Adam Dow on exceeding customer expectations, making the most of your menu and tailoring your drinks recommendations

With the rise of online cocktail tutorial videos, everyone thinks they can create great cocktails at home.

So, how can you cement your competitive advantage and coax customers away from their kitchens?

The answer rests in 'creating an experience.' Going above and beyond with your table service is key to making guests feel special and instilling a sense of excitement.

There’s no uniform way to become a perfect server. We are all individuals and the very best servers bring their personality to life at work.  

Adam’s tips to be a great server: 

• Be present but not overbearing. 
• Develop a sixth sense for arriving at the perfect moment with extra food or drinks. 
• Get your guests onside quickly; you’ll be more likely to recover from any difficulties. 
• Know when to take risks when recommending something slightly different, like a lesser-known varietal of wine 
• Be genuine in all interactions. 

Table presence is crucial in ensuring a successful guest experience. It’s as important to know when to step away from a table as it as to know when to approach. Observe top servers and notice how they subtly change their approach to each group.

In the end the answer is quite simple, would you serve a hen or stag party differently from a grandparent’s birthday? Hopefully you would! 

Seating guests appropriately can optimize your profits. Reservation platforms can be a great start, but sometimes you know best.  

Great servers quickly determine the needs of their guests; a children’s birthday party won’t always work well beside a couple’s romantic meal for instance. By quickly understanding their needs, you’ll enhance their experience.

Solo diners and drinkers should always be offered seats at the bar. This is a great opportunity for the bartender to make a new regular out of a first-time visitor, or just to make a special effort to give great service to someone traveling solo.

The hospitality industry is historically slow at adopting new technology. But technology can add real value to venues and customers across a number of areas:

1. Team Management: Scheduling apps like UKG and Deputy can really make rosters, timesheets and shift management a lot simpler, compiling time, availability and highlighting issues automatically for bar managers.
2. Digital Menus: One leap that many venues have made is to incorporate a digital menu into their regular offering. With paper menus having issues over environmental and hygiene concerns, QR codes have become more common.
3. Online Ordering: Digital ordering platforms, including “Me&u”, have provided new ways of delivering menus and drinks to guests. These platforms are very effective for large volume venues. They also have a well-documented ability to increase spend per head.
4. Upselling/Cross-selling: For business owners and managers, consider borrowing from popular e-commerce and marketing tactics, with decoy pricing (to help influence customer choice) and upselling/cross-selling (to increase spend per head and deliver a better guest experience) at the forefront of this. More money for businesses, better guest experience, faster table service. It’s a win for everyone!
5. Customer Relationship Management: Technology equally can be used to build customer relationships – as Adam highlights, there's no better feeling for a customer when than when they feel they are ‘known’ by a venue or bartender’.
6. Tracking customer preferences: Using software like OpenTable, RESY, and SevenRooms, allows you to automatically record your guest’s preferences. So, the next time they book you can offer their preferred drink without being prompted.

Providing great service doesn’t come naturally to everyone, but ongoing training can really support staff to be more confident and professional. 

This will help create a better service for customers, making their experiences more memorable and ultimately driving repeat visits and higher revenue. 

There’s no venue that can truly be everything to everyone, so having a well-versed team makes all guests feel comfortable, even if you can’t meet every request. 

Here are some top tips for driving a high-performance culture:

1. No ‘Off’ days:  Nailing consistency is the difference between a good and great venue.
2. Treat guests like royalty: You never know who you’re serving - excellent service can lead to job opportunities, extra tips, and personal satisfaction.
3. Put service front of mind: All staff have days or particular tables where they don’t quite nail service to the best of their ability, but constantly thinking about the level of service required and self-evaluating your performance is half the battle. 

Poet Maya Angelou once said, ‘I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’ 

Customer service can be the secret weapon in the success of any venue or bar professional. The extra mile you go to make someone feel appreciated, listened to, or add value to their experience can make all the difference. 

That one customer could recommend you to 100 friends, could be your next investor, could be a respected influencer or your best customer for the next 10 years. Be genuine and make everyone feel special. 

• Guests can replicate drinks at home, but they cannot replicate the unique guest experience your bar or venue can provide. 
• Every guest is different, so read body language and social cues to tailor your approach. 
• Use technology to make your operations smoother, giving you more time and the tools to create unforgettable moments for your guests. 
• Provide staff with regular, structured training so they’re equipped to handle all kinds of guest situations. 
• Encourage your staff to bring their personality to their work – genuine human connection is the key to an outstanding guest experience. 

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