The views expressed by the business participants are their own.
Maintaining a high level of customer service while growing can be a difficult task for local businesses. Tony Gemignani, owner of Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco, faced his own challenge when he created a restaurant he believed in despite the naysayers.
“Tony’s is different,” Gemignani said. “It’s the first restaurant of its kind, and no one really believed in it – many styles, many ovens, from gas, wood burning, coal, electric, rotary gas. Depending on the style of pizza you like, we probably have it. Fifteen years ago, you didn’t see a guy the Roman and the Neapolitan get along. You never put them all together.”
With so many choices on the menu, Gemignani knew his staff had to be able to explain the differences in pizza styles and, most importantly, find the right fit for each customer.
“I like to tell my servers to go to the table, ask them where they’re from, how they’re doing, and say, ‘What kind of style do you like? Do you like thick or thin? Do you like it? Pan Do you like it round or square?’
This approach personalizes the customer experience and helps guide them to a point of enjoyment, thereby increasing customer satisfaction.
Another important aspect of customer happiness is flexibility. During this pandemic, Gemignani notes that many well-known restaurants that depended on regular customers were at a loss as to how to stay afloat because they could not change their business model, such as packaging food for delivery.
Gemignani, on the other hand, did what many smart business owners saw as their only option and quickly turned to new ways of service. This ensured that his quality food was still available to customers through delivery despite the challenges involved. He also emphasized the importance of having a digital presence so that new customers can find you regardless of the circumstances.
Related: He Left the Corporate World to Pursue His Outside Interest. After 25 years, His Business is Thriving Because of These 4 Principles.
Yelp reviewer Dominic B. echoed this advice, noting that when a business engages with its audience on social media or social media sites like Yelp, it helps consumers put a face to the company, hear a mission statement and get a better idea of the quality they can get. wait.
“Seeing what happens in the kitchen, behind the bar, behind the scenes… I think all of that is very interesting and a great way to show people how authentic your ingredients are and where they are. [all] it’s happening,” says Dominic. “It’s much more accessible to hear that on social media than someone going to your website, going to the about section, and reading multiple paragraphs about it.”
When discussing the benefits of building a digital presence, Gemignani highlighted the importance of communicating with customer feedback, especially online reviews. You understand that not all feedback will be positive but you see critical reviews as opportunities to improve and connect with customers.
“I now have people who look at them every day and talk to them very quickly,” he said. “Do I check them every day? No. At one point, my bosses came to me and said, ‘It’s been great. We’ve had 20 star reviews, and then we have a bad one.’ Maybe something wasn’t clean, or it was too loud, it’s beyond my control, but I look at what’s important, and what we want to do [the experience] better, and we want to educate the customers and the team.”
Related: When They Decided To Stop Chasing Money, The Owners Of This Unique Store Found That Money Started Chasing Them.
Gemignani relies on these small business strategies to improve performance and continue to grow, even in challenging times:
- Educate your employees. Make sure your team is knowledgeable about your products or services so they can help and advise customers with confidence.
- Change and innovate. Be prepared to adapt your business operations to meet changing conditions, demands and constraints.
- Hire aptitude and a willingness to learn. Hire employees who are skilled and eager to adopt the ways and culture of your business.
- Engage with customer feedback. Regularly review and respond to customer feedback. This shows that you value customer input and are committed to improving their experience.
Listen to the episode below to hear it firsthand Let’s go and Dominic, and subscribe to After Review for more from new business owners and reviewers every Thursday. Available at Spotify, an apple Podcasts, Pandora and Soundcloud.
This article is part of our ongoing series highlighting family-owned and operated businesses.
Related: He Had No Idea To Be A Tour Guide. He Then Built One Of America’s Most Successful Travel Companies.
Editorial contributions by Kristi Lindahl
Source link
