How many times have you referred a restaurant to a friend? Think about why you made that referral. Was it the food or the service? Let’s say a restaurant that you refer charges $50 for dinner for two; if you refer four people, and they take your advice, you just made that restaurant $100. On the other hand, if you had a bad experience and told your friends not to go, that restaurant just lost money.

No matter how good the food is at a restaurant, people usually remember how they were treated, or if they had to wait “forever” for their food, or how often they saw their server. What really matters is the service. Memorable customer service is what brings people back over and over, whether you're running a restaurant, a retail store, or a service business. If your restaurant has excellent food, but terrible service, customers probably won't return.

We live in a very busy society where time is everything. In any type of business, customers have three common complaints: waiting for a long time, being ignored by employees, and not feeling appreciated as a customer. These three issues can break a business. By investing in customer service training, companies can greatly improve their bottom line, and nothing is more important during tough economic times. Here are some tips to incorporate into your customer service training.

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