Psychology of Service
& Sales-Building
HRT 382
Thanks to:
E. Jerome McCarthy, author of
“Basic Marketing: A Managerial
Approach”
William B. Martin, author of “Quality
Service: The Restaurant Manager’s
Bible”
Raymond J. Goodman, Jr., author of
“The Management of Service for the
Restaurant Manager”
The Marketing of Service
Marketing Basics
Needs
 Wants
 Demands (a want backed-up with $)

Ability & Willingness
Product vs. Service
Satisfaction
What is “perceived value”?????
Utility

The buyer’s estimate of the product’s
capacity to satisfy their particular need
Value

What the product offers for the price
Satisfaction
The balance between utility and value
 The most utility per dollar

Meeting & Exceeding
Expectations
Where do they come from?
E. Jerome McCarthy, in “Basic
Marketing: A Managerial Approach” ,
popularized “The 4 Ps”
Product
 Price
 Place
 Promotion

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
(In reverse order & in F&B terms!)
Physiological Needs
Food, warmth, health, cleanliness
Safety Needs
Job security, safe working conditions, benefits
Social Needs
Belonging, acceptance, friendship
Psychological Needs
Self-esteem, responsibility, status, influence
Self-Actualization
Interesting work, involvement, achievement
Service Quality - Two
Dimensions
Procedural

The mechanical or systems “stuff”
Convivial

Warm & caring service – emotional
“stuff”
Procedural Dimension
Accommodation
Anticipation
Timeliness
Organized Flow
Communication
Customer Feedback
Supervision
Convivial Dimension
Attitude
Attentiveness
Tone of Voice
Body Language
Tact
Naming Names
Guidance
Suggestive Selling
Problem Solving
“Hospitality Mentality”
It is easy enough to be pleasant
When life flows along like a song,
But the person worthwhile
Is the person who can smile
When everything goes dead wrong.
Anonymous
Sales-Building
A focus on the “top line” of the financial
statement
The ultimate goal, of course, is to drop
profit dollars to the “bottom line,” but the
initial focus is to increase revenue.
Building sales can happen in two BASIC
ways -
Sales-Building
More Guests
or
More $ per Guest
More Guests
To Increase the number of guests






Community Marketing (marketing outside the
restaurant)
In-House Marketing (marketing inside the
restaurant; get guests back another time)
Increase Hours of Operation (open earlier
and/or close later)
Add Day Parts (a “day part” is a meal period)
Increase the Average “Table Turn” Time (more
guests per hour)
Other…
More $ per Guest
Increase the amount each guest spends
In-House Merchandising
 Suggestive Selling
 Up-selling (a style of suggestive selling)
 Raise Prices
 Menu Engineering
 Other…

In-House Marketing Possibilities
Promotions
Mailing or Email Lists
“Bounce Backs”
Table Tents
Banners
Check Presenter (message or inserts)
Flyers
Posters
Special Menus
Other…
Suggestive Selling
Making a guest aware of an item they
might be unaware of
Use “specifics” as you take orders

Would anyone care for a glass of
Beringer Chardonnay or, perhaps, a
bottle of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale?

Remember to save room for our
homemade Fresh Apple Crisp!
Up-Selling
Upgrading a guest’s order to a higher
quality (and, yes, priced) item
For example:

If a guest orders a glass of white wine, the
server mentions the Chardonnay selection

If a guest orders a burger, the server asks,
“Would you like to top your burger with apple
wood smoked bacon or a thick slice of sharp
cheddar cheese?”
Suggestive/Up-Selling
The Power of the…
Personal Recommendation
Presenting your favorite
Doing so in a sincere, “heart-felt”
manner
When you true personal favorite is
also the most expensive, back your
opinion up and/or offer other
alternatives
Raising Prices
This strategy has its’ challenges
Positive: it is quick
Negative: guests, especially frequent
diners, notice
If you work for a large organization,
you may not be able implement this
strategy
Menu Engineering
The layout and design of the menu
The use of bullets, flags, and boxes
to draw attention to certain items.
The the location and placement of
items or item categories
Branding