Where would your food truck business be without customers?
It’s rather simple. You probably wouldn’t have a business, for customers are the people who keep you in business. They are the people who buy your product, which comes in the form of otherworldly recipes/meals/food.
With that said, this should be a no-brainer: Quality customer service is a must-have in the food truck industry.
Believe it or not, bad reviews could lead to people not eating at your food truck, and your sales could take a hit as a result. That is especially the case if you don’t solve the problem, whatever it might be.
We want to give food truck owners as much advice as possible when it comes to the customer service department, which is why we are going to feature every article FoodTruckr has ever published relating to customer service below.
On top of the link and title for each article, we will also be providing a preview.
Check it out below!
Sneak Peek:
Today’s an exciting day here at FoodTruckr—it marks the return of the “How to Run a Food Truck” series! We can’t wait to continue bringing you the brand new business advice and insider tips that will help you run a successful food truck, so we’re going to dig right in.
Sneak Peek:
How can you connect on a deeper level with customers when you don’t interact with them for longer than the time it takes to take their orders, prepare their food, and hand them piping hot plates of deliciousness? Let’s dig right in and find out.
Sneak Peek:
In today’s all new lesson, we’ll show you another convenient tool you can use to resolve customer complaints and to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future. It’s called the LEARN model—and we think it’s a great way to deal with unhappy customers and to reflect on any mistakes that were made.
Sneak Peek:
Let’s get started today by learning why customer service matters so much—and then we’ll give you a handy tool you can use to deliver a five-star experience every time. Order up!
Sneak Peek:
If you’ve ever been curious about the team at FoodTruckr, this is your chance to find out who’s who—and most importantly, to find out what we’ve learned by studying hundreds of food trucks over the past several months. We’ve got the scoop on making the most out of your online presence and your daily customer interactions.
Sneak Peek:
Want to know how to get into customer heaven? Honor these 10 commandments of customer relationships faithfully and you’ll be blessed with a flock of hungry, happy followers for your truck.
Sneak Peek:
Therefore, make sure to listen to your customers, whether it’s an angry customer, a happy suggestion or whatever it might be. While you don’t have to take every single request into account — because you are the business owner, and you have a good idea of what your business does and doesn’t need — you should still learn from these requests. You don’t have to make change after change, but you do need to adapt wherever you see fit.
Looking for Food Trucks For Sale? Check out this link for more details!
Sneak Peek:
As you likely already know, there are a ton of food trucks out there (not to mention all of the fast food restaurants, sit-down restaurants and grocery stores), so if your customer service starts to slip up in any fashion, don’t be surprised when some of your customers start going to different places for their food.
Sneak Peek:
Music has a special power to it, for it can turn a bad mood into a happy mood with a simple play of a song. Holiday music can make your food truck a winter wonderland, if you will. Plus, not only can it give off a holiday vibe, which many customers will love, but it could get you and your employees in the spirit as well — and what’s not to love about that?
Sneak Peek:
The key in this industry is attracting and retaining customers. You have to pull out all of the stops if you want to make it to the top of the food truck industry. Plus, it’s not like you are selling your soul here, because there are plenty of delicious pumpkin spice treats out there (such as Starbucks’ famous — or infamous, depending on who you ask — Pumpkin Spice Latte, or PSL for short).
Sneak Peek:
Don’t let distractions and temptations win. If you really want to be successful, then you will say no to distractions and temptations. Spoiler: If you want to be successful during this lifetime, then you are going to have to make sacrifices, and said sacrifices will come in the form of working on a Friday night, going to a conference on a Saturday or doing some form of work in general while others are out having fun. Now, everyone needs downtime, and breaks, and we understand that. However, would you rather take the weekends off or have a successful business? You can say whatever you would like, but your actions will do the only talking that matters.
Are you currently doing any kind of email marketing or social media marketing? If so, then you should also be doing Facebook Messenger Marketing! Click here to find out more.
Sneak Peek:
While we understand your food truck lines can get rather busy from time to time (believe us, that is a blessing), you have to take pride in your work (in this case, cooking). If you don’t, then you can count on getting bad reviews, which could sink your food truck business in no time if these bad reviews start to become a trend. Of course, you also have to treat your customers right. If you have bad customer service, then don’t expect people to storm to your food truck. In fact, the opposite will ring true.
Sneak Peek:
And staying afloat isn’t enough. You need to keep your people skills sharp, dealing constantly with vendors, customers and employees. At Arlo’s, Walling manages payroll, scheduling, ordering and delivery, among many other things, leaving the owners with the mental energy to make the bigger decisions. It’s important to ask yourself who is going to do all the dirty work, the paperwork and the grunt work, because if you don’t want to do it, it’s best to hire general managers and shift managers who can.
