Tips for Bakeries to Enhance Service for Customers

Looking to become the favorite bakery in your block, or a bakery that customers travel miles to come and eat at? Follow these simple yet effective tips that help you create lasting impressions on your customers, who don’t just value you for great food but also the great customer service you offer.

Ingredients and Presentation

The first step in keeping customers happy at your bakery is through great food. Customers these days have so many places to choose from, all offering coffee and baked items. Why would they come to your bakery? Create recipes that are different. Make sure that the products used to make the items are fresh and of premium quality. Quality directly reflects in the end results and the customer always appreciates it. Cakes made with real extracts and fresh fruit, are far superior to synthetic and tinned ingredients. The presentation of your baked items is also a key ingredient for success. Present your products in a way that is pleasing for the customers who walk in.

Make sure your baked goods are inviting and customers want to come back for them again and again. Create special menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner time. Morning options should have freshly baked croissants, breads and egg sandwiches etc., whereas lunch and dinner can have salads and soups as well, for customers looking to pick something up on the go.

Giving away free samples of your freshly baked items is another great way to attract customers. Ask them for feedback and suggestions for improvement so they know that you value their opinion.

Service, Service, Service!

Offering personalized service is the key to quality customer service, where customers feel they are being valued and are looked after. Remember the name of your frequent customers along with how they like their coffee. Take the extra effort of asking customers what kind of items they are looking for, or whether they want low fat milk or extra cream in their tea and drinks.

Ask your customers for their birthdays and anniversaries. Surprise them by sending out cards and their favorite baked goods, showing them how important they are and how your business cares about them. Not only does this make the customer excited, but also creates awareness about your brand, and reinforces your presence as well as importance.

Once in a while, you can always throw in something a little extra with the order a customer has placed, like give away free croissants or a chocolate cupcake etc. This will certainly make your customers happy.

Design and Ambiance

Customers wouldn’t be interested in having their evening tea or morning coffee in a bakery if it’s stuffy and crowded. Irrespective of the size of your bakery, you have to understand space management and design your bakery in a way, where it provides customers with a comfortable and cozy place to sit and enjoy.

The ambiance should match the theme of the bakery. If the bakery has a vintage feel, then the paintings to the serveware should all be in line with the vision. If the theme is of a modern style café, then it should be planned and designed accordingly as well.

Make sure customers are excited to visit you, knowing they will find great food and a great ambiance.

Social Media Interactions

Bakeries that are favorites, have a very strong social media presence, so their customers can connect with them and know what the updates are. Bakeries often keep changing their menus seasonally and customers are always looking out for their favorite items and promotions.

Use your social media pages to interact with your customers and get information from them. Ask them to write reviews and give ratings on the service and the food. Facebook accounts can be used to upload interactive videos for customer engagement, from recipes to information about the bakery and items etc. Photos should also be shared, with images of the baked goods.