Introduction:

This week I’m going to be answering a question that a member on my website submitted a couple of weeks ago. It’s about how to increase return visits in your restaurant.

If you have watched my past videos than you already know there are only three ways to increase revenue in your restaurant:

1. More new customers coming through your front door,
2. Getting your current customers to spend more money per visit and then
3. Getting your current customers to come back more often.

A lot of times you hear me talking about how to get your current customers to spend more money because they’re already there it’s the lowest hanging fruit of the three. It’s the easiest method to get quick results.  They are already there, getting them to spend a few more cents or a dollar more shouldn’t be that difficult for you.

The 10 x 3 Formula

This states that if you get 10% more new customers to come back 10% more often and spend 10% more visit more per visit you will double your profits. How do you get that 10% more repeat customer to come back 10% more often is actually very simple if you do this one thing really well.

Exceeding Expectations

If you exceed a customer, guest or a patrons expectations they will come back. The trick is exceeding NOT meeting their expectations. Here’s the challenge with exceeding expectations, sometimes we go a little bit too far and push the envelope too much, sometimes we are not even meeting their expectation, let alone exceeding it.

How do we exceed a customer’s expectations without going too far? You have to know what their expectations are. How do we know what their expectations are? Ask some questions.

When you drop off their food instead of asking “How is everything?” say “Is that exceeding your expectations?”

Or, at the end of a meal “Did that steak exceed your expectations”?  “How did we do tonight, did we exceed your expectations”?

It’s a tough question and you’re gonna get some tough answers but it’s gonna take your restaurant to the next level and it will dramatically increase the amount of return visits you get, which in my opinion is the second easiest way to increase profits and top-line revenue.