In the eatery biz it's all about great food and customer service--50-50.
No eatery can survive on only new customers. It's all about repeat business.
In the casino biz of course we had our "whales" (totally repeat biz
high rollers) as well as mid-range players. I comp'ed the living kraap for those people every month with direct-mail as well as dinner comps and special free buffets and VIP parties. While a restaraunt can't do that they CAN have a quality product in
every item on the menu. The secret of customer service is making
EVERY customer feel like you are invited to eat at their house. I used to encourage/challenge employees to learn ONE regular customer's name a day. Just one, and treat them like family. It worked. Total handle went from $4.4M a year to $166M a year in less than three years. Oh, and the Rueben went from "skinny" to "Geeeeeeez, how in the world can I finish that?" Chef Johnston designed the best Rueben on the planet. It was 3" from top to bottom and corned beef was in no way spared, freshly sliced swiss and extra 1000 Island Dressing on the side. I wish I had one right now.
