Has your restaurant ever been blindsided by an online complaint?  It doesn’t matter if it’s about your online business, or an in-restaurant experience – it’s not a good feeling.  Whether it’s legitimate, or something totally unwarranted – you need to know how to respond. 

Often it’s based on a misunderstanding or a failure to respond early, when a complaint is fresh.  A recent webinar from the National Restaurant Association had some tips on how to respond to these online complaints.

• Don’t be the last person to find out about a problem at your restaurant, or with a takeout order. Get familiar with the tools.  Use Google Alerts, monitor Yelp.  Have systems in place. 

• This isn’t personal, so don’t get defensive.  Your goal is to neutralize these incidents. 

• Take responsibility online.  Denying that it happened is usually the wrong tactic.  If it’s a completely false or bogus complaint, contact the site (i.e. Yelp) and have them remove it. 

• Get the response public and prominent.  Don’t be the 75th person to comment.  Tell the complainant that you want make it right.  Make sure everyone sees it. 

• Treat your online communication as carefully and as thoughtfully as you would in-person.  You don’t want these things going viral.

• If you are posting online, keep everything positive.  If a customer persists with negativity, take the conversation offline by suggesting they call you. 

• Train employees with your approach to handling complaints so that your staff speaks in one voice. 

• If complaints are routine or happening in patterns, it can indicate a weakness in your operation.  Use that information to your benefit and correct the issues. 

Be persistent to make things right.  People tend to remember the last thing you did for them.  It could be a big problem or small dilemma, but if you bend over backwards to make things right, that’s what they will remember most. 

Online ordering is one of the best tools restaurants can use to position themselves against larger chains that dominate the market.  Indeed, there might not be a better time to be an independent or small chain than right now, especially if you offer online ordering.

Yahoo Finance reports that customer traffic at large casual-dining restaurants slid 2% this past December. Reasons cited for this traffic decrease? Oversaturation, to be sure. How many large intersections in a city contain two or more casual-dining concepts?

Another is the rise of fast casual chains, the most prominent examples of which are Chipotle and Panera. Restaurants like these have seen sales increase 15% annually for the last five years. What do they offer? Made-to-order meals, made in a hurry. To sum it up in one word we all know well, they offer - convenience.

Also, a consumer trend we are seeing return is called “cocooning”, a word first coined back in 1981. Large-screen HD televisions, services such as Netflix, and the ability to buy almost anything online has resulted in more and more consumers coming home from work and never leaving the house again.

If they don’t want to go out for a meal or cook at home, their only alternative is the convenience of takeout. This is why online ordering is so helpful.  Customers crave convenience, especially takeout customers.  Offering customers the ability to order from your NetWaiter site helps them just as much as it helps your restaurant.

Your restaurant should want as many customers as possible to order online.  Here are 5 simple reasons why:

•    You capture valuable information.  You can see ordering frequency and ordering habits.  You also get customer contact information such as email addresses and phone numbers.
•    Online orders are larger than phone orders by as much as 45%, although the average is around 20% larger.
•    Reduction in errors.  How many times have you given a credit to a customer because their order was wrong?  Also, you free up employees from all that time on the phone.
•    Customers order more frequently.  Once they experience the ease and convenience of online ordering, they keep coming back.  NetWaiter online ordering takes good customers and makes them better.
•    Customers are happier. Online ordering is quick, it’s convenient, and customers love being able to order from anyplace, at any time, and know their order will always be right.

5 simple reasons why your customers prefer to order online:

•    It’s convenient.  How many people have memorized your telephone number, let alone know your current menu?  With NetWaiter, your customers can view your up-to-date menu and not worry about speaking to anyone.
•    It’s quick.  With just a few clicks on their mobile device or laptop, their order is complete.
•    Their order is accurate.  Order accuracy gives customers the peace of mind that items won’t be missing from their order.
•    They can order from anywhere—as they’re leaving the office or on the soccer field in the final minutes of their kid’s game.  They also won’t feel rushed by an employee on the phone.
•    The ability to use discounts and promotions is much easier online and they can pay in advance.

