4 Ways Data Improves Restaurant Guest Experience
Long wait times, menu shortages, and stressed-out staff. All of these dining disasters happen in
restaurants at least occasionally. But ideally, they wouldn’t happen at all—especially since it
only takes one unpleasant interaction to turn a previously loyal guest into a former customer.
Fortunately, you can use the data collected by your POS and back-of-house software to help
prevent common issues and improve your guest experience.
Here’s how:
1. Eliminate Disappointment
Ever visited a popular restaurant only to discover that many of your favorite menu items are
already sold out or unavailable for the night? It makes for a frustrating restaurant experience, and
it’s even more frustrating for owners trying to keep both their profits and quality standards high.
Utilizing inventory data can help solve all these problems and guarantee a positive customer
experience.
Guests always want to feel like their dining needs are being anticipated, and
managing inventory based on up-to-the-minute data helps keep the kitchen well-stocked and
helps chefs predict how to best respond to customer requests.
2. Plan with Data
However, data from your daily restaurant reports can tell you much more than just how many
specials sold during the dinner rush. Inventory data can tell you a lot about guest preferences,
including when and how often they visit your restaurant. This helps you create a better guest
experience since you’ll know if your clientele feel more inclined toward an early dinner or a late
meal.
Whether your menu attracts couples looking for a romantic evening out or families looking
for a place that will make everyone happy, and even if your restaurant performs better when
offering delivery services or if the added service is not worth the expense. Use this data to either
provide guests more of what they already appreciate, or see it as a roadmap for reaching a more
diverse clientele, attracting more of the most-responsive customer base, or solving basic
problems that might be hurting your bottom line—like staying open long after the majority of
customers leave or discounting the breakfast service too early.
3. Satisfy & Excite
New customers become loyal patrons at establishments that feel welcoming, engaging, and
consistent. Wondering how to establish that perfect dynamic? With a well-functioning staff
capable of making every guest feel like a VIP. And that’s where the data provided by your back-of-house software comes in. Restaurant reporting and analytics software can help identify peak
business hours, predict when large parties are likely to arrive, and anticipate how many servers
will be needed to provide a high-quality customer experience to every guest.
While a long-wait time or crowded dining area might feel exciting at a new restaurant’s grand opening, that excitement can quickly turn to frustration and disinterest over time. Use the data provided by
your staff, POS, and profit and loss reports to ensure that there are always enough team members
to help guests feel welcome every time they visit.
4. Endless Opportunity with Data
Want to improve your customer experience in every area of dining? From dining-in to taking-
out, you can use data provided by the latest restaurant technology to show guests that you value
them as both customers and individuals. From using your POS sales to track reoccurring
reservations and food preferences to installing self-serve kiosks and developing loyalty programs
to reward repeat visits, data-driven restaurant tech provides important insights into customer
behavior.
Looking to streamline your restaurant operations with a back-of-house solution for your restaurants? We’d love to talk! Schedule a demo to see if SynergySuite is the right solution for your brand.
