Customer Service Tips

KNOW YOUR REGULARS! Don’t wait weeks and months to introduce yourself and ask their name. Customer Loyalty pays big dividends so get to know your customers orders and names Customer service is one of the most important factors in running a café business. First impressions are important! First impressions are made in the first 3-4 seconds. From these first impressions, the customer will come to a conclusion about what kind of person is serving them, what they may expect in the way of service and whether or not they want to do business with you. Most of our first impressions are made non-verbally, and often before we speak. At all times we should be aware of how the first impression we create can positively affect our customers attitude towards us and consequently their decision to do business with us or not. People sometimes forget about the reasons why people walk in the doors of their business. It is number one for the experience, and a good customer relationship is the main part of this equation. Customer service excellence has to start from the owners and the skill passed throughout the entire employee base. Leading by example and constant training is essential to be good at this skill. Remember every customer that walks in at lunch time is willing to spend between $15 - $20 so well practiced customer service will also help you be a competent sales professional. As a café owner it is very important for you to be out the front as much as possible, this will personalise your business and make people feel important meeting the owners. When talking to seated customers crouch down to their eye level, as not to stand over them, which is a physiological threat.

Have regular customer service workshops. Look at sales, presentation, styling and food service tips monthly.

What's In A Name One of the easy and cheapest forms of loyalty marketing is remembering some body’s name. Here are some tips in doing this. Repeat Repeat the name several times immediately after you hear it so that it sticks in your mind. Spelling Spelling helps you to grasp unfamiliar names. Association Associate the name with something, eg. Peter Broom, the Cleaner Images Turn names into images – John Barber think of a hairdresser! Break Down The Name Some names have no meaning and form no picture, so break it down, eg. Tannahil: remember Tan a Hill. Rhyming The name rhymes with a word familiar to you or a word associated with the person, e.g. Dennis the Menace. Customer Service With A Smile

We see it at Macca’s and we see it in the most large retail stores, so why don’t we see this more often from our café owners? The simple smile! It is the easiest and most cost effective marketing there is. A courtesy greeting will determine the spend people will have at your location. Some café operators think a tight black T-shirt and a nose ring will make people come back into their slick environment but the attitude that goes with slick is often unfriendly. Picture a Barista lurching over the coffee machine eating an apple. Yes fruit is good for you, but what is good for the customer? A clean smile! not the sound of jaws crunching over my precious supply of morning coffee. I say give your staff a meal break at a table out the back or in the kitchen not munching whilst serving customers.

Back to saying hello and better still saying hello and your name if you are a regular. It makes you feel good when somebody says good morning how are you and smile. This is a general courtesy every paying customer deserves.

Cafés are an extension of the operators lounge room and personality, so if you a flat in this department fix it or get out of the game. I know first hand the physical stress of running a café business so the operator has to be very careful how they portray this stress to its employee’s and the customer. A good idea is to have mirror close to the service area so you and your staff can have quick check of your best smile.

A great smile is very welcoming Smiling is quick and effective way to appease most people and to acknowledge a customer as a greeting. Good eye contact should also be used when in the workplace, even if you are flat out eye contact will help ease that waiting customer telling them you have seen them. Nothing is worse than somebody busy working away and not looking up. Customer service is easy as remembering somebody’s name. This is an easy way to create loyalty amongst your customer’s base. Another good form of customer service is talking to your customers and showing an interest to what they are up to. Remember people go to a café for social interaction so healthy discussion will motivate them to come back. Having newspapers on hand will generate discussion and debate amongst customers. Café owners and workers need to have a good knowledge of the area because often you become a tourist information service. New staff should be trained in this area as part of the normal training systems. Better still take or show staff where the local highlights and attractions are. The café owner needs to have a positive attitude towards customers. They need to be open to suggestions and the needs of the customer. They have to remember having somebody walking into your business is like having somebody come into your home. Most café owners spend more time in their business than their houses so the two should feel similar. The secret of good customer service is simple. Keep practicing nice behaviour and have the right friendly attitude and you will succeed in this cheapest form of word of mouth marketing and practice your Smile! Remember always. Great people run great business and those great businesses are followed by great people.