We shared the basic rundown on Net Promoter Score (NPS) and its importance to your restaurant here. To sum it up, NPS is a management tool that gauges your customer’s satisfaction and loyalty.
It is a survey that is based on one question: On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend us to a friend? Best practices recommend that this question is followed by an open-ended question that asks why your customer chose the score that they did. Between these two answers lies information that can greatly impact your establishment and substantially improve the customer experience.
Comparing Restaurant Scores
The score is compiled with the following information: Customers that choose a 9 or 10 are considered Promoters and are highly likely to recommend your restaurant. Those that reply with a 7 or 8 are Passives or indifferent, and guests responding with a 1 through 6 are considered Detractors. The NPS is determined by subtracting the percentage of Detractors from the percentage of Promoters. In the restaurant industry, scores above 60 are considered excellent.
Restaurants Using NPS
While NPS has been around since 2003, this benchmark for consumer satisfaction seems to be growing in use in many different types of businesses, including Fortune 500 companies and restaurants.
Amisha Sinha, VP of Business Planning at Carlson Restaurants, spoke with Genroe regarding their success when switching from an “overall satisfaction” metric to a NPS approach. She found that a good NPS number at a location correlated with good cost control, higher traffic, lower employee turnover, and higher profitability. She told Adam Ramshaw, “It is almost as if by hitting the right NPS all the areas of the business start working at a higher level of efficiency and effectiveness.”
Paul Rumsey, VP of Global Learning & Development at Carlson Restaurants, reported on one of their brands, TGI Fridays, and their quest to provide a consistent guest experience across all units. They implemented Fridays Service Style, a training program that included online courses, videos, and face-to-face training. He found that restaurants with 100% completion of training and assessments by the due date rated a 7.1 higher NPS.
Fast Food
Comparing NPS 2020 benchmarks for fast food concepts, Pizza Hut and Starbucks came in at the top with scores of 78 and 77 respectively. Nandos scored a 36 while KFC received a 14. Colorado-based Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard came in at -6. The low end on the totem pole went to McDonald’s with a score of -8. A surprising comparison in light of the fact that McDonald’s continues to expand and had a net income of over six billion in 2019.
Casual Dining
Again, it was surprising to find some of the most popular brands had less than average Net Promoter Scores. Texas Roadhouse, Inc scored -6, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. came in at 7, and BJ’s, a restaurant and brewhouse with 209 locations, received an NPS of 16.
These numbers seem to make it clear that some brands would be wise to consider additional quality control, training, or upgrades in their general operations to ensure guest satisfaction. Here’s an example of the steps one restaurant took to increase their NPS.
Saddleback BBQ
Saddleback BBQ is a premier craft BBQ joint with two locations in Michigan. They use NPS as a tool to gauge how well they are doing with their customers and how they can improve. Their NPS consists of two questions: “How likely are you to recommend Saddleback BBQ to someone you know?” Answer 0 – 10; “Why did you provide the rating that you provided above?” Open-ended.
Since they have been using NPS measurements, they’ve received scores as low as 48 and as high as 80. In their last published NPS, they received a score of 78. They, obviously, are doing something, or many things, right when it comes to customer service and the quality of their offerings. This could be, in part, because they use the information derived from this survey to make changes that their customers suggest. On their last published NPS, customers requested changes such as another location in Meridian, Wu Tang Wings all week long, lighter side options like salads, more specials, a larger location, dinner options, and delivery.
They obtain this information by sending the survey to people that have subscribed to their email newsletter. When they change their POS system, they would like to add the NPS survey to the bottom of their receipts.
The benefits and insights that NPS can bring to restaurants are clearly evident. Most restaurants find that their customers are delighted to be asked their opinion and happy to know that the restaurant is concerned about their satisfaction. Those that don’t will simply not fill out the survey. Keep in mind that some of the biggest companies around the world swear by this score. According to Fortune, “CEO’s favorite metric is the Net Promoter Score.” If you need help getting started with NPS, email us at info@emerging.com.
