Offering Your Restaurant Guests A Free Meal
by: PatriciaFarnham |
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An all too common issue with restaurants is when to give out a free meal and when to know you are being taken. Sometimes things don't go right such as a customer sitting there for 30 minutes and then the waitress finds the order is still in her pocket. They should definitely be compensated in some way. Other times though they are just complaining about anything and everything in an effort to get the food for free.
They wanted you to comp their meal and set out to get you to do just that. They aren't going to stop complaining until that offer is extended to them. It is expensive when restaurants have to comp meals because they don't make any money off the sale at all. Yet it can be a great way to get a customer who didn't have a wonderful dining experience to come back again.
In the long run you have to decide if you are willing to comp a meal and hope they will come back again or not. If they don't, they can also prevent others from coming back in. Word of mouth is quite powerful in the restaurant industry as people don't want to take chances when it comes to the food they order.
Someone who intended to pay for their meal but then had a complaint will appreciate you paying for the food. They will more than likely give your restaurant another chance in the future to prove how things should be taken care of. Mishaps do occur and most customers understand that we are all human and make errors. It is how they are corrected that matters.
Some individuals take restaurants for a ride though. They are looking for a free meal and they know that many restaurants offer just that if they complain. They will look to make the most out of it by creating an issue that everyone in the restaurant can see and hear. As a result many managers feel pressured into comping the meal so that all the customers will be happy with the outcome they saw.
You can look at this topic online and find out that people have a good time with it. They are willing to share their secrets with others about how they go to the best restaurants and get meals for free. They may do it once in a while or several times per week. Of course you can't go back to the same location to do it so this only works if you have many in the area.
It is important for the restaurant to have a plan of action for dealing with such issues. That way they don't escalate out of control. This is a decision that the manager needs to execute though rather than the staff. This way discretion can be used to determine when offering a free meal is right and when it is a ploy that someone is after.
You will have to decide what lengths you want to go to in order to keep your customers happy. Some of them will really appreciate the gesture while others walked out with exactly what they went it looking for. You definitely want to be fair but at the same time you don't want to be taken advantage of.
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About the Author
Patricia Farnham is a restaurant business veteran. Before you decide to http://www.restaurantpitfallsandprofits.com/buyrestaurant.htm">owning a restaurant, you might want to read some more of her insights on the restaurant industry on here website.
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