Customers in the UK today crave delectable Indian dishes and an excellent dine-in experience. That’s where outstanding customer service is needed.
Are customers only seeking traditional foods and classical music? Not really. They desire top-notch service from the moment they walk through the door to the moment they leave the restaurant.
From special dine-in to online food ordering systems, customer service prevails everywhere. It wins market leadership and even reputable restaurant awards if efficiently implemented.
A Restaurant’s Good Customer Service in Essence
Translating good customer service into a restaurant business means serving more than just delicious foods; it also includes:
- A proper welcome, either dine-in or over a phone call
- The correct information on food items
- Being well-versed on your menu
- Inviting ambience and cleanliness
- Diverse food options with suitable drinks
- Reasonable prices for food, not decoration
- Attending to customer problems and complaints
Remember, enhanced customer service turns a large following into loyalty.
It’s also a subject to winning prestigious food industry awards. If you haven’t run for any award yet, consider ARTA (Asian Restaurant and Takeaway Awards), a highly acclaimed British award institution.
Dubbed the ‘Oscar of the Curry Industry,’ ARTA judges the optimum level of customer service, as well as amazing cuisine, environment, compliance, etc.
Problems in Indian Food Restaurants’ Service
Before jumping onto the tips, you should identify the problems Indian restaurants usually struggle with. Here’s a glimpse of it below:
- Passive Food Suggestion:
Upon not getting active suggestions from the waiters, customers often order whatever they feel like and end up disappointed.
- Charging High Prices for Ambience:
Typically, some Indian restaurants charge extra for luxurious decorations, which customers surely appreciate but are unwilling to pay for.
- Unauthentic or Tasteless Food:
Unauthentic or tasteless food can indeed cause lasting dissatisfaction in customers, deterring them from returning to that eatery again.
- Losing Touch of Culinary:
Often, chefs lose their mastery of cooking over time. With declining taste and quality, even the most loyal customer will gradually switch to a different restaurant.
- Wrong Order:
It’s a common scenario that a customer might receive a paneer tikka masala instead of the chicken tikka masala they ordered. However, not correcting or preventing this blunder can lead to a bad reputation for the restaurant.
- Inefficient Correspondence:
Inefficient correspondence, such as improper responses to reservation queries or complaints, is often seen in Indian food restaurants in the UK. Not correcting this problem shows your lack of resourcefulness.
(4+4+4) Tips for the Best Customer Service in Your Indian Food Restaurant
To solve the existing problems, apply these twelve proven tips in terms of staff etiquette, restaurant’s environment, and food service:
4 Tips on Improving Staff Etiquette
Your staff is the face of your restaurant’s brand. Hence, it’s essential to improve their service, including manners and skills.
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Start with An Appropriate Welcome
Customers will sense your restaurant’s level of excellence when they walk through the door. Hence, a perfect welcome can go a long way. Appoint someone at the entrance to motion each guest with an appropriate salutation and smile.
Note:
- You can dress your gatekeeper in traditional Indian kurta-pajama for men or salwar-kameez for women, or whichever applies.
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Attend Your Customers Quickly
Once your customers are welcome aboard and seated, don’t make them wait longer. A server well-versed in your menu must attend to them with an attitude to serve their requirements. Mention specials to the customers.
Note:
- Mention special items once. Twice if you’re asked to.
- Repeat the order so every item is included during preparation.
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Solve Their Problems Immediately
Customers may come across issues like bad lighting, excess spice, bland taste, etc. The person responsible (a manager, server, or head chef) should address these problems immediately.
Note:
- Listen carefully to what your customer has to say.
- Keep an eye contact with the customer while listening.
- Don’t argue, maintain a problem-solving attitude.
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Train Your Staff Regularly
Regular training and workshops are crucial to keep your staff in their best shape. Maintain an annual training schedule including topics, such as personal hygiene, food safety, bussing (table management), effective communication, proper customer service, etc.
