How Do You Say Thank You to a Restaurant Customer: Tips & Tricks

Saying thank you isn’t just a formality; it can be a great way to build a relationship with your customers. As clients are the backbone of your restaurant, you should always be on the lookout for new methods to show them appreciation and convince them to visit again.

But how do you say thank you to a restaurant customer? It can be as simple as relaying a thank you message when they leave the restaurant or as complicated as a social media campaign.

In this article, we’ll show you multiple ways to show appreciation with extra tips and examples:

Why you must say thank you to restaurant customers

If you make saying thank you part of your practice at your restaurant, you will enjoy the following benefits:

• Increase customer satisfaction: when you do certain acts to show client appreciation, you create a better experience for anyone who visits or orders from your restaurant;
• Attract more returning clients: if clients are satisfied with your food and service, and you also top it up with a thank you message or act, you increase the chance that they would return to your establishment;
• Get more positive reviews: the extra attention you offer by saying thank you will persuade people to leave a good review for your restaurant. As other potential clients often check reviews, the positive ones will convince them your business is trustworthy;
• Grow your revenue: as a direct effect of increased customer satisfaction, you will notice your business blooming with new business generated by both new and returning clients.

Customer appreciation ideas for restaurants

There are many ways to show appreciation to restaurant customers, we recommend you try all of them and stick with the one that is more sustainable and has visible results for your business.

Send them customized promotions by email

To show customers you appreciate their business and drive them back to your restaurant, you can send them personalized promotions over email. After all, who doesn't like a good deal on food?

It can be quite complicated to run an email campaign where you struggle to conceive messages that are customized according to the client's preferences. That's why we recommend you use a tool that does the job for you, like the Autopilot module from GloriaFood.

After you sign up, you will be able to start three different types of campaigns: Encourage second orders, Re-engage clients, and Cart abandonment.

All you have to do is choose your preferred campaign and set it up. Autopilot will automatically segment people according to purchasing history and use their first name, so the customer appreciation email will feel like a personalized message.

Add a flyer with a restaurant deal with every online order

Tell your clients thank you for their online order by adding a flyer with a discount for their next one. You can easily place it in every delivery as a small surprise for the hungry customer.

No need to hire a designer, you can generate a flyer using the free online ordering system from GloriaFood. You can create flyers in seconds and personalize the messages and types of promotion you want to offer (we suggest 5% off the next order).

Include a thank you note in customer’s orders

This is an appreciation idea better suited for when you just opened your restaurant, and you are not busy yet as it will take more time to write thank you notes.

If you put in the extra effort to write the thank you message by hand, it will show clients that you are a small business that really appreciates their customers.

We recommend you use the delivery packages to write “Thank you, Name! We hope you enjoy every bite!”. This way, you don’t use extra materials and the clients will immediately notice the message.

Train your employees to thank customers

Your employees are the ones who will be interacting with your customers every day, so they will do the appreciation job. Hold a training where you teach them a few phrases they can utter upon welcoming, serving food, and at goodbye time.

Start a social media client appreciation campaign

Being active on social media should already be part of your marketing strategy. If you want to take advantage of socials to get more clients, you can start a social media client appreciation campaign. Here are some post ideas:

• Celebrate every milestone by thanking your clients: for example, when you reach a certain number of orders, write a heartfelt message for your customers thanking them for their help in making your restaurant a success;
• Share good reviews: first, ask permission from the clients who left the review. Afterward, thank them publicly for their nice words and encourage others to share their opinion.

Respond to online restaurant reviews

Online reviews are currency online right now, and any customer who puts in the effort to leave a review should be thanked. Therefore, start by claiming your business on every review site active in your area.

Afterward, reserve some time at least once every few days to go over every review and thank them for their nice words and feedback. Even if you encounter a bad review, don’t let that discourage you, if you respond with tact and solutions, you may change their negative opinion.

Read more: How to reply to bad restaurant reviews: easy-to-follow tips and examples

How do you say thank you to a restaurant customer

If you are wondering how do you say thank you to a restaurant customer, the answer is a simple formula: Greeting + The act of thanks + Invite them to a further action.

Check out these tips that will make saying thank you a breeze:

Address them by their name

Ideally, you should know your clients' names, either from the reservation form, the order form, or by simply introducing yourself. Addressing customers by their name when you say thank you makes the message feel more personal, and less like a standard note you send to everyone.

Stick to your restaurant branding

Every restaurant should invest in branding because it helps create a unitary image that will become easily recognizable with time. On top of a logo, you will have to also create a persona with a tone of voice that should be visible in your thank you messages.

For example, if you brand your restaurant as funny and friendly, your thank you’s wording should reflect that.

Keep it short

We live in a fast-paced world where almost everyone has a short attention span. Make your messages short and easy to read at a glance if you want customers to read them.

Invite clients to return

Unless you are saying thank you when clients step into a restaurant, you should always add an invitation to return at the end of every thank you message.

Let clients know where they can follow you

Get clients to become part of your community by including links to your website, social media profiles, and review sites you are present on.

Restaurant customer appreciation examples

How do you say thank you to a restaurant customer? We’ve compiled a list of customer appreciation examples you can use to draw inspiration from:

How to thank a client for their business

• “Thank you for choosing our restaurant. It was a pleasure preparing your order. We hope to see you again soon!”
• “It’s been a pleasure serving you. We had a fun time, and hope you feel the same. We look forward to serving you again.”
• “Thank you for dining with us. We hope the food was to your liking and you will visit us again.”

Thank you message for customer feedback

• "Thank you very much for your kind words. Your opinion matters a lot to us and we are happy you enjoyed your experience. You are welcome anytime!"
• “Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review! We are delighted you enjoyed your time with us and our delicious food. Please visit us again!”
• "Thank you for your kind review! It was a pleasure serving you. We hope to see you again soon!"

How to thank customers on social media

• “Thank you for your words of encouragement. We do our best to create an amazing experience for every client. We hope you’ll be visiting us soon!”
• “Thank you for being a constant support, your words motivate us to do our best every day. Don’t hesitate to try our new menu items, we guarantee you will enjoy them.”
• “Thank you for supporting us, we appreciate every kind word. If you have the chance, we recommend trying our tiramisu babka, it will sweeten up your day!”

Final Words

Now that you know how to say thank you to a restaurant customer, it is time to put your knowledge to work. Make it your goal to thank clients through words and deals and rejoice in the benefits.