Exceeding Expectations: Tips to Make Your Restaurant Stand Out. By Jose L Riesco, Riesco Consulting and Marketing. Sunday, 10th August 2008

In the restaurant business, how many times do you think your clients believe that you've exceeded their expectations? Sometimes? Seldom? Never ?

How many times did you dine in another restaurant where it exceeded your expectations? It hasn't happened too many times to me, and I dine out a lot.

Dining at most restaurants is a totally predictable experience. Perhaps it's because this industry is very predictable, and it's difficult to be original. It  requires thinking "out of the box" in an industry where most of the restaurant owners blindly follow each other's actions - not only in the way that they operate, but also in their marketing and advertising strategies. Or perhaps the reason is because most restaurateurs are too conservative to try anything new....

Sure your clients expect good food and good service at reasonable prices. Every restaurant should give them at least that, but what about surprising your clients with some unexpected extras?

They don't need to be expensive. Be creative: it's more a matter of thinking unconventionally and coming up  with fresh and original ideas than about  spending money.

Here are some ideas for you to make your place stand out from the ordinary:

• Tell your chef to prepare some small appetizers that you could give (on the house) to your clients when they order drinks.
• Ask your waiters to replace the napkins when somebody leaves the table to go to the bathroom or to make a phone call (your clients would be greatly surprised when they come back!)
• Buy flowers one night, and give one rose (or some other nice flower) to each woman who is having dinner in your restaurant. I can guarantee you that they would beg their spouses or companions to take them back to your place.
• Give out a small complementary liquer at the end of the dinner to people who ordered any alcoholic drinks.
• Give your clients a little container with a sample of a special house sauce, so that they can take it home and use it in their own dishes.
• Bring some special (off  menu) wine to some regular clients who usually appreciate and order your wines. Charge them the same as their  regularly  ordered  wine, even if the special wine is more expensive.
• Call a taxi and pay the fare to take a client who drank too much home. Tell them that they can come back the following day to pick up their car.