Maritz Research is marking its entry into the foodservice industry with the launch of Capella Restaurant, the newest addition to Maritz’ proven end-to-end customer experience management system that captures the voice of the customer and acts on it.
Capella Restaurant helps restaurant operators ask customers the right questions to get to the root of any problems with their service or experience.
The system goes beyond basic data collection; it is designed to deliver surveys that make it convenient and fun for customers to provide feedback, while encouraging more detailed information to be shared so restaurant managers can make specific improvements.
Capella Restaurant also analyzes the sentiment of customers’ comments, flags critical issues, and provides benchmarks against key competitors. The system makes it easy for managers to see what’s going on in their restaurant and take action.
The system, which can support restaurants ranging from fast food and fast casual to sit-down, incorporates:
- Accessible and easy mobile surveys designed for customers on the go
- “Hot alerts” to quickly respond and address customer complaints
- The ability to set goals and benchmark against competitors
- An effective and straightforward action planning tool for front-line managers
“When it comes to securing customer feedback, some companies simply ‘check the box’ with basic customer satisfaction surveys, but if they’re not doing anything with the information, it’s pointless,” says Michael Allenson, senior strategic consulting director of the Restaurant Research Group at Maritz Research.
“Capella Restaurant goes beyond the technology that collects feedback from customers,” he adds. “We’re able to combine an improved technology with years of customer experience management consulting to help restaurants show their customers they’re listening to compliments and concerns, and actually doing something with them.”
With Capella Restaurant, customers won’t face lengthy surveys with seemingly endless scrolling. Maritz Research’s surveys are designed with mobile phone users in mind.
“One-third of customers provide feedback on their smartphones,” Allenson says. “Restaurants need to make surveys are mobile friendly so they don’t ruin the customer’s feedback experience. Think short, fun, easy, and engaging, with a coupon or reward at the end.”
When customers choose to leave brief or vague feedback about their dining experience, Capella’s SmartProbe technology follows up with an appropriate question and encourages the customer to share more details.
“We customize the follow-up question based on the customer’s initial response, using a form of artificial intelligence to focus on the right keywords,” Allenson says. “For example, if a customer mentions their order was wrong, Capella Restaurant will ask them to ‘tell us more’ about the issue with the order.”
This gives restaurant managers the context to take action.
To convert customer feedback into better service and increased sales, restaurant owners and managers need access to simple and immediate data. Capella Restaurant’s dashboard compiles the analyzed feedback and shows trends over time.
The customizable dashboard shows how customers in a certain store, state, or region feel about food quality, cleanliness, accuracy, and courtesy. These scores can also be compared to competitors through an existing Maritz Research tool, CEBenchmarks. Restaurant owners can then identify their key competitors, decide who to benchmark themselves against, and set service goals.
“It’s critical to give customers the opportunity to tell you about their experience, the good and the bad,” Allenson says. “You need the right systems and tools in place to see issues that pop up, so they can be immediately addressed, ultimately leading to more loyal customers and more engaged and proactive managers.”
