When it comes to running a profitable restaurant then there are many different factors that can play into the profitability of your business. The quality of the food, the method of preparation, the location. It can really be a minefield. But what a lot of business owners fail to appreciate is that your employees can have the biggest impact on whether you make a profit or not. We look at why.

The Customer Experience

One of the biggest things that have an impact on your restaurant's ability to make money is the customer's experience. If customers have had a good time, then they will let people know and this will bring in their friends and families to your business. The biggest touchpoint between your business and your customers are the staff that interact act with them. Therefore, an investment in good high-quality staff can make a real difference in the perception of your business by customers. Service is the single most complained about subject when it comes to online reviews and negative publicity. This is one area that you need to make sure is top-notch. If your customers feel like nothing is too much for your staff to handle, then they will be impressed even if other things are less than brilliant.

The Importance of Satisfaction on Feedback

The Harvard Business Review recently investigated online reviews and determined that a one-point change in a review score can affect restaurant sales but up to 9% either positively or negatively. Therefore, you want to try and ensure that you get the best possible score out of your customers as possible. This means having the right staff, trained in the right way, who want to put customers first. This also means that you should respond to feedback received online and again this is a customer touchpoint so you should make sure that those doing the feedback are well trained and selected to respond in the right way. If a customer has had a negative experience, then reach out to them and offer to put things right for them. If they have had a positive experience, then reach out to them and thank them in some other way. Above all remember to be understanding and helpful of the customer experience. Often these reviews can go viral, so make sure yours do for the right reason.

Ensure Your Staff Are Happy

Happy staff are much more likely to make sure that their customers are happy, so it is important to get the best from your staff. Make sure that any issues or problems are dealt with. This means that making sure your back of house staff is happy as well as the front of house staff as moods are infectious. Ensure that your business is set up to succeed and then the positive business will build from that. Ensure that all of your staff is properly trained and engage in team bonding activities with all of your staff whenever you can.