Optimise hospitality at your business: tips

There's a reason why it's called the hospitality industry. Hospitality is at the core of your business and is what makes customers feel valued and motivates them to come back to you. And that's what you need as a culinary entrepreneur: regular customers and customers who recommend you to others. How do you achieve this? Focus on customer satisfaction and create moments of pure indulgence for your customers. In a nutshell, this means: friendly staff, smooth service, a clean location, responding to the needs and preferences of your customers and creating a personal twist to guarantee a unique customer experience.

To give your customers an exceptional experience, you need to dedicate yourself to providing good service. Here are some tips from the chefs at La Lorraine Bakery Group:

• A warm welcome: make a good first impression by greeting every customer warmly and sincerely. A friendly greeting is the basis for a successful evening.

• Personal attention: try to remember the names of your regular customers and address them personally. It gives them the feeling of being appreciated and connected to your business. Do you know what your regular customers usually order? Ask them if they'd like you to bring them their favourite drink, sandwich or pastry before they tell you the rest of their order. A simple, "the usual?” will make them feel valued.

• Fast and efficient service: ensure customers are served quickly without long waiting times. Efficiency makes your customers feel like you respect their time. Is your business busier than usual at certain peak times? Be honest about this with your customers. Offer them a drink, a savoury snack or a sweet treat to make the wait easier.

• Product knowledge: make sure that all your staff are well-informed about your menu, products and any special offers. They need to be able to quickly answer any questions and give recommendations.

• Personal adaptations: provide adapted products, such as gluten free bread to satisfy the dietary needs of your customers. There is nothing more frustrating than losing a customer because you don't have any options that meet their needs.

• Proactive problem solving: solve any problems quickly and efficiently. Problems that are solved effectively can still make a good impression on your customer.

• Surprises and extras: provide extras for special occasions, such as a cake for the birthday boy or girl, or a bottle of cava on the house for couples celebrating an anniversary.

Is your service not up to scratch? In this case, it's important to invest in your staff. This helps you provide consistent and high-quality service, which will quickly be reflected in your turnover.

It is also important that your staff is aware of basic hospitality etiquette. With these tips, you can provide top-quality service according to industry standards:

• Professional appearance: make sure uniforms are clean and neat.

• Body language: stand up tall, smile and make eye contact with customers. Avoid leaning against the wall or against your customer's chair.

• Presentation of the menu: hand the menu on the customer's right-hand side and be prepared for any questions.

• Serving dishes: serve dishes on the right-hand side of the guest and ensure that the presentation of the dish is always neat and attractive.

• Clearing the table: clear plates and cutlery on the left-hand side of the guest. Always check that everyone has finished eating and ask politely if customers are finished eating before you remove their plates.

• Refilling drinks: keep an eye on drinks and offer to refill their drinks or bring more drinks before all glasses are completely empty.

• Presenting the bill: hand over the bill in a discrete manner, preferably in a bill holder. Only fetch the bill when customers ask for it. Otherwise you may miss out on income, as they might want to order a gourmet coffee at the end of the night.