This is no time to be shy with your guests. To ride out the current economic doldrums and beat out the competition, you need to enlist their loyalty, give them more reasons to keep you in mind on those possibly less-frequent dining occasions, and make them feel like your restaurant is a home away from home.

“In recent years, dining out has been so ingrained in our normal, everyday lifestyle that there has been more willingness to forgive restaurant performance that was less than excellent,” says Melissa Wilson, a principal with Technomic Information Services. “But consumers are tougher right now. They're telling us that they are truly weighing where they're going to be taking their dining dollars these days,” Wilson adds.

What does it take to capture more of those dollars and establish loyalty?

Given the potential value — both immediate, at the cash register, and long-term, from the positive buzz that a regular guest can provide — it's a question that should be on the mind of any operator. The answer depends on the restaurant.

“The first thing you need to do is take another look at your entire operation with a fresh set of eyes and address any disconnects or mediocrity,” Wilson advises. “You need to be excellent and meeting what consumers want in a dining experience.”

To Rick Hirsch and Jean Kerrigan, who operate the Damariscotta River Grill in Damariscotta, ME, the customer experience encompasses more than just the food or service. “It begins when people think about the restaurant or pick up the phone to call us for directions or operating hours,” Kerrigan says. “It continues until they walk out our door after the meal to their cars. Were we courteous and helpful on the phone? Were we genuinely interested in them while they were dining with us, and did we do everything we could to make them feel welcome?”

Those Extra Touches

For the 136-unit Melting Pot Restaurants chain, the ability to thrive and grow has hinged on cultivating regular customers for what might be perceived as a special occasion restaurant. “Our guests are typically celebrating something, such as a birthday or anniversary,” says Bob Johnston, Melting Pot's c.o.o. “Our goal is to hook into the guest on kind of an emotional level. When we find out something about the guest, we have a system for sharing with everyone, so it becomes obvious to the customer that we've taken care to know about them,” he adds.

Collecting useful information starts with the reservations call. Guests are asked “how can we help you celebrate this evening?” and their responses are shared at preshift staff meetings. “Instead of talking about the feature of the day or what wine we're promoting, we talk about what's going on with the guests that evening,” Johnston explains. Crib notes on various reservations are posted on a schematic drawing of the dining room, and any time a server or manager visits the table and learns more, that information is added.

“What it does is capitalize on the fact that most guests are not dining with us because they're hungry,” Johnston says. “They are there because they want to have a good time, celebrate, escape a little, create great memories, and this system helps us do that. We are the restaurant they look to when they're looking for a place to celebrate.” How does Melting Pot management know this process works? They keep a database of guests and know, at least in established locations, that repeat customers account for more than 70 percent of business.

A bit less-structured, but also effective, way to encourage repeat business is creating a home-away-from-home atmosphere. Starbucks and Panera Bread have effectively carved niches as “third place” hangouts, but smaller operators can tap into that demand as well.

Rob and Allie Levitt, who opened the 50-seat Mado in Chicago's Bucktown/Wicker Park neighborhood earlier this year, think their guests — drawn from the surrounding residential neighborhood — appreciate their atmosphere because it's a clear alternative to the sports bars that dominate the neighboring streets. “Traditionally a good restaurant won't necessarily do as well around here if there are no big screen TVs playing games,” Rob Levitt says. “But I think people who have been living here for a long time seem happy to have a place in the neighborhood that's not part of the crazy nightlife scene.

“It's a comfortable restaurant — a lot of people tell us they feel like they're in our home. I'm in the kitchen, and my wife is in the dining room. They get that familial feeling.” The menu at Mado leans heavily toward locally sourced, seasonal ingredients and changes daily, although pork, lamb and beef are always available in some form, and Levitt thinks that variety helps sustain the interest of regulars, who stop by to try the new creations.

Fatz Café, a 45-unit casual dining chain, adopted an “everyone's a regular” philosophy several years ago to capitalize on what was decided to be the chain's competitive advantage: Southern hospitality. “Hospitality is more than a feeling, it's a sincere greeting at the front desk, an associate saying ‘my pleasure’ instead of ‘you're welcome,’” says Richie Cannon, Fatz' v.p. of operations. Fatz trains its employees to be the equivalent of a host who asks “what can I fix for you?” when you visit them at home.