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Hi-Tech Feedback
Foodservice
and Hospitality, April 2002. David Lipton
When it comes right down to it, a hungry customer looking for
more than a place to eat needs nothing more than a clean restaurant
and a decent meal. And since most establishments can provide that,
the one thing that differentiates a restaurant from all the rest
is how the staff treats its customers.
To truly satisfy a customer, a restaurant must make sure it knows
what guests need and want from their dining experience. Traditionally,
restaurants have used guest surveys, comment cards, and 1-800 numbers
to obtain guest feedback. But as technology continually evolves,
methods of market research evolve with it. In today’s fast-paced
high-tech world, finding out exactly what satisfies customers is
more important and easier than it ever was before. Here are some
new ways technology is being used:
- Online comment cards and surveys: Customers
are directed to a website such as commentscafe.com, where they
will find a restaurant’s comment cards. Customers can fill
in the information over the Internet and their leisure. The information
is instantly transformed into report format, with both the individual
cards/surveys and statistics transmitted to the appropriate managers.
- Automatic online surveys: Now managers can
prepare online surveys using a step-by-step process. Once the
survey has been developed, it can be automatically sent to targeted
individuals by e-mail. After the survey is completed, the results
are instantly tabulated and disseminated via the Internet.
- Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs): A company can instantly
beam a survey to guests’ PDAs (or the company can supply
its own handheld devices) and the survey can be filled out immediately.
Once completed, he information if downloaded directly to a database,
where results are instantly accessible by the authorized managers
- 1-800 IVR (interactive voice response) numbers:
A twist on the traditional 1-800 number allows guests to complete
surveys by phone using interactive voice response technology.
The guests are given a card with a personal identification number.
Once the guest completes the survey, the card acts as an incentive,
with the PIN number being all they need to collect a reward (for
example, 10 free minutes of long-distance calls). The information
collected end up on an Internet server from which it is easily
disseminated to the appropriate personnel.
- Mystery Shopping: Technology now allows mystery
shoppers to fill out evaluation forms online. The inspection forms
are then edited and assembled into customizable reports that can
be viewed by operators.
There are numerous benefits to using technology when assessing
guest satisfaction. For instance, it offer flexibility for operators
and customers – operators can view the data and results in
a variety of formats whenever it’s convenient for them, and
can easily analyze the results in a variety of ways; and similarly,
customers can provide feedback at their own convenience.
Online feedback programs also significantly reduce the need for
printing, postage, data entry, and tabulation. Timeliness is another
benefit – the turn-around time from when the survey is filled
out to when the results are calculated is virtually instantaneous.
This translates into quicker implementation of ideas for improvement.
While the steak at one restaurant may be just as tender as it is
at the one next door, customers will keep coming back to the restaurant
that focuses on guest satisfaction. The faster guest satisfaction
survey information is collected, analyzed, and made available to
those who provide customer service, the easier is becomes to stay
ahead.
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