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Understanding the customer experience is just one of the many benefits that comes from mobile data collection. Professionals all over the retail and hospitality industries are also benefiting from the use of mobile surveys as a means of staying connected with various locations and adapting business operations to ever-changing economic and social trends. With mobile data collection technology, company headquarters can stay informed of what goes on in multiple business locations or franchises. This ensures consistency for the customer and enables supervisors to quickly and effectively implement change within the company.
In comparison with the use of mobile surveys to collect and analyze field data, many companies found that traditional methods were significantly more time-consuming and expensive. Obsolete systems of data collection (i.e. the pen and paper method) make it more difficult to communicate across several franchise locations and often create a barrier to gathering and analyzing data in a timely and accurate manner. By implementing a technology-based system into your business, staff members from all different levels can stay better informed of news within the industry and can address problems as they occur.
Mobile data collection not only offers the opportunity to gather and compare large pools of field data quickly and effectively, but can also enable businesses to collect data that couldn’t be collected without technological means. In addition to quantitative data, mobile surveys give customers and staff members the opportunity to more accurately share data through photo, video, and audio recordings. This allows managers and staff members to more clearly understand how the business is operating outside of their own points of view.
Digital surveys not only ensure quicker survey completion and communication, but also ensure more accurate reflections of the customer’s experience through a system that works on logic and pattern-seeking. For example, many surveys can be customized with questions that are only relevant to that customer by basing following questions off of the answers provided in previous questions.
This same feature would be economically and practically impossible to achieve through traditional means of surveying. Overall, field data collection through mobile surveying focuses on convenience for customers, staff members, and supervisors of the business.
Food and beverage suppliers should also not be overlooked because of the important role that field surveys play in measuring their own levels of success. For example, a beer supplier may want to determine how well their particular product is being merchandised at a liquor store, convenience store, and restaurant. Mobile surveys give this supplier the opportunity to quickly identify any gaps in merchandising performance and make adjustments accordingly. This type of instant feedback can help tailor the distributor’s merchandising efforts, while also providing a foundation for where the most significant opportunities exist.
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Although no customer really enjoys waiting to be seated at a restaurant, the length of the wait list and the customer’s willingness to wait for a table at your restaurant can indicate that your restaurant is of such high value to the customer that he or she is willing to wait for it, or reserve a spot, rather than choose a quicker and more convenient alternative. However, this does not mean you should keep customers waiting, and there are a number of ways to reduce wait times, including staff coaching, call-ahead lists, and implementing reservations systems. At the same time, it can also indicate that there are operational inefficiencies which can be fixed to improve the flow of customers in your restaurant.
How Much is Too Much?
No matter how busy you are or how unexpected the rush is, there needs be some sort of limit in how long of a wait time you give to your customers, as well as how far in advance you require reservations. This timeframe is sometimes balanced with the popularity of the restaurant as well as other amenities you have – for example, you can probably get away with a slightly longer wait time if you have a large bar customers can wait in. This also depends on your clientele, if you run a restaurant catering to families and children, a wait in the bar may not be a reasonable alternative. You can determine how much is “too much” by surveying customers about the wait time.
Ways to Reduce Wait Times
Staff Coaching
A long wait time can often be prevented with faster service and more staff members. The quicker that dining customers receive have their orders taken, receive their meals, and are delivered their checks, often the quicker they will leave and create room for more customers. Wait times may also be reduced by encouraging all staff members to help out in every department of the restaurant. For example, hosts and hostesses can help clear off tables to prepare them quicker, and so on.
Call-Ahead Lists
Less formal than a reservation system, a call-ahead just ensures that the customers name will be put on the list and does not necessarily guarantee a table as soon as they arrive. This is a quick yet effective fix to cure long wait times.
Reservation Systems
No customer should be kept waiting too long, and implementing a reservations system can take care of this issue. With a reservation, customers can expect to have their tables prepared for them at the exact time of the reservation. Implementing reservations are not a quick fix, however, as it can entirely change the revenue flow of your business. Depending on the nature of your restaurant, reservations need to be balanced carefully with keeping enough open tables to accept walk-ins.
Dealing With Impatient Customers
Long wait times and hungry customers can be an incendiary combination that often leads to customer complaints. One of the best ways you can deal with impatient customers is by calmly explaining to them why the wait time is what it is. Customers have a tendency to immediately assume that an extended wait time is a result of slow service, improper planning, inattentiveness of the hosts, and other factors that are within the control of the staff. Implementing a feedback system also gives you information about how the customers feel about the wait time, and can help remedy the problem at the same time – by demonstrating that you care about their feedback, you may be able to keep them calm. Regardless, when impatient customers come to you with complaints, make sure to emphasize that you are doing all you can to get them seated.
One of the most important features of a restaurant actually has little to do with the menu, and may often go overlooked to the detriment of the business’s success. Restaurant patrons notice the restrooms, and their opinion of the facilities affects their perception of the restaurant as a whole.
A recent Harris Interactive poll found that 88% of people feel that a dirty bathroom reflects poorly on the cleanliness of the overall establishment, and 29% of these people said they would not return to a restaurant with a filthy bathroom. Even if the kitchen and dining areas are spotless, customers will question the overall management and hygiene of a restaurant if its restrooms are subpar. A dirty, neglected bathroom can sour an otherwise tasty meal, ruining the overall dining experience. With at least 29% of your customers at stake, restroom upkeep is a must.
Restrooms should be comfortable and hospitable to patrons. After a mid-meal bathroom break, your patrons should return to their seat and their meal with a positive feeling. First and foremost, it is vital that the facilities are as clean and orderly as possible, with all materials well-stocked and hardware fully functioning. Don’t settle for the bare necessities, however; add a special touch by offering free toiletries, mints, perfume, or fresh hand towels. Put in the extra effort to show your customers that you really care about their comfort.
You might also consider going the extra mile to make your restroom facilities memorable – in a good way. Bathrooms don’t need to be boring; a little creativity can go a long way to create a lasting impression. Interesting and memorable décor will add a talking point that can help set your restaurant apart from competitors and create buzz. Decorate the restrooms with a theme to match the mood of the restaurant, whether it is beautiful and elegant or quirky and unusual.
Regardless of how you choose to arrange or decorate your restaurant’s restrooms, keep in mind your patrons’ opinions. Their perception of your facilities matters: it will affect their overall opinion of your restaurant and, in turn, the success of your business. Be aware of how well (or poorly) customers perceive the facilities, and respond accordingly.
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According to a July 2009 study by Econsultancy, 90 percent of online consumers trust recommendations from people they know, while 70 percent trust the opinions of unknown users. These statistics suggest that positive social networking reviews and positive reviews on sites like Yelp can result in a surplus of new customers.
Put in perspective, consider the hypothetical situation of one of your customers posting a positive review on both Yelp and Facebook. If that customer has 100 Facebook friends, this post alone could result in an adopted positive opinion from approximately 90 of those friends according to the statistic above. Added with the expected increase of just 100 consumers from the Yelp review, these two reviews alone could result in a collective increase of perhaps 160 prospective customers. If those customers just spent $10 per person at your business, this results in a revenue increase of $1,600. On the other hand, a negative review could result in total loss of $1,600, plus the future business of the reviewer.
Mobile surveys give businesses the opportunity to rectify negative experiences quickly, which helps the likelihood of positive reviews. Failure to act on a negative experience directly after it occurs can often be detrimental to the company’s reputation, since many consumers have constant access to share their experiences with the public. Since your best consumers already understand and support the company, they are the most valuable group for offering insight into how to fix problems and ultimately improve the consumer experience.
