4 Essential Tips for Building a Better Bar Business Customer Experience

In the bar industry, brands must always focus on the consumer’s overall experience.
Keeping customers happy is critical — regular customers are the heart of the bar restaurant business, and to keep customers coming back on a regular basis, bars should make customer care a top priority.

And it can be easier than you might think to create the perfect experience for the customer. All it takes is focusing on the basics to meet and even exceed customers’ expectations for fun and build a pool of loyal guests.

1. What Can I Do to Improve Meal Quality?

Of all the elements that go into bar customers’ experience and how to make it more memorable, the food the bar serves might be the most overlooked.
Still, good food can be key to creating regulars and a fantastic revenue stream.
If a guest can make the bar their sole destination for the night instead of spending time picking restaurants and a spot to get drinks, they’re more likely to become regular customers.

Keep It Fresh, and Serve the Food They Love

It can be easier than you might think to enhance the customer experience by including a dining area in the bar
A menu of favorites and attention to quality can help turn casual bar guests into steady customers.
Fill the menu with meals perfect for the bar experience.
For example, options for top-notch burgers and pizza might be an ideal food to serve at bars.
Combining the proper menu selections with fresh ingredients and policies which prioritize kitchen staff training and experience can make customers take notice and get your venue positive mentions in online reviews and on social media.

2. How Important Is Bar Customer Service?

The bar customer often wants more than a drink when they pick a bar restaurant.
They also look for an establishment that cares about the customer journey and has a process that focuses on delivering great customer service alongside delicious food and refreshing drinks.
When running a successful bar, the bar’s restaurant employees can play a significant role in ensuring every visitor gets the best service possible.
Conscientious customer service and restaurant waiting staff who care about small details can make all the difference and help the brand grow.

Make Table Service Prompt to Improve the Customer Experience

Good bar customer service should begin the moment a customer enters the restaurant. For example, employees must be prepared to:

1. Greet the customer as soon as possible
2. Take the party’s beverage order when seating them at their table
3. And make sure they have their favorite drinks in hand within a few minutes to keep them happy

1, 2, and 3. Prompt meal service can also mean a lot when aiming for good customer service.
Try to have their first course out to the customer shortly after getting their drink.
Perhaps the most critical aspect of ensuring franchise restaurant employees do an excellent job at customer care is to be on point regarding customer complaints.
Listen to any complaints the consumer might have, and have a word with the staff to take immediate steps to resolve any potential issues and deliver superior service the first time and every time. We should add something to this section about our “30-2-10” policy for customer service.

3. How Do I Make the Customer Journey Fun From Start to Finish?

When customers go out to their favorite place to get drinks, one of the reasons they pick a bar is the opportunity to kick back with friends and enjoy themselves.
They look for service and menu, but they also want to find a place to engage in conversation and spend a little extra time with the special people in their lives.
Perhaps most importantly, customers want a bar built to entertain.
And a sports bar and its employees can help make that happen.

TVs and Games in Every Corner of the Dining Room

A hallmark of the modern bar and a key reason guests visit is to watch sports with friends.
Make it easy for them to identify your place as their new favorite spot to do so.
Start with the spectator process — take advantage of every space on the walls and fill them with big-screen TVs showing the big game.
Some guests might prefer a more hands-on customer experience, and the bar can help them with that.
Make games available for every patron, including pool tables, darts, air hockey, and other bar classics.
Having activities for active bar customers helps keep them happy and more apt to return.

4. What Do Bar Customers Look For When They Order Drinks?

The drinks business is built on delivering good times and helping customers relax.
When a customer steps up to the bar stand, they expect the services and drinks they receive to meet or hopefully exceed their expectations.
The drinks the bartender pours, the attention they pay to customer needs, and the labels they work with can all factor into the customer experience.
Vendor selection can play an outsized role here — only work with reliable, trustworthy suppliers who understand the importance of quality and can provide access to top-shelf drink options.
Customers will appreciate the extra effort.
The bar and bartender also figure into a satisfying customer journey they want to relive.
Hire only the best to pour and serve beer and liquor and train them to respond to any issues quickly and efficiently.

Become a Hot Shots Franchise Owner!

At Hotshots Sports Bar and Grill, we wrote the book on customer satisfaction and we’re experts on how to open a bar. We’ve put it to work every day to build a bar franchise, with ongoing franchise support, and ready to grow.
Find out more today about the Hotshots franchise opportunity and bar investment costs, and help shape the future of the business as you build wealth!