebrity walking the red carpet.
The opportunities to grow your business are with the people who are already your customers. Look after them in a friendly professional manner, treat them as a friend, and they will look after your business.
Challenge yourself, to get to know one customer and improve on their experience each work day. Here is a parting message from poet, William Butler Yeats
“There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven’t yet met.”