How to Charm Your Customers So They Come Back Daily

Nobody wants to be treated to a forgettable experience, no matter how good the food is.

Whether you’re running a fast-paced cafe or a high-end gourmet experience, personality is important. It’s the little touches that make the difference. You might have put in hours upon hours perfecting your menu, but if you don’t take care of every little detail, people will find it hard to remember you. Charming your customers is as important as ever.

If you’re a café owner, you probably know how important the food can be. Many owners used to be chefs or baristas, so that may come easy. Here’s one thing chefs/baristas-turned-owners forget more easily than you’d think – it’s not all about the food or coffee. Yes, it’s important, but so is simply EVERYTHING else.

People are used to good food, and that’s not all they go out to eat or drink for. They go out for the experience. Being treated well. That’s what counts. And if you nail the finer details, you’ll be on to a winner.

Here’s just a few things we need to be ever mindful of:

Remember people’s names

It’s a personal touch that’s hard to beat. Call people by their name. Even if you’ve only served them once and you’ve never met them before. When someone hears their name, they feel familiarity. Familiarity builds loyalty – and loyalty is what you want.

People like to be remembered and they like to feel part of something. If you can perfect the trick of remembering your regulars, you’ll probably start to see them even more often.

If you’ve seen them a couple of times write their name and coffee order somewhere behind the machine, that way when you see them again, you can remember their name and order. Impressive. How do you get their name? Well ditch the table number and just ask them their name. “Thanks John, I’ll bring your coffee out to you shortly”. Make a note of where they’re sitting and get the coffee out to them.

Empower your staff

Give your staff permission to deal with the unexpected, and give them enough resources to be able to take control. So what is the unexpected you ask, well not much really, you know that if you’ve worked in hospitality, but here are a few examples of situations your staff should have permission to deal with personally without permission.

Screaming or boisterous kids at a table taking away quality time from parents – have colouring in kits ready to go, or in extreme cases a free cookie if mum and dad allow; to quiet the kids with.

Dissatisfaction with the coffee or food doesn’t need to be something that catches you on the back foot, have protocol of immediately apologising, refunding the money, replacing the product and having available gift vouchers so that they can return with friends another time and have a better experience with your venue and product.

There is no reason why all staff shouldn’t know your menu intimately. They need to know what everything tastes like, what’s in it and of course have a favourite of their own. There’s only one way this knowledge can be truly endowed. They need to taste it. Why not schedule regular tasting sessions with your staff. Great for team building but the true value will be realised when you hear your staff talking to customers with true passion about their favourite dish. They’ll also never be caught out on a question regarding a menu item they have to run back into the kitchen to answer.

Special dietary requirements need to be understood well by staff. Make sure all your staff are familiar with the makeup of everything on your menu and available to customers. Your staff should not only be familiar enough to identify allergens and ingredients which customers may inquire about but they should have on hand resources to confirm and doubts they may have.

Requests for catering – Where you may not have all staff skilled enough to quote on catering or even answer all questions relating to catering your staff should at least be able to provide basic details and advise customers with regards to who and when someone will contact them to provide them with the details they do require.

A slip, fall or medical condition – What do you expect your staff to do in these instances? Staff need to be given permission and resources to know how to assist immediately. Why not include role play in your next staff meeting. Just quietly it’s a great exercise for a laugh also.

Be genuine and welcoming

You’d be surprised how far a genuine hello and goodbye can go. I once took over a cafe that had been falling on hard times. When I commenced business, I wasn’t sure how long it was going to take to turn things around and start making a profit. This wasn’t currently a dining experience, just a simple cafe in a busy business area. You’d think the busy local area would translate to people through the door, but it didn’t. What had once been a successful little operation now needed a sharp turnaround or it was going to go out of business.

When I looked at how things were organised on an operational level, I realised a few changes needed to be made. All the staff members stayed behind the counter (which was quite a distance from the entrance) and simply acted as order takers. They had almost become robots. I knew there was some personality in there somewhere, but morale had taken a bashing from previous mis-management. The old boss liked to talk to customers, but didn’t like anyone else doing so. This meant that when he wasn’t around (more often than not), nobody was talking to customers.

I needed to change the atmosphere in the workplace, the upcoming Christmas party was going to be my vehicle, and I personally invited each and every staff member to ensure they would come. New staff members bonding with old, it was great to see. I made sure that everyone knew just how I wanted things through casual but personal conversations with everyone. That same range of outgoing personalities that I had seen for the first time when at the staff Christmas party, i wanted to see in the workplace. For you it may not be the Christmas party, it could be a paint ball outing, or a day doing a winery tour.

