Debbie Nowadays, you don’t need to be a professional food critic to write an impactful restaurant review. Anyone with internet access can share their opinions about your establishment for the whole world to see. Positive reviews are as good as free advertising while negative reviews can threaten your business. Seeking positive reviews isn’t a vain pursuit. Many customers look to the experiences of other people before making a decision, especially when it comes to choosing a restaurant to dine at. Here are ten simple tips that will help you achieve better reviews for your restaurant.
1. Take Note of Negative Reviews
It can be painful to read negative reviews about your restaurant. After all, it’s your business and you spent hours of your life working to bring it to life. However, once you have set up a restaurant doesn’t mean the work is complete. You must continue to improve and adapt to stay ahead of the market. Instead of seeing negative reviews as purely unkind and hurtful, view them as valuable information designed to point your attention in the direction it’s needed most. As you read the negative reviews, highlight any specific details that will help you make plans for improvements.
2. Focus On Consistent Quality
Once you have decided on a standard for the food you serve, you should seek to maintain this standard over time. If a customer visits once and has a delicious meal, then returns in the future to order the same dish but finds it inedible, this lack of consistency could result in a negative review. Work on strategies in the kitchen that make it easier for your chefs to provide high levels of consistency with every dish they prepare.
3. Improve Your Customer Service
Some restaurants serve delicious food but still receive negative reviews due to their poor customer service. There are two main types of bad customer service; one is inattentive and the other is disrespectful. Neither are appreciated by customers and, even if the food tastes good, bad customer service could cause them to write something negative about your restaurant online. Train your staff to respond to customer needs in a friendly and respectful manner.
4. Change Up Your Menu
A varied menu helps to keep customers interested in your restaurant. While you may want to continue offering a core set of dishes, don’t be afraid to introduce exciting new ones to the menu on occasion. Learn which menu items are popular and which ones don’t work as well.
5. Create a Welcoming Atmosphere
If the food is delicious and the service is good, you may still receive negative reviews for having uncomfortable or unappealing restaurant premises. The setting in which your customers dine is almost as important as the food and service. Decorate your interiors in a way that matches the tone of your restaurant and its cuisine. This includes mood lighting, comfortable furniture, and ambient music.
6. Use Better Ingredients
No matter what type of restaurant you run, the quality of your ingredients will dictate the quality of your dishes. Not everyone is looking for luxury cuisine, but this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t aim for high quality. Keep your kitchen well-stocked with good ingredients. For example, you should have a supply of quality dried chopped onion ready to use if this is an ingredient that’s frequently needed. Talk to suppliers you can trust so that your ingredients are always the best. You will quickly start to notice an improvement in your customer satisfaction and the tone of your reviews.
7. Make Hygiene a Priority
No restaurant can survive for long if it neglects the essential basics of cleanliness. An unhygienic kitchen or dining space will quickly discourage customers from returning to your restaurant. Recruit a professional cleaner or cleaning team to thoroughly clean your entire restaurant on a daily basis. Teach your waiters how to properly wipe down tables after customers have left so that the next guests have a clean space to eat at. All your equipment must be kept hygienic at all times; otherwise, customers will expose your restaurant’s unhygienic habits online.
8. Use Truthful Marketing
If you advertise an upscale restaurant offering fine dining, you must be able to follow through on this promise. Customers who expect a particular dining experience from your marketing materials may leave negative reviews if they feel that they’ve been misled. In your marketing materials, be honest and clear about the nature of your restaurant and what your customers can expect. This limits the chances of people being disappointed with what they find. Let your customers know what they will get upfront so they can make an informed decision about where to eat.
9. Encourage Feedback
Even if you are accustomed to receiving more negative reviews than you would like, it is important to continue encouraging your customers to leave reviews. This will help you keep an eye on how you are improving. These reviews will also highlight areas that require further attention that must be brought up to standard. By requesting feedback, you let customers know that you want to improve and that their input is valuable to you.
10. Monitor Your Progress
As briefly mentioned above, reviews help you to keep track of your restaurant’s progress. There are many ways to gather data that indicates how well your changes have been implemented and whether or not they are working. Regularly make time to check the content of your online reviews and pick out the constructive criticism. Instead of feeling offended or defensive, use this as the valuable information it is.
It’s unwise to underestimate the significance of customer feedback. Ignoring what customers have to say about the quality of your restaurant will soon lead to serious setbacks. You can achieve better reviews by listening to the content of negative reviews. On top of this, focus on maintaining a level of consistency, work on your customer service, and create a comfortable space for customers to enjoy. Use these ten tips to improve your chances of receiving more positive reviews and greater success for your restaurant.
