Enhance consumer experiences by tuning in to table service

Nation's Restaurant News, May 9, 2005

When dining at a white-tablecloth restaurant or a casual burger joint, customers value good table service over any other aspect of the dining experience, according to a recent Nation's Restaurant News study. One key research finding was that exceptional table service and a quality restaurant experience go hand in hand; in fact, customers who rate their experiences as "excellent" also report they have had excellent table service.

The study, sponsored by American Express, queried 600 restaurant operators and 1,000 customers about recent dining experiences. Overall, the study found that operators and their customers have different perceptions about the importance of service and the factors that make up a quality service experience. Understanding and acting upon this finding is critical for restaurant operators, because diners are not likely to frequent restaurants where they aren't satisfied with the quality of service.

"Table service is perhaps one of the greatest factors that consumers use in determining where they are going to dine," says Elizabeth Cohen, American Express vice president of restaurant and entertainment industries. "It's imperative that operators get on the same page as their customers if are going to succeed. In order to achieve this and given our commitment to foodservice we felt it was important to conduct this study and share it with the industry."

In this White Paper, industry experts and veteran operators share their best practices and training toots for raising the bar on table service. Improving the dining experiences at a restaurant can lead to major benefits for an operator, including increased customer satisfaction, repeat visits and favorable word of mouth from customers not to mention an edge over the competition.

Top-Rated Service Drivers for Consumers

In general, Consumers agree with Operators on the most important service drivers that contribute to good service.

--Service at the Table, and Servers and Ordering, top both Consumer and Operator lists.

Top Rated Services Drivers Among All Consumers

                                          Very and Extremely
                                             Important Sum

Service at the Table *        28%   59%           87%
Servers and Ordering          32    43            75%
Environment                   31    40            71%
Pricing and Value             33    34            67%
Greeting and Seating Guests   32    35            67%

Statistically significant (higher)--tested at 90% level

* Fine and Casual Dining Only

All Consumers n = 1248

Overview

Both consumers and operators rate service at the table as the most important part of a quality dining experience at casual and fine-dining restaurants. White restaurateurs often differentiate between service and hospitality--with service viewed as the technical ability and hospitality viewed as the human part of a service interaction consumers use "service" as a catchall term.

Consumers Rate Most Recent Experience

Regarding their most recent dining experience, only 44% of consumers rated the quality of service as excellent.

Rating Overall Quality of Service

Poor        1    2%    4%
            2    2%    4%
            3    4%   52%
            4   14%   52%
            5   34%   52%

Excellent   6   22%   44%
            7   22%   44%

Percent of industry sector rating excellent (top-two boxes). *

Fine   Casual   QSR   Fast Casual   On-site

46%      23%    19%       18%         N/A

The mechanics of tame service include orders being taken in a timely manner from a courteous server, drinks being refitted as needed, courses arriving at appropriate times, orders being prepared quickly and correctly, servers asking if guests would like dessert, and dishes being cleared without rushing the guests.

Findings from the study are dear: Quality table service is a key driver in a consumer's choice of restaurants, whether casual or fine dining. Fortunately there are opportunities for improvement, as outlined below, for operators to institute new practices and create a culture that supports high-quality service.

Key Points

1. Connect with customers.

Above-par service is about truly connecting with customers and treating them as individuals, not as a transaction. "In today's demographic, people want to be treated special," says Eric Quick, vice president of operations for Allentown, Pa.-based Retail Brand Group, a subsidiary of Sodexho USA.

"They want to have people connect with them and they want to have their needs met--sometimes that means being pampered."

Servers need to be acute listeners, to observe and ask people what they want instead of telling them what you think they should have, according to Richard Coraine, a partner in the New York-based Union Square Hospitality Group, a collection of fine-dining restaurants in Manhattan. "I think it's the same in any service business."

Richard Snead, president of Texas-based Carlson Worldwide Inc., the parent company of T.G.I. Friday's, encourages servers at his company to approach a table and take its "experience order" first. "The server might say, 'Thought I'd check first to see if you're relaxing tonight, celebrating a special occasion or are in any kind of a hurry,' "Snead says. Once the server establishes a guest's preferences and time constraints, he is better equipped to customize service for the table, Snead adds.