Top Restaurant Marketing Strategies to deal with Fastidious Restaurant Customers
Even when we try bending over backwards to please our clients, sometimes we encounter people impossible to please and display negative behavior too.
What can a restaurateur do to avoid a confrontation with these people in your establishment, and how do you neutralize (and perhaps eliminate) their disruptive behavior?
This is not an easy task.
It might help you to remember: most of the time, these people are using your restaurant or your employees in order to vent their personal frustrations. Sometimes, people come to your place bringing along their emotional baggage. It would be great if they could leave it at home, but unfortunately, they do not. You must always try to maintain your cool. Keep your emotions out of the discussion and think about your other customers. They do not need to have their experience spoiled by witnessing an unpleasant public argument.
Here are a few Restaurant Marketing Strategies to deal with fastidious customers feasibly: The author of 151 Quick Ideas to Deal With Difficult People, Carrie Mason-Draffen, writes that this kind of person grew up surrounded by negativity. They were probably criticized by their parents or others and developed a negative attitude by replicating what they heard.
These people will wear you down if you keep listening to their continuous complaints about everything — from the way your napkins are folded to the temperature of the food to a two-minute delay in the delivery of their appetizers.
You must always remember that although these complaints may be directly directed at your staff or yourself, the roots of their unhappiness are inside of them. These people are just venting their unhappiness and negativity at your establishment.
Ask your waiters to try to Diffuse The Negativity by responding with understanding and saying something positive. For instance, if your Critic claims that the food is cold then your staff can respond by saying, “I’m sorry about that. I will bring it back to the kitchen, warm it up and get it right back to you.”
Remind your staff to always be positive in their attitude, and not to take the criticism personally. Critics thrive in conflict and they look for it.
You owe it to your other customers to keep a nice, relaxed ambience. If they see that, despite these complaints, your staff is trying to correct the situation and keeping a positive attitude, they will value your place even more.
Please notice that I am talking here about a person with a pattern of negativity, not an angry customer that may be reasonably upset because of a specific dining issue.
One of the best ways to deal with an angry person is to actively listen to what they are saying. Often the angry person is frustrated because they don’t believe they are being heard and think no one wants to help them.”
Always try to listen first to your customers if they are angry. They may have a reason that can be easily solved. Listen to what they have to tell you, and try to come up with a satisfactory solution. This often diffuses their anger and leaves everybody happy.
However, if you see that these people are purposely disruptive, politely ask them to leave your place and suggest they come back when they feel less upset. Tell them something like: I’m sorry that you are not having an enjoyable experience. Perhaps you should leave tonight and we can start over another time. Since you haven’t enjoyed your time here, your meal is in the house.”
To conclude, you must try always your best to be polite when dealing with difficult customers. Remember that these people are bringing their own
problems and issues to your place, and your restaurant and staff are just the vehicles through which they vent their frustrations.
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