Slides from live webcast on 3/13/17. In this webcast, Upserve covered the changing restaurant guest landscape, and highlighted millennial trends. They then moved into how to critique and analyze your own restaurant's experience, and trend forecast what is to come.

2. Building A
Restaurant Guest
Experience
What Guests Want From Your
Restaurant

3. Today’s presenters
Hannah Harrington Mike Taberski Nicole Theohary
Chat us using
the Q+A panel
to your right
Questions?
■■

4. The Storyteller
Hannah believes that a great restaurant goes beyond food,
drink and space - it’s all about creating the best
experiences for guests. She joined the Upserve marketing
team with a focus on content marketing, spending her days
sharing customer’s stories through video, case studies, and
webinars.
Content Specialist, Upserve
Hannah
Harrington

5. The Operations Guru
Mikes path to a career in Marketing Operations was
definitely not a planned one. He spent most of his early
career in and around restaurants either as staff,
management, or consulting. His passion for the restaurant
industry along with my background in military intelligence
lead him to pursue a something a little more strategic.
Marketing Operations Analyst,Upserve
Mike
Taberski

6. The Guest Whisperer
As an Account Manager at Upserve, Nicole dedicates her
time to nurturing relationships with restaurateurs to help
optimize their business. With eight years of industry
experience and a bachelor’s in Restaurant Management
from Johnson & Wales University, it’s the perfect recipe for
success.
Senior Account Manager, Upserve
Nicole Theohary

7. Why we are talking about improving your guest communications.
The full service restaurant segment will show 3.5% growth over
the next year, compared to the original projection of 4.3%.
Millennials are now the biggest generation on the planet.
In April 2016, this group of people made up 75.4 million of
people on earth, whereas the Baby Boomers made up 74.9
million.
The industry has been facing a downturn over the past few months.

8. Today’s Agenda
1: What guests want from a dining experience.
2: What is your current brand, and how to adapt it to improve guest
communications.
3: What you should do today to improve your guest experience.

9. What guests
want.
From a dining experience in 2017.

10. If the industry is growing at a slower rate
than anticipated, how your restaurant
stay successful?
Lets start here: Who are your
guests?

11. Enter - the millennials.
1. Aged: 16-34
2. More ethnically and racially diverse than older adults
3. ¾ of them have a profile on a social networking site
4. ⅕ have posted a video of themselves online
5. They are the most educated generation in American history
the biggest group of
people on the planet.
In April 2016,
this group of
people made
up 75.4 million
of people on
earth, whereas
the Baby
Boomers made
up 74.9 million.

12. The key takeaway from all of this data:
differences in lifestyle, upbringing ,and
attitude contribute to taste preferences
based on generation. Just as each
generation has its set of culture and trends
associated with it, each generation also has
a unique palate.

13. 1. Health and sustainability
focused restaurants.
It’s all about education.
Menu buzzwords.
Unique flavors expected.
1.
2.
3.

14. According to NPD’s 2017 outlook,
restaurants that fail to innovate, risk being
overlooked but a large portion of their
guests.

15. 2. Technology integrations.
They know your menu before
going through the door.
Online orderingintegrations.
Updated social media
accounts and websites.
1.
2.
3.

16. How’s it
going today?
Assessing your restaurant’s current guest
communications.

17. Start from square 1: Who are YOU?
Serve well an you will
succeed
Mantra 1:
Mantra 2:
If you cook it - they will come

18. I have built my
foundation - now, how do
I cater to my guests?

19. What you can do to show guests that you care.
Be there!
Care about your
guests.
Try something new.

20. It’s a busy Friday night at 7:00. Your
restaurant is swamped, and there are people
waiting to be seated. It’s all hands on deck.
The question is, will your guest experience
falter?
Your turn:

21. 1. A couple walks in with no
reservation around 7:15. Your
hostess…
Sighs and gives an exasperated look,
before answering talks to their
colleague, and just says “No
reservation on a Friday? We’re
booked.” States, do you have a reservation?
When prompted no, looks up with a
stale expression stating, “um, well,
then it's about a 45 minute waittonight.”Greets them with a warm smile,explains how the restaurant is alittle backed up, but will do best toseat within 45 minutes, and ushersthem to the bar.
1.
2.
3.

22. 2. As you wait for your table,
you have to run to the restroom.
You see…
Paper towels spilling over the trash
bin, and you don't even want to look
at the state of the toilet, and wow,
this flickering light makes you think
you’re an extra in Carrie.
Toilet paper on the ground, running
low on paper towels and a linebecause one stall is broken, giving
you flashbacks to middle school.
That they spent money on thepaper towels, and the aroma of awell placed candle.
1.
2.
3.

23. 3. After 50 minutes of hearing your stomach
rumble, you’re finally seated and handed the
menu. As you’re settling in, your server…
Disappears for 20 minutes as your
water glass empties.
Asks if you’re ready to order, slightly
rushed, but hey, you are starving.
Describes the specials as youbrowse the menu, and asks if youwould like more time before you
order.
1.
2.
3.

