8 ways restaurants can cultivate loyalty

OpenTable Inc., the online restaurant reservation provider, recently surveyed U.S. diners on what motivates repeat visits. It found that complimentary extras and preferred seating topped the list.

San Francisco-based OpenTable, a division of The Priceline Group, gathered the loyalty data from among more than 3,000 responses to an online survey conducted from July 21 to Aug. 15.

The company released the results this week along with its enhanced Guest Notes feature for restaurant reservations.

“It used to be that the maître d' catalogued guest preferences and habits on note cards, or in their impressive memory banks, but it’s now technology that is playing a key role in helping restaurants deliver next-level hospitality for guests, and is making them feel like VIPs,” said Amanda Botelho, OpenTable marketing director for restaurant industry relations, in a statement.

Botelho added that heightened service could increase repeat visits, enhance word-of-mouth recommendations and improve online reviews.

Here are eight ways diners said restaurants could turn them into loyal customers.

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Sixty-nine percent of surveyed diners said sending out a complimentary “extra” — the most influential gesture in the OpenTable survey — would make them come back. Fine-dining restaurants perfected this art long ago with the amuse-bouche and between-course sorbet palate cleanser.

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Sixty-five percent of surveyed diners said loyalty is enhanced when restaurants provide “preferred seating options.”

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Fifty-seven percent of polled diners said they are more loyal after a restaurant invites them for a discounted birthday meal or sends a complimentary dish during a birthday occasion.

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Fifty-one percent of surveyed diners said their fealty to a restaurant increases when the establishment provides preferred reservation access.

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Forty-six percent of polled diners felt more loyal when restaurants called or texted about VIP events or menu specials.

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Twenty-eight percent of surveyed diners felt more loyal when the chef came out to the table to speak about the meal.

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Nineteen percent of surveyed diners felt more loyal when the restaurant acknowledged dietary preferences or restrictions.

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Eighteen percent of polled diners said they are more loyal if their preferred drinks were ready at the table when they sat down.