It’s not hard to overlook the principles that make person-to-person interaction so important.
Unfortunately, substituting one for the other leads to compromised integrity. The restaurant industry is especially susceptible to this issue.
Balancing speed, delicious food, and the genuine warmth and attentiveness of great hospitality workers can feel impossible. When a restaurant doesn’t have that balance exactly right, it’s noticeable to everyone who walks in.
However, when restaurants invest in providing a culture of hospitality, their guests, staff, and reputation benefit greatly. Here are seven tips to help you create a culture of hospitality that will leave your guests with a lasting positive impression and keep your staff proud to work at your establishment.
1. Lead by Example: The Power of Leadership in Hospitality Everyone—from owners to managers to your wait staff—should focus on curating a hospitality culture. To work, it has to start at the top.
Restaurant leaders must embody the values they want their staff to adopt. When management consistently demonstrates hospitality through their interactions with guests and staff, it creates a ripple effect throughout the team.
Creating such a culture isn’t just about greeting guests and running food with a smile. It also covers how you support your staff, address and resolve conflicts, and remain in tune with their needs.
So, what’s the best way to embody this? Here are a few ideas.
Make sure every interaction with your staff and guests is genuinely warm. Put your guests first and try to leave your problems at the door.
Encourage your staff, especially when shifts get stressful. In times of conflict, lead with empathy and support toward all involved.
Additionally, instill in your employees the importance of teamwork and don’t just preach it — participate in it. A manager who jumps in to help run food, fill drinks, restock ice behind the bar, and prep food will have a much easier time asking their staff to go above and beyond when occupied.
By modeling these behaviors, leaders can inspire their teams to prioritize exceptional service.
2. Build a Team That Exemplifies Hospitality Values Hire individuals who naturally embody the spirit of hospitality to make your restaurant a place folks love to dine. Dozens of soft skills translate into good hospitality, so in interviews, ask questions that reveal your applicants' character traits and behavior.
While you’ll want to understand each interviewee’s hard skills, you’ll also want to ask questions that uncover more of their personality and desire to provide exceptional experiences.
Have them share a time when they showed passion and empathy, two characteristics critical to hospitality. Or ask them how they stay positive in the face of stress to give you an idea of how they’ll handle the inevitable. Prioritize staffing your restaurant with individuals who view hospitality as a personal mission, not just a job. This will allow you to build a truly exceptional team by prioritizing a consistent, guest-centric approach to service.
3. Invest in Continuous Training & Development While hiring for soft skills can go a long way, you’ll still need to train your staff in the art of hospitality. Empowering your staff with the skills and knowledge to excel enhances their performance and commitment to guest satisfaction.
Try these training tips:
Have each employee work a few shifts in each station of your restaurant to show each individual that they are part of a team. Each position has its difficulties, which will help instill empathy in your staff and create more alignment. Teach your employees to use active listening techniques to understand and respond to guest needs. This will help them pay attention to your guests and strengthen their ability to anticipate the desires of your diners. Introducing technology into your restaurant can be a great addition and help operations run smoothly. But without the proper training, it can take away from the guest experience. Keep your staff up-to-date on all restaurant tech, and make sure they use it as a tool, not a detractor from your high standard of hospitality. When issues arise, offer conflict resolution strategies to ensure your staff can handle them smoothly and professionally. This will help maintain the dignity of all of your staff members and guests while ensuring peace and cooperation. Make employee development and training an ongoing priority, not just a two-week course your newest team members go through. Ongoing training opportunities allow staff to learn and grow, fostering a sense of ownership and pride in their work, and help to maintain a tight-knit, guest-focused team.
4. Teach the Value of Connection Creating genuine connections with guests should be the aim of every restaurant team. Each interaction is an opportunity to build a relationship with diners and encourage guests to return, so prioritize teaching your staff how to make these connections.
Here’s another instance where you should be showing by example. Engage in meaningful conversations with your guests, showing interest in their preferences and experiences. Show your employees that these types of authentic interactions benefit everybody.
But don’t stop there. Once you learn things about your guests, remember them . This goes a long way in the eyes of your guests and can be the difference between a decent meal and an unforgettable experience. Help your staff do these things, too, by encouraging them to learn more about guests in subtle, natural ways. Pro tip—end-of-service debrief: After the guests have gone and service is over, ask your staff what their best interactions of the night were. This can be a straightforward exercise that encourages your employees to engage with your guests and note what’s essential while creating a welcoming atmosphere to which guests will want to return. Additionally, this is a good opportunity for mutual learning when staff hear about these experiences.
5. Celebrate Wins & Reward Excellence Recognizing and celebrating staff achievements is vital in reinforcing your culture. Public recognition and rewards for exceptional service boost morale, encourage excellence, and help develop trust between you and your team.
Share stories of exceptional service in team meetings, create a "Wall of Fame" for staff achievements, and offer rewards for outstanding performance , such as gift cards, free meals, or extra time off. Encourage employees to share stories of their fellow team members going above and beyond for guests. That way, they will all take more notice of when positive experiences are happening around them—an easy win for your restaurant’s environment.
These practices motivate staff and reinforce the importance of extraordinary hospitality.
6. Encourage Feedback and Collaboration Open communication and feedback are critical to running a busy restaurant. Collaboration helps keep shifts running smoothly, even during peak hours. It also drastically improves the service you can provide to your guests.
Hold regular team meetings where employees can share insights and suggestions. Keep an open dialogue during, before, and after shifts to encourage synergy. And most importantly, create an environment of inclusion where your staff feel valued and heard.
But feedback shouldn’t stop with your team members. Listening to guest feedback is just as crucial to the health of your restaurant. Try collecting guest feedback through surveys, comment cards, or online reviews. Offer rewards to staff members who collect the most reviews, so they have some skin in the game to seek feedback.
Utilizing feedback to improve service standards and team dynamics promotes continuous growth and improvement.
7. Measure Success Beyond Typical Metrics Success in hospitality goes beyond traditional metrics. While guest satisfaction scores and repeat visits are essential, qualitative feedback, such as guest stories and emotional connections, provides deeper insights and a greater understanding of how your hospitality stacks up.
Keep track of guest stories or memorable moments shared online so you and your staff can see the impact of consistent effort. Gather feedback on emotional experiences and memorable interactions to encourage your team to exceed guest expectations.
Focusing on these nuanced indicators helps create a more holistic approach to hospitality and encourages your staff to stay vigilant and passionate about providing exceptional service.
And for an added bonus, you can use this qualitative data alongside other typical restaurant KPIs to identify areas of improvement.
Committing to a Culture of Hospitality Creating a culture of hospitality is an ongoing process that requires commitment from everyone in your restaurant and can dramatically improve the guest experience. But creating this attentive culture is not just a benefit to your guests.
Working at a restaurant where team members genuinely care about how they impact your diners instills pride in your team and creates a lasting impression on everyone who walks through your doors. With top-down investment in teaching and exemplifying hospitality, you’ll see your culture, reviews, and ROI improve greatly.
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