Making Dreams Come True – Making the Customer Happy

In those few moments that make up a first impression, your customers will come to a conclusion about what kind of person is serving them, what they may expect in the way of service and whether or not you intend to pay attention to their needs.

In order to read your customers properly and assess their needs, you need a blend of observational skills. These skills are important in the day to day interactions you will have with the public and also play an important role in dealing with complaints that might arise. Golden rule when it comes to complaints: It is better to get a complaint and have the ability to rectify the situation than it is to have a customer just leave without sharing the reason or reasons they were not satisfied and potentially never come back. When you have the opportunity to give your customer that feeling of being listened to, you have a chance to create a loyal customer.

Effective Listening Skills. 

Use your body language. When engaging with your customers, lean forward, face your customer & make eye contact. Your actions speak louder than words so not being bothered engaging with your customers will show you would prefer they did not spend their money and time in your establishment.

Be an observer.  Let them talk and just listen. It is impossible to speak and listen at the same time.

Learn to use your thinking time constructively. Try not to be distracted by thinking your own thoughts and jumping to conclusions.  Avoid judging the customer, finishing sentences for them or interrupting them.

Listen with an open mind and avoid prejudice. Avoid the tendency to resist complaints that are not directly related to you and try not to blank out ideas that you would rather not hear.

Let the speaker know that you hear and understand. Give encouraging responses when possible, summarise that you understand what was said to you and reflect the feelings of the customer, not just the words.

Empathetic Listening Skills.

Empathetic listening basically means putting yourself in your customer’s shoes, and trying to understand the situation from their point of view. In some situations, basic listening skills are not sufficient. When someone is angry, upset or frustrated, you need to acknowledge their emotions before you can begin to solve the problem. This is accomplished through an additional set of listening skills called empathetic listening.

REMAIN CALM. When faced with an upset or angry customer, keep your own emotions in check. Do not become defensive. Instead, be prepared to listen.

Give encouraging responses. Let the customer know you want to help. This can be done both verbally and non-verbally. Let’s start with the non-verbal aspect.

Mirror feelings. Let the customer know that you want to try to understand how he or she feels about the situation. ‘’I am sorry you feel so..’’ ‘’I can see that you are upset about..’’ ‘’I understand you waited a long time before the food arrived…’’

Clarify Facts. Double check to make sure you have the correct facts.

Work together towards a solution. Summarise what you understand the customer to have said, so that you can proceed. Remember, when you listen to understand a customer you do not have to agree with them too!

WHEN TO DRAW THE LINE

There are some things a service professional does not have to take from an upset or angry customer. One of these is profanity and the other is physical abuse. Be firm and yet polite in ending the encounter and report it to your supervisor.

Empathetic listening is a skill that assists you to handle problems and defuse difficult situations. Practice this skill at every opportunity!

When dealing with the problem you can APOLOGISE:

• Apologise – It shows you care enough to put things right.

• Praise – thank them for taking the time for making the complaint.

• Observe – their body language, keep a neutral stance and tone of voice.

• Listen – be sympathetic and empathise with the customer.

• Offer - a solution wherever possible

• Go through the steps with the guests on how you’re going to help them.

• Instigate the solution; call the manager-on-duty if you need authorisation.

• Stay calm throughout, never defend what happened nor blame anyone - EVER.

• Ensure the guest is happy with the outcome.

Quality qualities – What Makes a Top Quality Server?

Quality qualities – What Makes a Top Quality Server?

It takes some savvy and charisma, along with knowledge of drinks, to be a successful bartender. This is one of those jobs in which your success depends on your personality more than anything else. You need to be a provider of drinks, a server, an organiser, a cashier, a friend, a psychiatrist and a neat freak among other things.

Over all of these things - You are the face of your establishment.

First impressions are essential. To a customer, YOU are the business you work for, and might be one of the only contacts a customer has with your location. When you work in the service industry, you are constantly in the public eye. The entire experience of a food and drink establishment goes way beyond only food and drink – it’s up to you to maintain a continuous positive attitude between you and your guests. The return on that positivity will repay your location by growing the business through repeat custom and turn your customers into fans and advocates.

