The Customer Automations Every Restaurant Should Have

Set up the eight customer automations every restaurant should run, each with its trigger, timing, audience and a message to copy.

  • Free guide
  • 10-minute read
  • PDF, 10 pages
  • Restaurants, lounges and bars

I think a restaurant that serves hundreds of people every week, but cannot tell you who its best customers are, has a problem. The data is there: bookings, direct orders, event tickets, birthdays, the guests who come back three or four times a month. But when it lives in WhatsApp chats and spreadsheets, the restaurant never builds a memory of its own.

A restaurant should get smarter about its customers every month it operates: who comes back, who spends more, who has not visited in 90 days, who should get a birthday message, who should be treated like a VIP. These are the automations I think every restaurant should have, because if your restaurant remembers a customer, the customer is more likely to remember your restaurant.

Martins Udotai, co-founder and CEO of Dinesurf

What's inside

  1. Your restaurant needs a memoryRead it below
  2. Step 1: Put every guest in one guest listRead it below
  3. Step 2: The eight automations every restaurant should have In the PDF
  4. Step 3: Two run on their own, six run on a routine In the PDF
  5. Step 4: Messages you can copy In the PDF
  6. Step 5: Keep every message human In the PDF
  7. Step 6: Check five numbers every month In the PDF
  8. Start with two this week In the PDF

Your restaurant needs a memory

Every night, your restaurant learns something about its guests: who booked for six, who ordered the same dish for the third time, whose birthday is next week. Almost none of it gets used, because nobody can find it when it matters.

The fix has two parts: one guest list that holds everything, and automations that use it. An automation is a simple rule that makes sure the right guest hears from you at the right moment. A first visit gets a welcome. A birthday gets an invitation. Ninety days of silence gets a "we miss you". You decide each rule once. Some then send themselves, and the rest become a short routine for your team.

Step 1: Put every guest in one guest list

An automation is only as good as the list behind it. Before you write a single message, bring every guest into one place.

  1. Find where your guests live today

    List every place guest details sit now: the booking book, WhatsApp chats, online orders, event tickets, Instagram messages, the sheet at the bar.

  2. Choose one home for all of it

    One system that keeps a profile for every guest and adds to it each time they book, order or buy a ticket. Import the contacts you have, then stop adding to the old spreadsheets.

  3. Capture four details at every booking

    Name, phone, email and birthday (the day and month are enough). If the birthday is missing, ask at the table: "We like to celebrate our guests. When is your birthday?"

  4. Ask permission, and keep it

    Only message guests who agreed to hear from you, and make every message easy to stop. A smaller list of people who want your news beats a big list of people who do not.

  5. Write a note after every service

    Two lines per guest while it is fresh: "celebrated an anniversary", "prefers the terrace", "allergic to nuts". Notes turn a list of names into a memory the whole team can use.

The rest of the guide is in the PDF

6 more parts, ready to print or keep on your phone:

  • Step 2: The eight automations every restaurant should have
  • Step 3: Two run on their own, six run on a routine
  • Step 4: Messages you can copy
  • Step 5: Keep every message human
  • Step 6: Check five numbers every month
  • Start with two this week

Free. We'll email you the PDF. See our privacy policy.

Dinesurf

Run these automations in Dinesurf

  • Every reservation, online order and event ticket creates or updates a guest profile in Guestbook: times visited, total spend, events attended, last reservation, tags and notes. You can import the contacts you already have. See how
  • Switch on the birthday email (on the day, or 3, 7 or 14 days before) and the win-back email for guests last seen 90 to 120 days ago, checked every Monday. You can change the window.
  • Find the guests for the other six with smart filters and tags, then send that group a newsletter or message them yourself. Each newsletter’s report shows opens and clicks.
  • Take bookings, with deposits, on your own website and Instagram link, so every guest is in Guestbook from the first visit. See how
  • Sell tickets to your events, and every buyer lands in Guestbook. See how
Book a free demo

More free guides