The difference between successful restaurants, and the rest, is in the willingness to change when things don't go the way you want. Being able to interpret the signals in time is one of the first steps: if you have noticed the alarms, keep reading because today we will give you some ideas to know how to improve without spending too much.

Change # 1: customize the service

One of the first solutions that will be in your hands is to improve the experience of your customers when they visit your restaurant. As an example, a study by Forrester Research indicates that customers are willing to pay up to 5 times more! for better service.

The perception of service occurs from the moment in which the client looks for you, through his visit and until he experiences the attention received by all the staff. If you can make the customer feel comfortable during these phases of your interaction with them, you will be on the other side.

But if you also personalize the experience and make it feel unique, guiding all your staff towards this end, it is very likely that the client will return and even recommend you.

Change # 2: control the warehouse and inventory

In order to offer a personalized experience, you must first take care of what happens behind. And we are not talking about kitchen production, but a little further back: we are talking about your supplies.

Your customers must be able to taste each dish with the quality and availability they expect when they visit you. Inventory and waste control is key to this and, in turn, this work (well carried out) can also save you from seeing red numbers. Our recommendation is that before worrying about filling your tables, make sure that you do not lack / surplus supplies: this way your kitchen will not lose efficiency (and you will not lose money).

Change # 3: control cash flows

Although it sounds obvious, you would be surprised by the number of entrepreneurs in the sector who neglect key aspects of their restaurant finances. On this subject we can recommend:

• Control cash inflows and outflows. Issues like a well-established budget, better purchasing management, and goal-based profit and expense planning will get you far.
• Always consider that sales are not fixed: identify trends, in order to know when you should be more careful with the finances of the business and when there is a greater opportunity to invest in improvements.
• Do not rule out investing in software to support you with finances. Platforms like Soft RestaurantThey have modules that will help you plan from purchases, inventory and even sales of your establishment.  

Change # 4: digitize the service and even the operation

Following the line of our last recommendation, no matter how small your business is: digitizing processes almost always translates into optimization of costs and production times.

Implement digital commandsFor example, it will speed up the flow of customers in your restaurant (increasing your sales by up to 30%!) and shorten the time between the order being lifted and the order being produced.

These are some initial ideas for many of the improvements that it is possible to implement, in the short term and without investing too much, in your restaurant. Go ahead and make decisions that improve the situation of your business and don't forget to tell us how it went!