Building Customer Loyalty One Forkful at a Time by Mary Lenz
Call Center Magazine, May 1999

Every time I walk by two of the most popular restaurants in my neighborhood, I marvel at how every table in each of these 300+ seat establishments is filled every night of the week, with dozens more people at the bar waiting to be seated. Sure, the food is very good, and the atmosphere delightful, but it's almost as if these restaurants have a cult following, especially when they've already been open for more than four years and their crowd at 10 PM on a Monday night rivals most restaurants' crowds at peak times on Saturday nights.

Steve Hanson, the owner of these two restaurants plus five other wildly successful ones in New York City, is a terrific example of an entrepreneur who knows how to treat customers and keep them coming back.

His philosophy is to provide dining experiences that customers will return to again and again, for more than just the food. That may be what every restaurateur hopes for, but few are more obsessed than Hanson with making sure customers have a great dining experience. Getting diners to become loyal customers in New York is an especially difficult task given the thousands of restaurants in the relatively small radius of the city. Over 75% of new restaurants in the city close their doors within two years, with a new restaurant opening almost every day. Hanson's restaurants keep customers coming back again and again, collectively serving 35,000 people a week.

A recent article in New York Magazine (in addition to articles in The New York Times and other publications) outlines Hanson's meticulous attention to detail. Each time someone calls one of his restaurants for a reservation, the receptionist can look in database to find out how many times the caller has dined there. To build loyalty, the restaurant can then offer frequent customers VIP reservations on busy nights, free drinks, free dessert, restaurant logo apparel or some other token of appreciation Hanson makes sure that everything that happens in his restaurants is quantified. He has found, for example that 25% of diners always order the special, whatever it is. And on a third visit, 70% order the same thing they've ordered before.

Hanson tracks weekly reports that indicate every meal ordered at his restaurants. This helps him find out for example, if a certain item on the menu isn't being ordered as often as traditionally more popular item. This usually means that the menu description of the dish or the dish itself should be changed.

Each waiter must fill out a report after his or her shift that includes details such as whether customer liked the specials and whether service was prompt. Hanson is so attentive to detail that he even notes if a certain bread creates too many crumbs (wrong bread), if a couple looks too warm (time to turn up the air conditioner) or if it's a cold night (remind coat check staff to make sure customers' gloves are secured in their coats). Waiters are also trained to pay close attention to details: according to New York Magazine, Hanson has put together several staff manuals that address nearly every possible scenario, from what to do if a customer mentions a food allergy to flirting etiquette. There is also none of the stereotypical New York attitude found in many similarly trendy establishments. The wait staff is always smiling and takes great care to provide attentive service without being overbearing.

Running one or more restaurants is not very different from running one or more call centers. Customers need a reason to call you again (like they do for returning to a restaurant) and sometimes making a good product is not enough (like a good meal not enough). But taking steps to ensure agents are well-trained, paying attention to minor details like why callers are ordering (or not ordering) certain items, identifying profitable repeat customers and closely examining key reports will help build you customers' loyalty and make your call center, like Hanson's restaurants, a recipe for success.