My staff members were now actively encouraged to make conversation with customers. Actually, I didn’t want them to be known as customers anymore: they’re guests to our cafe. I even moved one staff member out onto the floor as a kind of roaming floor person – away from the counter and out asking people if they need help, another coffee or just simply saying hello and goodbye. You’d be surprised how much genuine touches like that can make a difference. Business soon started to pick up, and I had a happier workforce in the process. So it was a win-win situation.

Go above and beyond people’s expectations

You don’t simply want to just “deliver”. You want to over-deliver. Give people everything they expected, and MORE. Give people everything they didn’t even know they wanted. I know it sounds like throwaway management speak, but over-delivering is important. And it doesn’t need to be expensive, either.

Some people think that over-delivering means spending more money on stock. This simply isn’t the case. I once had a staff member who I had to leave looking after a cafe for a while in my managers absence. When I went back there, I noticed that material spending was at an all-time high and profits were dwindling. After a little investigation I found the portion sizes had increased, further questioning uncovered an effort to keep customers happier through larger portion sizes. People were now getting almost double what they should have. Yes, the place sure had become popular, but profits were understandably plummeting.

That’s when I had to explain, you don’t simply have to give them more food to be over-delivering. Sometimes, little touches can go a long way, and cost your business far less.

I’ll always remember a local business that used to send Christmas cards to everyone on their mailing list. That’s when I decided to send some to my catering customers. Not only that, but I included discount vouchers. It was a double incentive – people were being remembered and rewarded. The Christmas cards were a nice touch, but you can’t beat a good discount voucher. People continued to come back, even though I had to make the portions smaller again.

One important way of over-delivering is to make sure all complaints are thoroughly dealt with. Sadly, bad rumours travel fast in our industry. Someone’s bad experience at your establishment is going to spread round friends and family far more than any good experience. That’s why any legitimate complaint needs to be nipped in the bud, ASAP.

If someone complains about a meal, don’t simply give them a fresh one. Give them a fresh one AND take it off the bill. And offer free drinks as well. You need to look out for career complainers who are just trying to get something for free, though. The good thing is, not only are they quite easy to spot, they’re also less likely to spread rumours about your place. If someone’s got a legitimate complaint and it was your fault, make sure you do everything you can to send them away happy. Even if that costs you a little in the short-term.

Getting someone back after a complaint is so important. If you manage to do that, then you can make sure they have a great time and convert them into a loyal customer. I like to give my legitimate complainers a voucher for next time they visit, a couple of free coffees so they can also bring you new customers when they do return. One trick I like to use is signing the back of the voucher. To them this means nothing, just a scribble on the voucher. However, the voucher tells the recipient to notify a member of staff that they’ll be using it when they arrive. When one of my staff members sees the signed voucher, they know that this was someone who had a bad experience previously, so it’s CRUCIAL that they go out of their way to give them a PERFECT time. It really works well, and converts quite a few disgruntled customers into happy and loyal ones.

People like to see the boss (or the chef)

Here’s one personal touch that may seem ‘old school’ but works every time. Get the chef to come out onto the floor after a busy shift to meet with guests. You’d be surprised how much of an impression it makes, and people like to make that link in their mind between the great meal they had and where it came from. The simple act of passing a table as your floor staff would and asking if they enjoyed the meal. It’s an extra layer in the perfect experience you’re trying to let people have, and it reminds them that their meal wasn’t cooked by a robot, but a real person.

The same is true for the cafe owner. In some cases, the owner becomes a brand. Getting out and walking around your establishment is important. Not only does it let people see you and build a personal relationship (which leads to loyal customers), but it helps you keep your finger on the pulse of your business.

Far too many business owners simply stay in the office or out in the kitchen. But they’re neglecting how important it is to be visible in this industry. Get out onto the floor and mingle with your guests. Make them feel appreciated and they’ll keep coming back for more. Everyone likes to think they know the owner. Make them feel like each and every one of them is your special guest. We are now operating in a time when franchised cafes are falling out of favour for the more personal and specialty cafes, what better way to imprint how personal your business is than to meet and thank your customers personally.

Participate In Your Community

Nothing says “important member of the community” like having your name or logo on a popular local event. People want to know that you’re here to stay and that you’re willing to give to the community as much as possible. Establish yourself not only in your site, but also in the local area around you. Sponsor a local sports team or help a local festival.  Being a part of your community doesn’t necessarily have to mean forking over coin you cant afford to part with either, consider volunteering to talk at a local school about your industry and what it takes to secure a job in hospitality, or arranging free cooking or barista/brewing classes, this will assist in keeping you on the forefront of conversation.

Another great touch is to help organise an event for a local charity at your premises. It gives something back, and also builds your brand as well. Not only is it great advertising, but it also makes your staff feel good about their place of work and its place in the community.

It’s the small things that go the furthest. People want to feel part of something, not just like they are simply spending money somewhere. Improving customer loyalty is important, but it’s also not as difficult as you might think. Make sure your guests have a thoroughly charming experience, every time.