When operating a restaurant, the goal is providing an excellent guest experience. In a time where everyone requires connectivity, having good wifi is a big part of their experience. To ensure guests are taken care of, offering guest wifi is more important than ever.
Why Good Wifi is Important
We all know that restaurants are known for great food, good vibes, and superb service. But people also want to stay connected, and that’s where guest wifi comes in.
People use their phones for fun while they’re waiting for food or in between courses. Some parents setup their kids with wifi to watch a show or play games during meals. Having free and fast wifi lets people watch videos, play games, or catch up on their favorite entertainment. This makes their dining experience even better.
Some customers treat restaurants like their office. They have business meetings, zoom calls or work while they’re having coffee or a meal. To do business, they need a strong wifi connection. This makes the restaurant a more useful place and builds customer loyalty.
These days, dining out often involves sharing pictures and reviews on social media. A good wifi connection lets customers share their experience in real-time. This can make a restaurant more popular and bring in new customers.
Many restaurants let their guests order food or make reservations through apps or websites. A fast and steady wifi connection is a must for a seamless ordering experience.
Wifi Challenges and Solutions
Having guest wifi also has some issues that owners need to be aware of:
Safety: Restaurants have to make sure their wifi is safe. They need to protect their data and the personal info of their customers. To do this, they need a secure and separate guest network from the business network. This is why sharing a password with guests is very risky.
Network Segmentation: Making sure everyone gets good wifi during busy times can be tough. Overloading the network, or making it so the restaurant’s own systems or point of sale computer can’t reach the internet is not an option. Managing the amount of wifi each person can use is key to keeping customers happy.
Know the Law: Restaurants have to know the rules and laws about sharing wifi, which are different in various countries. Owners need to do their homework and make sure they’re following the rules.
How to Offer The Best Guest Wifi
To give customers the best guest wifi experience, here are some suggestions:
Quality Equipment: Invest in high-quality routers, wifi access points and software. This makes sure your whole restaurant gets good wifi and it’s easy to manage.
Plan it Out: Think about where to put your wifi equipment to cover every part of your restaurant, including the patio and bathrooms. You want to determine the number of access points you need based on the number of customers and square footage in your restaurant.
Separate Network: Make a separate network just for guests. This is very important so your restaurant’s network and data are safe while still giving customers the wifi they need.
Easy to Connect: Make it easy for people to log in using a captive portal. Login should be simple without requiring a password. You can also collect guest information for your customer database, such as name, email, SMS, birthday, etc.
Brand the Login: Your guest wifi login should be branded. This is how you extend your customer experience into the wifi login. You can also offer promotions, request social follows, or reviews when customers use the wifi.
Regular Checkup: Monitor your network for problems and fix them quickly. You can also notice if guests are staying connected for too long, or after hours.
In conclusion, guest wifi is extremely beneficial for restaurants. This both improves the dining experience and keeps customers happy. By investing in the best guest wifi solution for your restaurant, you can make sure your network is safe, while giving customers an easy way to stay connected. In today’s busy and connected world, good wifi isn’t a luxury; it’s a requirement for success in the restaurant business.
