How to Get the Best Restaurant Feedback (Practical Tips)

Did you know that 94% of customers base their restaurant decisions on online reviews? Not only do they trust online feedback as much as recommendations from family and friends, but too many negative reviews will also make them choose another business.

Moreover, feedback isn't important just for potential clients, it is also helpful for you, as a restaurant owner. By listening to and implementing customer advice, you can better your business and make it more attractive to clients.

In this article, you will find out how to get the best restaurant feedback:

What are the main ways to receive restaurant feedback

When deciding what local business to visit next, 36% of customers check the reviews on at least two sites. You want people to be able to reach you and review your restaurant easily. Therefore, you should give them a variety of ways to do so, allowing them to choose the one that is the most convenient:

• Restaurant website: provide a contact form or a phone number where people can reach out and give you direct feedback. These will be private reviews so it will give you the chance to solve any complaints before they reach the public;
• Social media: some platforms, such as Facebook, have a separate section dedicated to reviews. For others like Instagram and TikTok, you will receive the best restaurant feedback in your comments and direct messages;
• Review platforms: you must create a complete profile (always add a link to your menu) on all review sites active in your area such as Google, TripAdvisor, and Yelp;
• Word-of-mouth: while you won’t be able to know who is recommending your restaurant, you can strive to create the perfect dining experience to persuade as many clients as possible to rave about your business.

Read more: 5 Easy to Implement Tips to Get More Positive Google Restaurant Reviews

5 tips to ensure you get the best restaurant feedback

If you choose a random restaurant and read through their reviews, you will notice that they focus on the following themes:

• Food taste and quality of ingredients
• Price
• Décor and atmosphere
• Service
• Online ordering experience

We’ve compiled a set of tips to help you make your customers happy and persuade them to leave the best restaurant feedback.

1. Create standard operating procedures for your restaurant

Do you have mixed reviews for your business? Do some people praise your food and others complain about it? While some of it may be due to personal taste, you may also not be delivering the same quality for every meal.

This can happen when the kitchen staff gets overwhelmed and isn’t paying attention to details. The solution is to implement standard operating procedures that dictate how everything should work at the restaurant.

Here are a few pointers:

• Make them detailed: note down how each process should be handled, how each dish must look, and what responsibilities belong to which position. The more detail you include, the less room for errors and interpretations.
• Train your employees: the key to successful operating procedures is to have employees who uphold them. Therefore, regularly train your employees on their responsibilities and how to best do their job. You can also give someone the role of supervisor to check the dishes are perfect before they go out to the client;
• Pair the procedures with efficient technology: overworked employees will have a hard time upholding the required standards. Make their work easier by implementing technology such as a kitchen display system, an inventory system, and many pieces of equipment that automatically do what staff used to do manually.

2. Engineer your menu

The secret to people not complaining about your prices in the review is not to make them so small that it affects your profitability but to provide great value for money.

To start, you need a great menu that will convince everyone to order. Organized in categories for easy browsing and full of mouth-watering descriptions and photos to make it irresistible. Just like the one provided by GloriaFood. Afterward, if you want to get the best restaurant feedback, you must:

• Include high-profit menu items: that cost very little to produce, and you can sell at a small price while still making a profit. For example, allow customers to personalize dishes with toppings;
• Offer promotions: clients will appreciate that they can enjoy your delicious food with a discount;
• Keep your menu small: it will be easier to provide good value when you focus on perfecting a few dishes, rather than trying to serve a big variety. It will also help you prevent food waste as you will be working with fewer ingredients;
• Create meal combos: this will benefit your restaurant because you get the customer to order more than what they initially intended. But it will also make the client feel like they strike a bargain because they get a full meal (main dish + side + drink) for a fixed price.

Read more: How to Write a Menu for a Restaurant: Complete Guide with Examples

3. Create photo opportunities in your location

Going out to eat is no longer just about the food, it is about the whole experience. And a lot of people like to share their good experiences online. If you want to get the best restaurant feedback, you must give people a reason to post about your business.

An easy way to do so is by making your restaurant photo perfect. Here are a couple of tips:

• Impress with your plating technique: We eat with our eyes first. Make your food look as delicious as it tastes and people won’t hesitate to take a picture;
• Create a photo corner: reserve a small part of your space, especially for photos. Come up with some unique décor that fits your branding and encourage people to use it. You can also include your logo to ensure your name will always be mentioned in photos;
• Surprise clients with remarkable décor everywhere: foodies tend to photograph every part of a restaurant to ensure it is picture-perfect. Don't forget about usually ignored spaces such as the bar, the storefront, and even the bathroom mirrors.

4. Motivate your employees

Even if your food was delicious, people will still leave a bad review if the service is bad. Your employees are always interacting with your clients, and you need them to create a positive experience that will encourage people to come back.

Happy employees make happy customers. Here is what you can do:

• Offer benefits: to make your staff content at their job, you must make their work worthwhile. Think about offering healthcare, free gym memberships, and other benefits;
• Incentivize employees with contests: encourage employees to do their best with some friendly competition. For example, who gets the most positive reviews in a month gets a gift card;
• Ensure fair scheduling: you must be covered for all shifts, but you should also provide time off when employees need it;
• Leave an open line of communication: if any of your employees are having problems at work, they must feel free to talk about them with you so you can help solve them.

Read more: Restaurant Staff Incentives: 10 Efficient Tips to Motivate Employees

5. Make online ordering a breeze

When you scroll through online reviews, you will notice many people complain about the online ordering process. They don’t like when they have to place orders by phone or with third-party delivery apps which can lead to mistakes you, as a restaurant owner, will never know happened.

Instead, opt to have your own online ordering system that you can install on your website in less than 10 minutes. Clients will love it because they can:

• Place an order in just a few clicks: directly on your trusted website and not have to scroll through an app to find your restaurant;
• Not interact with anyone: therefore, they can place an order while on the metro, in a meeting, or any other place where they can't talk on the phone;
• Browse an intuitive menu: no need to download it on their phone, it is all online. The menu will direct them through all the categories and then to the check-out screen.

Read more: How to Set up Online Ordering System for Your Restaurant’s Website

How to encourage people to positively review your restaurant

While people are usually quick to leave a bad review, they usually forget to write one if they had a good experience. Therefore, if you want to get the best restaurant feedback, you may have to encourage your customers a bit. Check out these tips:

• Have servers politely ask at the end of the meal: they shouldn't pressure clients, just mention that if they like the meal, you would appreciate it if they could leave a good review;
• Have a flyer on each table with a QR code leading to a review platform: clients are more likely to give you positive feedback if they can do so easily;
• Offer discounts or freebies for good reviews: especially if you are at the start, you can offer a free dessert for every positive review;
• Reply to all feedback: even if you get a negative review, you have a chance to change their mind if you offer to solve the problem they encountered and invite them for a do-over.

Read more: How to Reply to Bad Restaurant Reviews: Easy-to-Follow Tips and Examples

Final words

Getting the best restaurant feedback should be every business owner’s goal. Fortunately, it is an achievable one if you can deliver great food, irreproachable service, a pleasant atmosphere, and an easy way to place online orders.