Christmas is approaching and with it group dinners. It is one of the times chosen to get together with family, friends or co-workers and we must be prepared to give our best service to all of them.

These dates are ideal to increase your income and make yourself known to potential new customers. We advise you to have everything well organized and controlled. Customers must be satisfied with the service received, and in this way we increase the chances that they will return to our restaurant. That is why we must know how to handle very well these moments in which the demand rises. In this post we are going to give a few tips to help you achieve success organizing Christmas dinners for groups.

READY TO MANAGE DINNERS IN GROUPS?

Not all restaurants have private rooms for events, but in almost all of them, group dinners for companies, family or friends are held. Make sure you can accommodate your guests in the best way, prepare to receive them and, also, make sure that they leave completely satisfied and willing to return. Find the balance point between the number of people and the quality of the service. Having space and feeling comfortable are essential aspects for our clients to have a good experience.

A positive group dining experience can encourage customers to return with more friends and can earn your restaurant a reputation as a versatile yet efficient establishment.

PREPARE YOUR STAFF.

Be sure to carefully analyze how many people you can adequately attend to at the same time, both in room service and food preparation. The management of the team here is very important, depending on the reservations you have you will have to hire extras or not.

Motivate your staff to work with the same intensity and quality as always. These group dinners are perfect showcases to make ourselves known, so both the kitchen and the dining room staff must be up to the task and give the best of themselves. Organize what tasks each of the team members must carry out, so there will be no pending tasks and, therefore, the dinners will be perfect.

It is normal that when we find ourselves with a service with many people at the table, stress and nerves may appear. It is important to have patience and calm, since in this way we will ensure that we work with attention and awareness. Simply, it is about going little by little and working as a team.

Other factors that may have to be managed are the noise that a specific group can make, that the people of a group arrive separately or that there are last-minute cancellations or registrations. In these cases act clearly and quickly, understanding that improvisation can be one of your best allies.

Never forget that the sympathy and good treatment that the waiters who attend the tables can offer, shows the diners what your restaurant is like.

PREPARE A MENU FOR GROUPS.

Company or group dinners increase your profits before the end of the year, so you must plan the menus that you will offer for groups in advance. You can devise several menus for groups or different Christmas menus with different price ranges for them to choose from.

Escandalla and close the different types of menus that you are going to offer. Think about the psychology of the client but without losing the essence of your kitchen. Show your dishes and the quality of them because, if they are satisfied with what you offer them, they will undoubtedly return.

Offer different ranges of menus that have more variety and better quality in relation to price. You can also make different offers depending on whether they include an open bar of beer, water and wine.

Organizing the shopping list in advance in this way will reduce costs and improve the precision of your menus. Anticipate everything you’ll need and work within a profit margin. Also take the opportunity to make homemade desserts, they have very low costs and give a large profit margin.

Show the menu in a simplified, clear and concrete way, so customers can choose faster and you will facilitate the service to your staff.

PROMOTE YOURSELF.

After having all of the above clear, we must advertise everything to offer for these group dinners. The best options for restaurants are usually social networks like facebook or instagram.

You can also use email marketing by making your menus and prices known to your customer base.

It also informs of the different ways in which they can make the reservation, indicating telephone, email or link to the web.

Remember that customers who come to our restaurant in a group expect to be able to enjoy the food and, especially, the company, without having to worry about other things. Aspects such as reservations, the distribution of space, the menu and, above all, customer service, are essential to be able to properly manage the service for groups.