How to Actually Increase Guest Count and Lead the Industry

In this episode of the Restaurant Success Podcast, restaurant business consultant and advisor Matthew Mabel breaks down exactly what it takes to grow guest count and lead the restaurant industry. Drawing on real-world observations from top-performing restaurant groups, Matthew reveals the specific behaviors that are quietly holding restaurants back from reaching their full revenue and profit potential. From front-of-house accountability to employee training and steps of service, this episode delivers actionable strategies for independent and multi-unit restaurant owners ready to drive measurable business growth. If you're focused on restaurant entrepreneurship, operational excellence, and building a guest experience that converts visits into loyalty, this episode is essential listening.

Key Topics Covered

• Why increasing guest count in today's restaurant business requires mastering the "domino effect" of small operational details
• How top-performing restaurant groups are achieving annual revenue increases of six to eight percent
• Six common front-of-house behaviors that are silently damaging guest experience and Google ratings
• Why stretching your capability to educate and hold your team accountable is the engine behind guest count growth
• How one six-unit restaurant group transformed performance by adding a full-time in-store trainer to their multi-unit management team
• Why your steps of service are one of the clearest expressions of your restaurant's culture — and how to make them work harder for your business

Links Mentioned

• Reinvigorate Restaurant Training and Education to Create Amazing Success in 2023
• Alert! Restaurateurs You're Missing a Step in Your Steps of Service

Resources Mentioned

• Website: www.surrender.biz
• Free initial consultation available

Connect with Matthew Mabel

Matthew works with owners of successful, independent, multi-unit restaurants to improve:

• Profit growth
• Sales optimization
• Guest count increase
• Unit expansion
• Employee engagement
• Brand loyalty

How to Support the Show

• Subscribe to the Restaurant Success Podcast and Newsletter
• Rate and review the show
• Visit www.surrender.biz for additional resources

Transcript

Hello, and welcome to the Restaurant Success Podcast. I'm Matthew Mabel, veteran restaurant advisor, coach, consultant, and speaker devoted to multi-unit independent restaurant unit, profit and revenue growth, internal harmony and ownership freedom and flexibility.

This is your weekly entree of the advice, strategy and tactics that I currently provide to my best clients.

Today, we're going to talk about something every restaurant owner thinks about constantly: how to actually increase your guest count.

And I mean really increase it.

I'm going to share what separates the top-performing groups from everyone else, walk you through the specific behaviors that are quietly holding your restaurants back, and give you a clear picture of what it takes to lead this industry.

So, let's get into it.

You know, everybody in the restaurant business wants to master the art of increasing guest count. And here's the thing. In today's market, the difference between a flatlined guest count and one that's significantly higher, along with the revenue and profit that come with it, is really the domino effect of a ton of little pieces.

Guests are more knowledgeable and more demanding than ever about the quality of their experiences, and that means you've got to have a much tighter grasp on the details if you want to be one of the top-performing groups out there.

So what's my recommendation?

Well, you need to stretch your capability to educate your team and hold them accountable. When you do that, guests will feel the difference, even if they can't quite put their finger on why.

My clients who commit to this are seeing top performance in the industry, with annual revenue increases ranging between six to eight percent.

They get there either through their existing resources, or, as one six-unit group I work with just did, simply by adding a full-time in-store trainer to their multi-unit management team. That one move changed everything for them.

Now, here's where it gets interesting. Over a couple of delicious meals at some already extremely successful client restaurants, I still see a lot of opportunity on the table.

Because I know the type of behavior we need to correct in order to take our place among the best in the market.

Let me walk you through them and ask yourself, have I seen any of these in my dining rooms? 

First, the host who hands a guest a buzzer and tells them to come back when it goes off, but never mentions the anticipated wait time. That guest is standing there with zero information, and that's not a great start.

Second, the server who takes an order for a menu item that's very similar to another one on the menu, doesn't stop to ask which one the guest actually wants, and then brings the wrong one. That's completely avoidable.

Third, the manager who stays busy running food and drinks and seating people but never stops to actually have a conversation with a guest. 

Busy doesn't always mean effective.

Fourth, the manager who plants himself at the to-go window chatting with employees, back turned to the adjacent host stand, completely unaware that the host is so slammed seating people that nobody is thanking guests as they leave.

That's a real missed connection.

Fifth, the staff who are on task, hustling to make the shift happen, but they look universally stone-faced. No one is smiling. Guests pick up on that energy immediately.

And sixth, the server whose greeting is so rehearsed that it comes out as rapid-fire and insincere. Their guests can barely get a word in. What should feel like a warm welcome ends up feeling like a script being read at them.

Some version of these things, or their local equivalent, is happening in your restaurants right now. And here's the good news. Correcting these behaviors increases your sales, your profits, and your Google ratings.

Start working on these and you will take your place at the top of the industry.

Now, I want to take a moment to point you toward a couple of pieces I've written that connect directly to what we've been talking about today.

The first is an article called "Reinvigorate Restaurant Training and Education to Create Amazing Success." It goes deeper on the idea that stretching your capability to educate your team isn't just a nice-to-have, it's really the engine behind everything.

In that piece I lay out five key concepts, including how to set measurable expectations from your training efforts, why certified trainers are essential in every unit, and how technology, including short-form video and gamification, is changing the way people learn. There are really only two choices: leave training alone and settle for a subpar guest experience, or boost your efforts and create an experience that genuinely makes your guests happy.

You can find a link to that article in the show notes.

The second piece I'd point you to is called "Alert! Restaurateurs, You're Missing a Step in Your Steps of Service." And this one connects closely to the behaviors we talked about today. The idea is that your steps of service, the way you greet guests, engage them at the table, and tell your restaurant's story, are almost certainly not doing everything they could be doing for you. My best clients add an element to their steps of service that drives guest engagement, satisfaction, and frequency, and therefore revenue.

One makes sure every server references a local trend in their tableside manner. Another insists that every guest hears at least one story about the inspiration behind a menu item. Still another asks each server to mention the restaurant's community involvement, so guests feel connected to something bigger. Culture, as I like to say, creates one hundred percent of your profits. And your steps of service are one of the clearest expressions of your culture.

There's also a link to that article in today's show notes. 

Let me tell you about how we might work together. I work with owners of successful, independent, multi-unit restaurants to grow their profit, sales, guest count, and unit count. My unique approach bonds employees and guests to restaurant brands and allows owners to enjoy the freedom and flexibility they have earned.

To schedule a call with me to discuss how to achieve your biggest goals, follow the link in the show notes. The initial consultation is complimentary, and we can discuss which big moves might be right for your operation.

Thanks for listening. If you haven't already subscribed to the Restaurant Success Podcast and Newsletter podcast, please do so, and rate and review the show. Find more information in the show notes at Restaurant Success Podcast dot com.

Also find tons of information you can use in print, audio and video form at my website, www dot surrender dot biz. Thanks again and see you next time.