Note:
- Train based on individual responsibilities.
- Training on mannerisms, personal hygiene, etc., is for all staff members.
4 Tips on Enhancing Restaurant’s Environment
Below are five tips to enhance your customer experience through an inviting environment:
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Bring Regional Ambience
Your Indian restaurant must be cohesive according to your cuisine’s speciality. For a South Indian restaurant, you can blend red, saffron, and golden while furnishing. For a North Indian restaurant, consider carved wooden panels, patterned tapestries, regal furnishing, etc.
Note:
- Decorate the entrance with traditional arts and crafts.
- Dress the gatekeeper in the regional iconic dress code.
- Consider live classical music or soft songs playing in the background.
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Add Proper Lighting
With the right lighting fixtures, you can create an appropriate mood and welcoming tone. Warm and soft lighting work best for an intimate atmosphere, while bright and white lights are suitable for an energetic ambience.
Note:
- Ensure the proper lighting contrasts with interior decoration.
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Install Natural Elements
Install natural elements to make your Indian restaurant look healthier and eye-soothing. Water elements like a fish tank or fountain can create a calm ambience. However, going green by strategically setting plants can be more inviting.
Note:
- Keep water bowls with lotus floating on the water for a spiritual ambience.
- For sustainable decor, use clay pots or bamboo-made decorative items.
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Arrange High-Quality Seating
Comfortable seating is essential for a nice dining experience. Customers shouldn’t feel irksome while enjoying gourmet Indian food. However, ensure a balance between functionality and aesthetics in seating arrangements for a wonderful customer experience.
Note:
- Consider additional bar or booth seating for movability.
- Arrange a mix of outdoor, semi-outdoor, or terrace seating with charpai, floor cushions, lanterns, umbrellas, and so on.
4 Tips on Improving Food Experience
Fumbling with food experience can severely crack your restaurant’s reputation and brand image. Follow the tips below to avert such consequences:
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Make Proper Appetiser Suggestions
Your server must make hearty suggestions to the customers on appetisers. This is a perfect strategy for first-timers to introduce themselves to diverse Indian flavours.
Note:
- For a crispy and fresh start, suggest chicken or vegetarian samosas, paneer or vegetarian pakoras, puri, dhokla, etc.
- For meaty starters, suggest lamb chops, keema naan bites, chicken tikka, etc.
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Share Proper Information on Spice Levels
Not all customers can tolerate the intense spiciness that Indian foods are well-known for. So, ask whether they like their dishes heated high, medium, or low. Also, you can suggest they start on mild spice levels and gradually go up.
Note:
- Be specific about the different spice levels of each dish on your menu.
- Mention the names of the spices used in each dish.
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Suggest Suitable Portion Sizes
Indian dishes usually come in large portions. Customers in a large group may take this positively. Thus, we suggest they order dishes of large or family-style servings so they can share each item among themselves.
Note:
- Sharing helps prevent waste, while each group member can try varied tastes and flavours.
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Serve the Right Drinks and Desserts
An Indian dine-in is never complete without suitable drinks or desserts. So, suggest comforting beverages like lassi, masala tea, etc., to cool customers’ taste buds after relishing intense spicy dishes. Desserts like rasmalai or gulab jamun can subdue the sharp effect of spices in their stomach.
Note:
- In summer, suggest cool and refreshing desserts like kulfi, mango shrikhand, falooda, etc.
- In winter, gajar ka halwa, cardamom cheesecake, pistachio halwa, etc, can be warm, rich, and nutritious desserts.
Key Takeaways
Providing the best customer service in a restaurant isn’t about just food. It’s about optimising every department to ensure a completely satisfactory experience. The key points you can take away from this article are:
- High-end customer experience entails overall experience, from entering your restaurant to exiting it.
- You must identify the existing problems in your restaurant to take corrective actions.
- Invest in enriching customer service regarding staff etiquette, environment, and food serving.
