The Customer-Loyalty Program is much easier to introduce if you currently have an effective restaurant marketing and customer recognition program in place. The goal of the Customer-Loyalty Program is to "BOND" the customer to your restaurant. You need to create an environment within your restaurant that the guest has a strong desire to help your restaurant succeed. The guest "wants" to help you succeed.

What kind of environment do you need to create within your restaurant to make your guests "feel" like this? I want to talk about how you can take a First-Time Guest and help them to move up the "Loyalty Ladder". This step-by-step process of moving your customers up the Loyalty Ladder is ignored by many restaurant owner/managers. To be successful, you have to be sensitive to every need of every guest. You have to show real concern to solve any problems that may occur to the satisfaction of the guest.

Never, Never, Never gamble with guest satisfaction. Always take a Pro-Active approach. Let me give you an example:

Have you ever visited a restaurant and had a great time ... at a later time you returned with friends. One of the menu items was not appetizing, so you mentioned it to the owner/manager, who responded:"Well, at least you know what not to order next time."

But, "The Next Time" Never Came!

What should've happened in the above situation? What would YOU have done? You need to take every comment by your guests seriously. If you discover a problem of any kind, you need to solve that problem to the satisfaction of the guest.

What happens if the guest is not satisfied? Dissatisfied customers just don't come back and they also warn their friends ... and you will probably never know why. There's always a reason for slow business and it almost always can be traced to how well you and your people are serving your customers.

How much time do you spend talking about the great food and service you received at a restaurant recently? Unsolicited testimonials are the strongest form of advertisement. When you can have your customers telling all of their friends about your restaurant and bringing them to your restaurant ... you have the highest form of Customer Loyalty.