24. 4. You have decided on your
order, and it’s finally go time.
Your meal is here, and…
Your boyfriend’s steak is cold, and
your burger isn’t even a burger...it's
a grilled chicken sandwich.
Everything is cooked alright, and
arrived in 20 minutes flat. But, you
have been asking for ketchup andhotsauce with no luck.
The manager stops by to check onyou and everything is great. Theyeven predicted the extra fixingsbefore you even thought to ask.
1.
2.
3.

25. 5. You’re stuffed and are ready
to enter a food coma on your
couch. Time to pay…
No matter how many times you
signalled for the check, your
waitress keeps ignoring you.
Your check arrives promptly, however
you never ordered a diet coke. Time towait for a new check.
Your waitress asks if you plan onsplitting before she presents yourcheck, and does not leave you in cardpurgatory, waiting for her to come
back
1.
2.
3.

26. How’d you do?
Woah. It could have just been an off night, or
maybe you need to have a team wide meeting
to discuss what customer service means to
your restaurant. Don’t panic- that’s why you’re
listening today.
The devil is in the details. You’re at
the 5 yard line, and you want to take it
over the line. Time to assess what is
falling through the cracks - thankfullyfor you, it’s not very much.
You have an A-team staff. It’s rare to find arestaurant with this caliber of customerservice and care. Keep on keeping on, butknowing you, you won’t ever settle for lessthan the best.
Mostly 1’s:
Mostly 2’s:
Mostly 3’s:

27. What you can enact today.
Improve on your
guest experience.

28. Loyal customers spend an average of 67%
more at our restaurants than new ones do,
and studies have shown that it costs 6-7
times more to get a new customer, than it
does to service an old one.

29. It’s important to approach new guests the
same way you’d approach loyal regulars –
like a close friend or family member.
- This allows you to build a relationship that is founded on trust.
- When your guests feel like they can trust you, they are more likely to
be genuine and helpful with their responses and feedback.
Build a relationship.

30. 5 things your guests want (and how to give it to them)
A Social Activity
To Talk About It
4.
To Leverage
Technology
To Find You Easily
2.
3.
5.
Customizable
Meals1.

31. Customizable
Meals1.
Let’s use millennials as our example. They are, after all, the largest
group of people dining out (more than they’re cooking at home, in
fact).
Introduce a mix and match combination options of current
entrees and sides or adding new shareable appetizers.
Allow guests to create a personalized, interactive dining
experience will lead to higher levels of satisfaction and
enhanced dining experiences.

32. A Social Activity2.
The way different generations view going out to eat is very different. While
older generations at one point saw dining out at restaurants as a way to
escape the dull realities of the day, millennials use it as something far
different.
With this in mind, think about how you can curate fun events
that will add to their active social calendars. Several
restaurants have found major success in hosting weekly trivia
nights or murder mystery dinners on a regular or rotating
basis.

33. To Leverage
Technology3.
It’s no secret everyone today is glued to their phones. This is especially true
of millennials. Think about it, this group has grown up on technology and
social media.
Many restaurants are tapping into this obsessive
technological need by providing free WiFi or charging
stations at booths and tables. Not only does this provide
major value to guests, it can also bring your restaurant
social benefits.

34. To Talk About It4.
People love to share they got “Boston’s Best Ice Cream
Sandwich” or went to the coolest hidden gem in an up and
coming neighborhood. The impact of social media has only
amplified this desire to share these experiences.
They like to talk about the experiences that they’re having
—not only for their own benefit, satisfying their own taste
buds, or their need to be adventurous and try something
new, but also a part of that social inclusion,

35. To Find You Easily5.
59% of Millennials say they review menus online often or very
often, and 19% do so using a mobile device. When this group hears
about a new restaurant, their first instinct is to Google it.
Having a presence on social media and a website with a
strong user experience creates a positive first impression
and makes prospective guests far more likely to walk
through the door.

36. The Millennial generation is only one subset
of restaurant consumers, but it is the largest
one, and a good example to reference when
thinking about your full strategy.
The Bottom Line.

37. More resources for you.
Communicate with your
guests better: Provide
the best hospitality out
there.
The more you know…
Restaurant marketing:
the only guide you’ll
ever need
Social media 101:
getting started with
your strategy today
Tackle Seasonality:
one season at a time
with this guide.
Staff management:
hiring, training and
retaining staff
Menu design: the
psychology behind the
menu

38. How Upserve Can Help.
Your front of house and back of house know how to
communicate. Shouldn’t your tech?
The Upserve Restaurant Management Platform ensures that your
point of sale, payments, and other integrations finally talk to each
other. You get an easier to use system, intuitive insights that help
you grow margins and revenue, and more of that one ingredient
you never seem to have enough of...time back in your day.

39. 855-664-3887 | marketing@upserve.com | upserve.com