How To Make Your Clientele Feel Welcome On Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is fast approaching and you have decided to serve Thanksgiving dinner in your restaurant. You have spent a long time ensuring that you are fully staffed, completely stocked, and that your menu is ready to go. The marketing campaign is well under way, and you are just about ready for the rush you expect to have. What is left to do? A very important step. You want to ensure that your customers will love their experience in your restaurant so much, that they will recommend it to others. You also want them to come back next year, or even sooner, to enjoy your restaurant again.

The best way to do this is to make certain that they feel welcomed, comfortable. and pampered from the moment they step in your doors. The following are four areas that restaurant owners can focus on improving in order to achieve this important goal:.

Staff AttituHow To Make Your Clientele Feel At Home On Thanksgivingde

Customers do not want to see disgruntled employees. They want to believe that your employees are happy to be at work on Thanksgiving day and happy to serve them. Anything less can quickly turn their own mood sour and ruin the holiday for them. A smile and a good attitude from every employee is the best way to guarantee that customers feel welcomed as soon as they walk through the door. Management should pay careful attention to their employees and ensure that they do not walk around looking and acting as though they are forced to be working. This can be done by preparing your staff before the big day by using some tips for motivating your staff to work on Thanksgiving, such as bonuses, shorter shifts, extra pay and contests. 

Restaurant Ambiance

Creating a mood that makes customers feel relaxed and festive on this holiday can go a long way in ensuring customer satisfaction. Make sure to have the tables set in accordance to your restaurant style and add some formality and class where appropriate. Adding centerpieces, candles, seasonal flowers and tablecloths reflecting the season can help to create the warmth and comraderie everyone is seeking on this special holiday. Also, having soft music, dim lighting, and even adding al fresco dining in temperate climates, can make your Thanksgiving dinner more special than regular evenings in your venue

Outstanding Food

While an upbeat staff and warm atmosphere will set the stage for a positive dining out experience, it is the food that will clinch the deal. Delicious, high quality Thanksgiving food will be the thing your guests remember more than anything else. Try and make your Thanksgiving dinner stand out from the competition by offering some items that are a bit different while still including as many traditional foods as possible. Stock up so that there is no issue of running out of anything, and prepare as much as possible in advance. By serving delicious, unforgettable, mouthwatering food, your customers will not only be satisified with their experience, they will become your best advertisement.

Superior Service

The thing that is most difficult to overlook, aside from bad food, is bad service. Your customers chose to dine out at your restaurant so that they could relax and enjoy themselves with family and friends on this traditional family holiday. If your staff is rude, or not meeting their needs, then it defeats the purpose. It is important to remember that while it is a working day for you and your staff, it is a holiday for your customers, so make it special! Treat them in a special way and ensure that your staff does the same. Keep the kitchen running smoothy, make sure tables are turned over quickly to accomodate waiting customers, and make sure orders are taken with speed and food served with alacrity. Paying attention to the small details, as well as the big ones, can turn ordinary service into extraordinary service, and that is what is required throughout the holiday season. 

Found this article helpful? Read more relevant articles and how-to's in the food service industry.