A recent study shows the branding advantage of a mobile site, especially for a restaurant. 

Consider these facts:

• Consumers attach to a brand faster using mobile devices than anything else, because they hold the device in their hands, as opposed looking at a computer screen or television.  They make it a part of their identity, and therefore, trust it more (the study calls it psycho-haptic — “what I touch is real”). Amazing factoid: Studies report that 65% of mobile owners admit to sleeping with their device next to their bed.

• Choices to messages on a mobile device tend to be Yes or No, and responses come fast.  This is because mobile devices are designed, in part, to make things convenient and quick.  Amazing factoid: According to a Litmus study, entitled Email Analytics, as of December 2013, 51% of emails were opened by a mobile device.

• Branded content on a mobile device is more likely to get a positive response.  This goes back to how people take personal ownership of their mobile device, which is much more than a desktop or laptop computer. 

• Want to counter a couple of bad reviews on Yelp?  Spend a little money for a great mobile site.  Consumers are more likely to change their perception of a brand if the message or experience comes via a mobile device.  Remember, their device is their personal property.  They are emotionally attached to it.  It wouldn’t lie to them.

Social Embarrassment, in connection to a restaurant order, is a term that refers to a customer who holds back and doesn’t order everything they want - the extra toppings on a pizza, for example, or chili fries rather than regular fries - for fear the employee will judge them for their selections (unhealthy or otherwise).  If you remove human interaction from the ordering process, customers will have no shame ordering the high-calorie, and often more expensive, options.

For example, a regional pizza chain that implemented online ordering quickly noticed a shift in the nature of orders coming from customers who previously called in.  Social embarrassment seemed to no longer be a factor.  Customers loaded on additional toppings, spending an average of 61 cents more per order.

Although social embarrassment is surely a factor in human interactions at a restaurant, there is another, and perhaps more significant factor, at work here.  It deals with the social embarrassment of stumbling through a phone order with an employee who is also doing three other jobs.  Add in the background noise of ringing phones, other customers, and the kitchen and the result is a customer who feels pressured to keep their order simple and fast.  It’s not worth the hassle.  They will forego the double cheese and the sun-dried tomatoes on just half of the pizza (those are extra toppings and extra profits).

NetWaiter online ordering, though, takes this out of the equation because customers have full control of their ordering experience, without any pressure.

The other social embarrassment alleviated by online ordering is the pressure on employees who just don’t like to sell.  Most restaurant owners will agree that extra profits are lost because employees don’t always (or properly) upsell customers. NetWaiter, however, does this automatically.

People criticize the ever-increasing trend of taking human interaction out of business transactions.  It turns out, though; there are more benefits (for everyone involved) than downfalls when it comes to online ordering for restaurants.

In past articles, we’ve discussed the benefits of using photos on your NetWaiter menu.  Now there is another reason to show photos, and this is especially pertinent for tablet and mobile users.

As reported in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, if you touch something you like, you’ll want it more. It might also explain, in terms of dollars, why online orders tend to be larger than phone-in orders.

When a customer holds something in their hands, they imagine themselves in control.  They get a sense of ownership.  Research has found this to be true even on touchscreen devices, where the viewer has some control.  Customers don’t handle the food in your restaurant before deciding to order, but the ability to touch an image or menu item on a handheld device or tablet gives them a sense of ownership and control.  It precipitates that thought of, “Yeah, I want to order this.”

All the more reason to drop in as many photos as you can of your menu items.  Customers will feel as if they are holding and touching the actual item.  Pay attention to the quality of the photography, too. Other studies show that the sense of ownership is enhanced when the photography is particularly vivid.

NetWaiter and Photos: a winning combination for larger orders and a healthy bottom line.

Restaurant customers are, of their own will, flocking to convenient technologies such as using online ordering for takeout & delivery.  But, as one hospitality executive observed in The Wall Street Journal last month, "When you lose the experience of ordering with somebody who can give you an intelligent answer, you lose, well, hospitality."

