Running a restaurant can be challenging, overwhelming, and quite risky. With so many moving parts from location to menu to staffing, keeping up often feels impossible. Every aspect of a the restaurant is important because guests will be looking for an overall feeling, not just at the quality of the food. There is pressure to get the concept, menu, and service right to succeed.
When focusing on all these big, obvious parts of the business it can be easy to overlook the details on a daily basis. Why do the details matter so much? Every little piece of your bigger pie sends a message to diners. If a detail has been overlooked, it could send a negative message to guests making them less likely to return.
A few details to check up on regularly might include:
- Bathroom cleanliness and supplies
- Are there items in need of repair?
- All signage is in good repair and looks fresh, not faded
- Parking is ample and well thought-out
These are areas of any restaurant that can see a lot of use and wear on a daily basis. Guests will see many of these things before they ever taste your food, setting their mood for the entire meal.
In a good business plan, many of these detailed areas will be incorporated into someone’s job responsibilities. However, it is important to think outside the box and be constantly looking at items that may have been missed when doling out job responsibilities.
Some simple ways to check up on details are:
- Walk through the entire grounds as a guest might. If there are multiple places to park or entrances, be sure to walk them all. Ask yourself why questions. For example, why is this decoration here or why is the storage closet visible from there?
- Sit through a service to experience your restaurant as a guest would. Were there things missing that you needed? Was your server up to par? Does employee attire, like aprons, serve a real purpose?
- Streamline as much as possible then test those systems periodically.
- Ask for regular feedback from all staff and customers.
When you are able to see your restaurant from all angles and vantage points, you will be able to notice more of the details. Every tiny piece of your business sends a message about what you have to offer. Pay attention to as much as possible on a regular basis to give off the feeling that you are invested in creating a quality experience.