Always give your customers a warm welcome. A well delivered welcome will automatically put a customer at ease and will establish a rapport. Introduce yourself when you can; by creating a personal relationship with a customer will make for easier transactions. When you learn their name, remember it and use it when you can. Nothing is more unique to a person than their name and using it appropriately will make your guest feel extra special. And don’t forget to thank them for their custom when they are departing to show you valued their business – this will leave a lasting impression on your guests. If for some reason you are busy and cannot help a guest when they first arrive, make sure that you let the customer know that they will be waited on right away.

Let your personality shine. Leave your personal problems at the back door!  A positive, warm and charming personality can be infectious, so spread it – that will create a better ambiance for your guests. Keeping this attitude can be difficult when it’s busy but it always pays off by having happier co-workers, management & customers.

Know your stuff.  Product knowledge is essential in this line of work; the better armed you are the better you can perform. Later in the next few chapters we will cover a good chunk of what you need to know, but in each individual establishment there are certain things you need to be aware of – seasonal beers, specials of the day, allergy awareness, local sites and businesses to help tourists and so much more. Knowledge is power and your confidence to sell will shine.

Anticipate and assess the situation. See a group come in off the street and wander near the door?  Offer to seat them, suggest drinks, show them menus, and let them know what’s on offer.  Have a customer with a nearly finished drink? Offer them another. See someone browsing their phone, give them the wifi password. By personalising your guest’s experience and anticipating their needs you are creating a comfortable environment for them. Follow through after you complete a transaction – simply by asking how satisfied your customer is with their purchase can exceed their expectations. Little touches like this can create customer satisfaction, show your professionalism and enhance your relationship with your customer.

Precision.  Managing your time behind the bar is one of the most important parts of service. It is as important to manage the entire day as it is to manage each order and a well executed order will save you time in the long run. Once you have enough practice and feel comfortable knowing where everything is behind the bar, you can practice ‘multi-serving’ – the key to taking and preparing large orders. In order to develop this skill you need to prioritise tasks by making drinks in an efficient manner. Bing, bang, boom!

Take a Bow.  Whether you like it or not, people are watching you. When you are behind the bar, you are on stage for everyone to see and enjoy. Embrace it! With that in mind, how you present yourself, the way you speak and the way you move are all part of your showmanship – your style behind the bar can create an impressive spectacle. Guests will be entertained by your efficiency, your conduct, your ability to make drinks & most of all – how much pride you take in your work.

About me, Sean O'Reilly

Born in NYC, I arrived in Dublin, Ireland in 1997 at 23 without the slightest bit of service experience, lied my way into a busy bar and rose up the ranks from floor staff, to cellar man, to bartender, to manager. I worked in various Dublin locations in addition to a few NYC spots over those years and learned so much from all those experiences of working with the public. It occurred to me that I very much enjoyed interacting with my customers, I enjoyed making drinks for people, it gave me great pleasure to make people happy and I had discovered more than I ever thought I would.  I am reminded of Lewis Carol's line, 

"One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is worth doing is what we do for others."

No matter which joint I worked in, working for the public was only one aspect of it all, being part of a team was also crucial. For those early years in the bar game, I worked with some fascinating, inspirational, insane & hard-working boys and girls, people I learned so much from, and for some I am still fortunate to call them friends and colleagues. 

I moved back to America in 2004 with my wife and bought a bar and restaurant while working as owner, operator and head chef (as well as accountant, janitor, delivery man...you get the picture). After many successful years even through the bubble burst of '08, I had decided to return to Ireland with my family to give Dublin another lash. I was re-energized with the experience of being on the other side of the world again, as well as having the experience of being on the other side of the chain of command. I rejoined the team in Lillie's Bordello to look after the top floor, VIP Library Bar in addition to working with Porterhouse Brewing Co and the Dingle Distillery, working as a Brand Ambassador for Richmond Marketing, years of consulting for William Grant and Son Distillers Ltd and started a bar consultancy company called Last Call Bar Solutions. 

Deciding to leave the late nights of mixing drinks for the masses in 2014, I joined up with an amazing team of people with heaps of experience bringing companies and organizations up to a higher level of service quality through the use of internationally recognized training and measurement skills. Customer Service Excellence Ireland was where I built up my training and presentation skills to provide that bit more for my clients.

My focus is now on bringing all those years of experience in the drinks industry together with my ability to educate and train to help businesses all across the country on the journey towards something new. 

Last Call Bar Solutions is the sum of all my experiences in the drinks trade bringing together my work with (and love of) cocktails, craft beer & staff training.