Although it’s the ideal way to order, personal touch is still important in online ordering.  How can restaurants that grow their business with online ordering keep customers happy by maintaining a personal touch?  Consider some of these tips and tactics:

1.    Select your pickup counter personnel and delivery crew based, in part, how personable they are. A friendly greeting and exchanging quick, pleasant niceties goes a long way with customers and your brand.

2.    Make sure the personnel who handle pickups and deliveries know and use the names of the customers.  As Dale Carnegie said, “Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”

3.    As an owner, pick up the phone periodically and call a customer who ordered online.  Ask them how their order was, how the delivery driver treated them, and thank them for their business.  Not only will you make a personal contact, but you will receive invaluable feedback and respect.

Where are you?  It’s the underlying question when asking customers for their delivery address.  The problem is - people aren’t always at an exact address.

A recent article in the New York Times chronicles the growing trend of restaurants delivering not only to homes and offices, but often to places with no address.  This included someone waiting in his car in the Upper West Side of Manhattan (he ordered breakfast delivered to his car), a public beach, and even a local neighborhood playground.

These unique delivery locations are a natural progression to an industry that is making it increasingly easier to order takeout and have it delivered.  These are also the types of takeout dining experiences that customers will talk about through social media and word-of-mouth: “Just had Chinese food ordered to a park bench #awesome #nolongerhungry” (with a picture of their orange chicken included) 

With NetWaiter’s online ordering system, customers ordering delivery can enter special instructions regarding their delivery order.  When an interesting delivery request is made, embrace the challenge, make the delivery, and tout your capabilities on your own Facebook and Twitter steams (protecting your customer’s identity, of course).  Word will get around.

Some interesting and funny requests just from this week:

• “Grove Arcade but outside on O'Henry Ave between Barber and Printville - directly in front of the loading zone and covered in roof construction scaffolding. Have a midget dog who will bark at you when you come inside office.”
• “I'm on the roof. Please ask doorman to call my cell (xxx-xxx-xxxx) when you arrive. Thanks!”

Does your restaurant have any funny or interesting delivery requests/stories?  We’d love to hear them.

A recent article in the online version of QSR quotes a 2012 Nielson study revealing that more than 90 percent of consumers say that recommendations from friends and family have the biggest effect on their purchasing behavior.

The Zocalo Group, a marketing agency in Chicago, reveals which social media tools work best for restaurants.

Although it is frustrating that they don't include any quantifiable numbers in the article, according to Paul Rand, the CEO of Zocalo, the #1 most credible source is YouTube. This is followed by someone liking a brand page and sharing it. The third favorite online vehicle for consumers is online brand reviews. 

The information was collected for Highly Recommended, a book Rand will release soon.

Rand says brands also shouldn’t be afraid to ask guests to give a recommendation. “Whether you’re large or small, give people opportunities to do what you want them to do," he told QSR Magazine. "People will recommend all day long when you ask them to do it.” 

The advantages of online ordering are undisputed.  Customers love the convenience and accuracy.  You love that you can sell more meals without the added traffic in your restaurant.

So how do you encourage your customers to order more online?  Here are some simple steps you can take to make the online option more appealing.

Make the Order Online button more visible on your website.  We at NetWaiter are forever amazed at restaurants that require you to click through two or three screens before there is anything that tells the customer they can order online.  That button should be on your homepage, preferably at the top so the client does not have to scroll down.

A call-to-action.  Something as simple as, "Order Now!" is enough to get folks to click on the button. Maybe enclose it in a blinking star - the web is so distracting that sometimes you need some extra pizzazz to call attention to the otherwise obvious.  If you want to get serious, you can add a discount offer - 50% off your second dessert when you order online.

Offer curbside service.  For some people there is only one thing better than walking into a restaurant and picking up an order ready to go - pulling up to the restaurant and having them bring it out to them.  They don't even have to get out of the car.  Allow the customer to enter their vehicle description when placing the order.