How does your business deal with feedback?

12th February 2015

Guest feedback has never been so important to businesses. It's now extremely easy for guests to make their opinions known to the wider world; they are empowered through tools such as social media and review websites.

For hospitality businesses, feedback can provide a rich source of information about their service standards. However, receiving lots of feedback is one thing, knowing how to utilise it is another.

Feedback is pointless if businesses don't do anything with it. When utilised, feedback can help businesses to identify strengths and weaknesses, which in turn can help them to learn and grow. It's important for businesses to react and respond to both positive and negative feedback - here's how:

Positive feedback

Everyone loves receiving positive feedback. That said, you shouldn't just read it and move on. It's great to share positive comments with your team to let them know they are performing well. They will appreciate the praise and it could motivate them to work even harder. If you receive comments about a particular worker, make sure you recognise and reward their efforts.

If a guest has taken to social media to share their positive experience, let them know you appreciate their feedback. A simple 'thank you' goes a long way.

Negative feedback

Although it can be disheartening to receive negative feedback, it shouldn't be viewed as a wholly negative thing. Negative feedback can be constructive, and reacting to it means finding ways you can improve your guests' experiences.

Negative feedback allows you to identify areas for improvement, as well as inconsistencies within your business. What you can do is find ways you can work with your team to address and resolve those issues. If a few of your dishes are receiving negative comments, it may be time to review your menu.

Most importantly, you must respond to guests giving negative feedback. If, for example, they share a bad experience of your brand on Facebook, then replying promptly and acknowledging their frustration can reassure them that their issue will be dealt with.