Restaurant Sales
For seven months of my life, I worked at a fancy, bustling Spanish restaurant in the middle of Philadelphia, PA. The restaurant would sit just about a thousand reservations from Thursday to Sunday evening.
Business was booming. We had an excellent line of cooks, servers, food runners, bussers, and management. However, as quickly as the business could surge, it could lose business just as fast.
Typically we were short-staffed, and that led to employees taking on multiple roles. Myself included. You could think of me as a utility employee. I had a responsibility that ranged from quality checking food to greeting and seating guests.
Now, what does this all have to do with Sales?
Restaurants are in the business of selling an experience. Every aspect of the experience must be pristine. Now add being in the middle of a compact city with thousands of surrounding restaurants, and you must distinguish yourself. The sales process begins as soon as the customer approaches the door.
For example, I once had a Spanish couple walk into the restaurant. I greeted them, noticed their accent, and started conversing with them in Spanish. Their eyes lit up with joy as if they’ve just met a long lost relative. We engaged in some pleasantries, and this is when the sales process begins. The following steps are how I start obtaining data to provide our new customers’ most valuable experience.
- I find any angle to build rapport with our new customers. (Spanish)
- Find the occasion or reason they decided to join us. (Anniversary)
- I ask what excites them about our menu? If they’re not sure, they usually ask me what my favorite item on the menu is.
- Instead of initially providing my favorite items, I ask the flavors they prefer: crunchy, creamy, salty, etc. Then, I curtail my favorites to their preference.
- My service never stopped for them until the moment they left.
This particular couple, as they left, gave me a big hug and loud “ADIOS!” grinning ear to ear. They spent into the hundreds and tipped well over 20%. Top that off with five stars on Yelp! Over the next couple of weeks, they appeared with more friends every time they came to the restaurant.
This sales process was about molding our product and experience to the needs of the customer. Ensuring that the product solves a customer’s problem is an ideal of any quality salesperson across any industry. I merely sold them value in the shape of food and fine dining.