Sneak Peek:
Give things away for free! While you don’t want to go broke by giving away free meals left and right, you can attract customers, and take your social media efforts to the next level in the process, by holding giveaways on Facebook. This little trick will get people to your food truck — because everyone likes free food, even if it is just a free side or drink.
Sneak Peek:
You have to be a good manager/boss. You have to be an expert in the inventory department. You have to make sure your marketing game is on point. You have to enter food truck events/catering gigs. You have to make sure the truck (and all of the equipment) is running on all cylinders. You have to be a chef and a businessperson. The list could go on and on.
Sneak Peek:
If you want customers to come raining down on you this summer (minus the actual rain, of course), then you need to make sure your food is as good as it can possibly be, your customer service is otherworldly and your food truck environment is enjoyable for everyone involved.
Sneak Peek:
While the foundation of your food truck business is the actual food truck and the food, if you put up a dud in the customer service department, then you simply won’t be able to retain customers. Food truck owners need to treat their customers right. Yes, even the angry ones. The key is to build an environment that is enjoyable for everyone involved, which includes owners, employees and the customers, of course. Successful mobile kitchen owners build communities.
Looking to take your food truck business to the next level? If so, then The Food Truck Growth Kit has your name written all over it!
Sneak Peek:
Quality customer service is a must. If you don’t treat your customers right, then don’t expect them to come back. In fact, if you make a customer mad enough, which is the last thing you want, said customer could end up leaving a nasty review online. If you have enough bad reviews, then new customers simply won’t venture to your truck. After all, we live in a day and age where people are looking at reviews (and other factors) on the internet before they decide to pick a place to eat.
Sneak Peek:
As a result, we have come up with two crucial ways for food truck entrepreneurs to get their customers excited for the spring. Why is this important, one might be wondering? Well, because some of your customers might need to be reminded how amazing your food is. Not to mention, it’s good to create a little buzz, and to also get your mobile kitchen customers excited for spring. Once spring is here, summer will be right around the corner, which means your customers can enjoy your food on a daily basis once again.
Sneak Peek:
One of the main goals food truck owners should be focusing on in 2017 is gaining more customers. The reasoning behind this is simple. More customers means more sales. More sales, of course, means more money coming in for your business. More money means you can hire more employees, expand, perhaps upgrade your food truck, etc.
Sneak Peek:
Whether a customer has a good or bad experience, you have to learn from it. You have to get out of your own head and into the mind of your customer. You have to see where he/she is coming from. That is so crucial for a number of different reasons. (1) You are likely appeasing the customer. (2) You are learning from your mistakes and can apply what you learned to current and future situations. (3) You are making your business — and customer service — better by making your customers happy.
Sneak Peek:
Perhaps you are struggling to lure in customers in general, which means your sales are likely low as a result. Whatever the case, if your food truck lines are not flooding with people every day — well, at least during your busy hours, because there are likely slow periods during the day — then you need a quick fix.
Sneak Peek:
You have heard it many times before, and you will likely hear it many times again, but the customer is always right. You have to have that mindset. If there is a problem with the food, an order is taking too long or whatever it might be, just accept that the customer is always right and try to fix the problem. That might mean giving the customer a free meal, or making it all over again (it just depends on the situation).
Sneak Peek:
If you have dived into the industry of food trucks, then you should know by now how important your brand is. Likewise, you should know how important your food truck community is. You should also know this: Growth is a very important part of running your business, but said growth is sometimes hard to achieve.
Sneak Peek:
Answer: It depends. After all, every food truck has to have a flawless business plan, recipes that will make food lovers drool and the list can truly go on forever. However, one ingredient that tends to go under the radar is the customers. In the spirit of that missing ingredient, we are here to help you attract more customers by making the food truck environment enjoyable.
Want to learn how to build a subscriber list for your food truck business? One of our managing partners here at FoodTruckr has put together an AMAZING FREE GUIDE that will teach you everything you need to know about getting started with Messenger Marketing! Click here to get your free guide.
If you liked this article, then we encourage you to share your feedback, advice, questions and/or stories below!
To dig your teeth into what FoodTruckr has to offer, make sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, and also make sure to check out more content that we bring to the table.
This post was last modified on September 5, 2018
The eagerly awaited Food Truck Owners Expo makes its way to Orlando, FL from November 12 to 13, 2024 at…
Hello San Diego! If you're looking to add a dash of SD's beachy and fun street food scene to your…
Hello New York City! If you're looking to add a dash of NYC's vibrant street food scene to your next…
Hello Los Angeles! If you're looking to add a dash of LA's vibrant street food scene to your next corporate…
Hello Austin! If you're looking to add a dash of Austin's vibrant street food scene to your next corporate event…
Hello Orange County! If you're looking to add a dash of OC's bespoke street food scene to your next corporate…