How to prepare for the first crisis in your restaurant

Even restaurant marketing that has been well thought out doesn’t exclude a crisis or two. As a restaurant owner or manager, you have to be prepared for everything, even the worst-case scenario. Your business may be all well right now – but that’s exactly the time to think about possible worse times.

Listen in order to be aware of your strengths and weaknesses

Everyone likes to listen to praise. It motivates us, it helps us deal with everyday work, and it reminds us why we chose to do what we do. As great as it hears all about our strengths, you should be all ears when somebody points out any weaknesses of your business. It’s not pleasant, sure, but knowing what goes wrong or could go wrong – this knowledge prepares you for the kind of crisis we’re talking about. So, if somebody points out that your online restaurant marketing needs improvement, don’t belittle the problem or it could grow into a crisis.

Control your reviews

Do you know that the whole concept of restaurant marketing could go badly wrong just because of your customer reviews? What one customer writes, another can read, and then form an opinion about your restaurant without even ordering an appetizer. You have to take control over the reviews – and you can do that using an online food ordering system which allows you to check the review before anyone else sees it and then share it – if you want to.

Think fast! And react

There’s no way to predict a crisis exactly. When it’s there, it’s probably too late to fix the problem altogether and sweep it under the rug – it won’t just pass by unnoticed. Since you won’t be able to make things right immediately, you have to think of the best plan of action to undertake. For example, if it’s restaurant marketing that suffers, you have to know exactly what is wrong with it, who is responsible for the trouble, what are the options to make it better, and who should be in charge of improving the situation.

Talk things through

It’s all fun and games to talk about success, but nobody really wants to talk about failure. People tend to think that if they don’t address the problem, it will just magically disappear. You have to go the other way: if there’s something wrong with your restaurant marketing, a first step to solving the problem is saying it out loud. It’s better to shout out a question than silently looking on as the crisis approaches. You have to communicate your problems because you won’t get through a potential crisis all by yourself.

Be loyal

Big problems, like a crisis in your restaurant, may wake up some instincts in you weren’t even aware of. When a crisis comes, you will think as the captain of a sinking ship, but you cannot forget you have a crew by your side. Don’t they deserve to know what’s happening? If the ship is sinking, you have to let them know.

Talk to your staff

I bet your restaurant management plan didn’t include a situation when you have to fire somebody who did nothing wrong or tell them you cannot pay them everything they earned. Every member of your staff has to be aware of the situation you’re in. Praise them if it goes well, warns them if you predict some changes when it comes to earnings.

Don’t take anything for granted

One day everything goes great, but another – even the best restaurant marketing strategies won’t help you. People’s choices change, the market changes, and so too does the economy. In general, times change, and so will your business. If it goes bad, within a few months, your crowded restaurant can be empty.

Summary

As you see, there are a lot of reasons for your restaurant to fall into crisis. Some of them are irreversible, and for those, you have to be prepared. But some are totally up to you. They can happen or not, depending on what kind of restaurant marketing and management you run. Keep that in mind, and you will greatly lower the chances of having a crisis.